This year Raffy Chouljian ADG District 7070 and Jennifer Boyd President of RC Don Mills along with other Rotarians are climbing Mt Kilimanjaro to raise funds for Polio Plus. If you would like to support them and Polio Plus, contact Jennifer at jennifer.boyd@scarboroughnorthdental.ca and go to the www.conqueorpolio.org link to donate.
In 1985 Rotary International made a promise to the children of the world to eradicate Polio! We are so close to eradicating this horrible disease from the world and what better way to kick it into full gear than to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.Poliomyelitis (polio) is a paralyzing and potentially fatal disease that still threatens children in some parts of the world. The poliovirus invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. It can strike at any age but mainly affects children under five. Polio is incurable, but completely vaccine-preventable.
Today, there are only two countries that have never stopped transmission of the wild poliovirus: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Less than 100 polio cases were confirmed worldwide in 2015, which is a reduction of more than 99 percent since the 1980s, when the world saw about 1,000 children paralyzed per day.
The polio cases represented by the remaining one percent are the most difficult to prevent, due to factors including geographical isolation, poor public infrastructure, armed conflict and cultural barriers.
Today, there are only two countries that have never stopped transmission of the wild poliovirus: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Less than 100 polio cases were confirmed worldwide in 2015, which is a reduction of more than 99 percent since the 1980s, when the world saw about 1,000 children paralyzed per day.
The polio cases represented by the remaining one percent are the most difficult to prevent, due to factors including geographical isolation, poor public infrastructure, armed conflict and cultural barriers.
Until polio is eradicated, all countries remain at risk of outbreaks.