Letter to the Editor - After 35 years, polio is cornered - we must finish the job

Editor,

Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative have made great strides to reduce polio cases by 99.9% worldwide over the past 35 years, and we’ve reduced the circulation of wild polio to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

That’s why as we approach this World Polio Day on Oct. 24, as a local Rotary chapter in Havre, we are pleased to recognize this progress. However, we ask everyone to help us finish the job and end polio for good to ensure that this paralyzing disease does not return to polio-free countries, putting children everywhere at risk. From encouraging vaccine acceptance, to sharing factual vaccination information and calling on elected officials to fund polio eradication, there are so many ways in which we can each support polio eradication efforts. We must all do our part to prevent polio outbreaks in our own communities and continue the march toward global eradication.

We have an opportunity to make history by ending polio, which will be only the second human disease ever to be eradicated, and the time for action is now — visit endpolio.org to learn more about how you can get involved or to make a donation.

To learn more about our Chapter, or to get involved, reach us on Facebook via our account, Havre Rotary Club #1008.

Havre Rotary Club #1008