World Polio Day

October 24^th is World Polio Day and the Rotary Club of Rye & Winchelsea are raising awareness of the End Polio Now Campaign run across the World by Rotary International, by arranging for the following sites to be lit in the colour purple: the Hub on the Hill Rye,  St Thomas’ Church Winchelsea, Ypres Tower Museum Rye and St Mary’s Church Rye.    Our thanks to the organisations involved for supporting our awareness campaign. 

For over 35 years, Rotary and its members have been committed to fighting to eradicate polio across the world. The amount of polio-endemic countries has dropped from 125 to just three, with over 2.5 billion children receiving vaccinations thanks to the help of Rotary.

With eradication now closer than ever, Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland’s latest campaign, #EndPolionow, is designed to unite communities to engage in activities as part of the final push to eradicate polio for good. The campaign ties in with The Rotary Foundation, Rotary’s own charity, which has played a key role in making polio eradication become close to a reality, along with hundreds of other projects both in Great Britain and Ireland and overseas.

You can help raise awareness by making something purple to mark October 24, World Polio day, or light your room, office or building with purple light. Purple is the signature colour of Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign which aims to rid the world of polio for ever.

Rotary has contributed more than US$2.7 billion to fight polio and countless volunteer hours since launching its PolioPlus program in 1985. In 1988, Rotary joined in partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to form the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, later joined. When the initiative launched, there were 350,000 cases of polio every year. Today, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9%.

To sustain this progress and continue to reach every child with the polio vaccine, Rotary has committed to raising US$50 million each year to support global polio eradication efforts. The Gates Foundation has pledged to match that 2-to-1 for a total yearly contribution of US$150 million. 

We are on the brink one of the greatest public health achievements in history.Help us finish the job.

About Rotary

Rotary brings together a global network of community leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. We connect 1.4 million members from more than 46,000 Rotary clubs across the world. Their service improves lives both locally and internationally, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.

Visit Rotary.org and endpolio.org for more about Rotary and its efforts to eradicate polio.  For more information about our club visit: Rotary Club of Rye & Winchelsea - welcome. (rotary-ribi.org)

Richard O’Sullivan

President Rotary Club of Rye & Winchelsea