by John Clue


As we move towards the end of this Rotary year, I encourage Clubs to include a contribution to our End Polio Now fund.  Please remember RI President Shekhar Mehta’s request to all Rotary Clubs at the beginning of the Rotary year- US$1,500 to Polio before June 30.  Your Clubs’ financial support will assist in the elimination of the wild polio virus. 

After nearly 15 months without any reported cases of wild polio in Pakistan, a 15-month-old boy in North Waziristan was paralysed by the wild poliovirus.

Pakistan’s Polio Emergency Operations Centers have deployed teams to conduct a full investigation of the recent case, while emergency immunisation campaigns are underway to prevent further spread of the wild poliovirus to other parts of Pakistan and across the Afghan border.

While this news is disappointing, it is not entirely unexpected.  Despite record-low case counts throughout 2021, polio surveillance in Pakistan has detected positive environmental samples indicating that the virus continues to circulate in parts of the country. 

As the Global Polio Eradication Initiative responds urgently to the new case, Rotary members in Pakistan will work to raise awareness about the importance of polio immunisation and advocate with the government to prioritise eradication. 

The case in Pakistan underscores the fact that our work is not over, and any complacency can hinder the polio program’s progress.

It is critical that Rotary members around the world intensify their efforts to raise funds for PolioPlus, so that we can provide the funding necessary to respond to any new cases of polio in polio-endemic and outbreak countries.  At the same time, Rotary members can be proud of the work they have done to bring wild polio case counts to a historic low and can continue to leverage this momentum to make polio eradication a reality.