Nine things to know about PolioPlus

{01} What is World Polio Day?
•    October 24th is celebrated as World Polio Day
•    A day to celebrate the great work attempting to rid Polio from the World
•    Work has been spearheaded by Rotary with their PolioPlus program
•    The timing in late October is in honour of the birthday of Dr. Jonas Salk, who led the team that developed the first polio vaccine
{02} What is Polio?
•    A paralyzing and potentially fatal disease that mainly threatens children under 5 in some parts of the world
•    The poliovirus invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours
{03} What Is PolioPlus?
•    In 1985, Rotary launched its PolioPlus program, the first initiative to tackle global polio eradication through the mass vaccination of children
•    Rotary has contributed more than $1.6 billion and countless volunteer hours to immunize more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries.
{04} Global Polio Eradication Initiative
•    The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, formed in 1988, is a public-private partnership that includes Rotary
•    Other partners include the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and governments of the world
{05} Polio Today
•    Today, there are only three countries that have never stopped transmission of the wild poliovirus: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan
•    Less than 75 polio cases were confirmed worldwide in 2015
•    This is a reduction of more than 99.9 percent since the 1980s, when the world saw about 1,000 new cases per day (360,000 per year)
{06} The Challenge Remains
•    The polio cases represented by the remaining one percent are the most difficult to prevent, due to:
•    geographical isolation,
•    poor public infrastructure
•    armed conflict
•    cultural barriers
•    Until polio is completely eradicated, all countries remain at risk of outbreaks
{07} Ensuring Success
•    Every dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication will be matched two-to-one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation up to $35 million a year through 2018. These funds help to:
•    provide much-needed operational support
•    medical personnel
•    laboratory equipment,
•    educational materials for health workers and parents. Governments, corporations
{08} This Close Campaign
•    Many celebrities have got on board with the PolioPlus “This close” campaign:
{09} What we can do
•    We can donate to PolioPlus as individuals
•    Our Club can donate money raised from a fund raiser
•    Individuals can travel to an infected country and help with vaccinations
•    We can make others aware of these facts