Parkway Rotary members Dominic Rebelo and Uchenna Onyeachom once again plunged into the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to eradicate Polio.  Last year, they were able to raise over $120,000.  The event took place at Long Beach in Gloucester and was a huge success.

 

2015 was a significant milestone in making polio history.  There were no new cases of the wild poliovirus in Nigeria.  That means we're down to two endemic countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.  If Nigeria can go two more years without a new case, we will have a polio free Africa!

 

All efforts by our partners in this fight are surging forward to eliminate polio everywhere in the year ahead, but its’s not about just delivering the vaccine to the children. The logistical and political challenges are many and costly. Rotary and the World Health Organization, as well as funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other funding partners, are pushing hard to achieve this goal. It will require a huge effort and much more funding to beat out the last cases and to make sure that polio doesn't re-occur in those countries that have been, and will be, certified polio free. If this happens, the globe could be polio free by 2018.

 

To donate online, follow one of these links:

https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/polio/uchennaonyeachom

https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/polio/DominicRebelo