World Polio Day: Big Spring Rotary Club and the Greater Big Spring Rotary Club fight to end polio worldwide
During the last City Council meeting, Mayor Shannon Thomason read a Proclamation recognizing World Polio Day in Big Spring, as Oct. 24, 2020.
“In honor of World Polio Day, which is widely recognized on Oct. 24, the Big Spring Rotary Club and the Greater Big Spring Rotary Club are helping by raising funds with their respective fundraisers,” Debbye Val-Verde, Secretary of the Greater Big Spring Rotary Club, said.
Each year, The Big Spring Rotary Club along with the Volunteer Services Council at the Big Spring State Hospital sponsor “Cars, Stars & Handlebars” which is their primary fundraiser as part of Rotary’s 27-year mission to eradicate the crippling childhood disease polio. While the event was cancelled this year, due to the current pandemic, the Rotary Club is still striving to raise funds to battle and find an end to polio. The Greater Big Spring Rotary Club’s fundraiser to help eradicate polio is the ”Pints for Polio” event, which was also cancelled this year.
During the City Council meeting, in addition to the Proclamation, Mayor Thomason had City Council member Gloria Mcdonald, who is also a Polio survivor, sign
the proclamation.
World Polio Day follows a succession of significant developments that have made 2020 one of the most important years in the history of the polio eradication initiative.
The message to world leaders is clear: support the final push to achieve eradication now while the goal has never been closer, or face the potential consequences of a new polio pandemic that could disable millions of children within a decade.
Since 1985, Rotary has contributed nearly $1.2 billion and countless volunteer hours to the protection of more than two billion children in 122 countries. The disease remains endemic in three countries -- Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan -- although other countries remain at risk for imported cases.
A highly infectious disease, polio causes paralysis and is sometimes fatal. As there is no cure, the best protection is prevention. For as little as US 60 cents worth of vaccine, a child can be protected against this crippling disease for life. After an international investment of more than US$9 billion, and the successful engagement of over 200 countries and 20 million volunteers, polio could be the first human disease of the 21st century to be eradicated.
GPEI is spearheaded by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It includes the support of governments and other private sector donors.
Rotary, as an international organization, brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. For more information, visit Rotary.org. To find out how Rotary contributes to Howard County, reach out to any member of the Greater Big Spring Rotary Club or the Big Spring Rotary Club.