In the spirit of getting new club members and long time members up to speed on Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio, a Lawrence Central trio updated members on this critical commitment. Janice Bunker provided background on the impact of the disease and the international efforts to fight it. Polio is a highly contagious and crippling disease that caused world wide misery. Jonas Salk discovered a vaccine in 1955 that successfully provided protection from the disease. The United States experienced the last case in 1979, but the disease still raged in other parts of the world. In 1985 Rotary joined with the Gates Foundation and the Center for Disease Control to form a Global Initiative to eradicate polio. By 1988 world wide cases were reduced by 99.9 per cent. Melissa Sieben described how climate change, geography and war can set back efforts to vaccinate. Presently, there are only seventy some active cases in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, the disease can be quickly reintroduced to a population not fully vaccinated. Bob Rademacher shared personal stories of family members who were afflicted and disabled by the disease. The Global Initiative is on the verge of eliminating polio, providing every last case is accounted for. Rotary support is more important than ever and donations are matched by the Gates Foundation.
