10 cyclists to raise funds for ‘End Polio Now’ campaign
SIBU: Ten cyclists comprising Rotary District 3310 club members and friends of Rotary are taking part in the ‘ Tour of Borneo: End Polio Ride’ – a 1,300km journey from Kota Kinabalu to Kuching, which began on Feb 23 and ends March 5.
Rotary District 3310 district governor for 2015-2016 Philip Chong said the tour was to promote and raise funds for their ‘End Polio Now’ campaign.
He said each year, Rotary District 3310 – covering Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan, Melaka, Johor, Singapore and Brunei – would reach out to the general public to call for greater awareness of polio eradication and at the same time, raise funds for the same cause.
“Rotarians have mobilised by the hundreds of thousands to ensure that children are immunised against this crippling disease and that surveillance is strong despite the poor infrastructure, extreme poverty and civil strife of many countries.
“Rotary’s dedication to the global eradication of polio has remained constant. This year marks the 31st anniversary of ‘ Polio Plus’ and three decades of progress and challenges the programme has faced,” he told reporters when met before the arrival of the cyclists here yesterday.
Chong said the Polio Plus programme was launched in 1985 and since then, more than two billion children worldwide have received oral polio vaccination.
To date, 209 countries, territories and areas in the world are poliofree, leaving just Pakistan and
Rotary’s dedication to the global eradication of polio has remained constant. This year marks the 31st anniversary of ‘Polio Plus’ and three decades of progress and challenges the programme has faced.
Afghanistan with endemic polio.
The global incidence of polio cases had decreased by 99 per cent since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication initiative, he said.
Chong said India – once deemed the most difficult place to end polio – was declared polio-free in March 2014, making the entire southeast region also polio-free.
“Now only Pakistan and Afghanistan are still having polio. The problem is if we do not eliminate this totally, statistics indicate that in 10 years’ time, 10 million children would get polio.
“The victim can be anyone. It can be our children’s children,” he said.
Additionally, Chong said as of Feb 11 this year, Africa had no new cases of wild polio virus in six months, although the continent must mark three full years without new cases to be officially declared polio- free by World Health Organisation (WHO).
“Until polio is stopped in the remaining endemic areas, all countries must maintain high levels of surveillance and immunisation rates to rapidly detect any importation of polio virus and minimise its impact.
“Now that 99 per cent of the world’s population live in regions certified polio- free, the goal to eradicate this disease is closer than ever,” he said.
Chong appealed to members of the public to support the campaign by making donations. They targeted to collect US$ 130,000 (RM500,000) for the campaign.
The welcoming party also included Rotary Club of Sibu president Loh Wei Boon.
Philip Chong, Rotary District 3310 district governor for 2015-2016