4,000 Purple4Polio crocus corms in Chinnor (3 Nov)

We had a splash of Purple4Polio in Chinnor on Sunday 3rd November 2024!

Chinnor Rotary is one of hundreds of Rotary clubs and community groups the UK planting Purple4Polio crocus corms to highlight the work of Rotary and its partners globally to End Polio Now and forever. Purple crocuses symbolise the purple ink used to mark the little finger of children who receive the vaccine in at-risk countries. Rotary International is an important contributor to the eradication campaign, and this is one of the initiatives which drew many of us to Rotary in the first place.

Chinnor Parish Council awarded Chinnor Rotary club a grant towards purchasing 4,000 crocus corms which will planted in Chinnor on the green area on the Estover Way between Penley Close and Oakley Lane roundabout, postcode OX39 4JS as well as at the Chinnor Village Hall front garden.

3,000 crocus corms were planted by Chinnor Rotary members on Estover Way on Sunday 3 November 2024.

Marius Ciortan, Chinnor Rotary Club President commented, “We’re really excited to be getting involved for the first time in the planting of thousands of Purple4Polio crocus corms here in our village of Chinnor. We are reaching out to our community to come along on the Estover Way near the Oakley Lane roundabout on Sunday 3rd November to plant crocus corms. ”

Chinnor joined other towns and villages in the UK to add to the millions of purple crocuses that already bloom in these islands each spring to highlight the Rotary End Polio Now campaign. Every £1 we raise is matched 2:1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, so becomes £3.

Polio is a deadly disease mainly affecting children under the age of 5 and can cause paralysis and even death.

As the organisation that first envisioned a polio-free world, Rotary has been at the centre of the fight to eradicate polio for more than three decades. Nearly 3 billion children have received polio vaccine. This means there are nearly 19 million people who would otherwise have been paralysed who are walking today, and more than 1.5 million people are alive who would otherwise have died. Without full funding, political commitment and volunteer-led social action, there is a real threat that polio could return, putting children worldwide at risk.

After living through a pandemic recently, we all now understand only too well that a virus can literally be just a plane ride away. Although long thought of as a thing of the past in the UK, polio is still impacting children around the world. The Poliovirus vaccine has been used successfully for many years and we continue to need to reach every last child.

As a result of Rotary’s dream of a polio free world the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was launched in 1988. Then there were 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries. In 2021, the number of wild poliovirus cases had reached a low of 6 but in 2022 it has risen to 30. It was during this time that one case left Pakistan for Mozambique which subsequently found its way to London and then to a New York suburb. Sadly conditions there were rife for one patient to suffer paralysis. This story confirms the paradigm that the virus is only a plane ride away.

On the 16^th August 2024 the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed the first case of polio in an unvaccinated 10-month old child in Gaza. This highlights the need for vigilance if we are to stamp out Polio. There are several positives though. A new vaccine his making steady inroads into the vaccinated population in affected areas. Surveillance indicates that vaccination is effective, and it is important that we have the resources to continue. The target is to achieve certification and planning to achieve this is taking place. The eradication programme keeps a single-minded focus on closing the remaining gaps to interrupt these ever-diminishing transmission chains in ever narrowing geographies.

If we stop now estimates are that within 10 years, we could be seeing over 200,000 cases of polio annually across the globe.

The End Polio Now programme contributes funds to purchase vaccinations, surveillance and transport of vaccines to affected areas. The programme and its partners have established infrastructure e.g. laboratory facilities that are not just for Polio but are for the eradication of other potent diseases including Covid.