Rotary End Polio Campaign
Mon, Sep 2nd 2019 at 12:00 am- Thu, Oct 31st 2019 - 12:00 am
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can then attack the nervous system
On 16th November members of Westbury Rotary group braved the chilly winter air and planted thousands of Crocus corms in the grassy bank to the front of Prospect Square on the Warminster Road. This will produce a wonderful show in the months and years to come.
The flowers should burst through the soil and provide a stunning show in the months to come.
And all the woods are alive with the murmur and sound of Spring,And the rose-bud breaks into pink on the climbing briar,
And the crocus-bed is a quivering moon of fire
Girdled round with the belt of an amethyst ring.
–Oscar Wilde
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can then attack the nervous system.
Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 30 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever.
As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we've reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.
We've helped immunize more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. So far, Rotary has contributed more than $1.8 billion toward eradicating the disease worldwide.
Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.
Westbury Rotary are taking an active part in this important campaign. We are planting swathes of crocuses in the area to the front of Prospect Square in the near future.
For further information please go direct to the website below or contact Westbury Rotary direct.
https://www.endpolio.org/rotary-and-the-fight-against-polio
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