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INDIA REMOVED FROM
POLIO-ENDEMIC LIST
________________________________________________________
The World Health Organization has removed India from the list of
polio-endemic countries. The news was announced at the Polio Summit 2012 in
New Delhi, India.
26 February 2012
DELHI
COMMITMENT
________________________________________________________
POLIO SUMMIT 2012
Organized by:
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India
and Rotary International
February 25-26, 2012 Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi
WHEREAS the elimination of the dreaded scourge of Polio, a dream aspiration
of the Rotarians worldwide as it nears its fruition poses one of the
greatest challenges.
WHEREAS tremendous progress has been made towards achieving this goal; but
the final challenge remains in ridding the last three endemic countries of
Polio and in sustaining the Polio free status of the rest of the world.
WHEREAS the Rotary International stands committed to its goal of a certified
Polio free world before embarking on any other global health program.
WHEREAS achieving this goal of Polio free world in turn entails renewed
political, bureaucratic, social and economic commitments at all levels in
all the nations of the world.
WHEREAS nothing can be more important than the health and wellbeing of the
children of the world which is our bounden duty towards our present and
future generations.
WHEREAS the need of the hour is to sustain and maintain constant vigilance
and unceasing efforts to detect the slightest existence of the wild
Poliovirus in every nook and corner of the world.
WHEREAS the successful accomplishment of global Polio eradication initiative
serves as a model of Public Private Partnership to be replicated in future
health and social endevours across the world.
WE, THE ROTARIANS PRESENT AND PARTICIPATING IN THE POLIO SUMMIT-2012,
REPRESENTING ALSO THE ROTARIANS OF INDIA COMMEND AND COMMIT:
A. COMMEND
• The Government of India and State Governments for the exemplary thrust and
focused action taken to achieve the goal of Polio free India.
• The Global Partner agencies WHO, UNICEF, CDC, BILL AND MELINDA GATES
FOUNDATION and other agencies for their total involvement and support.
• The Co-operative effort of all the Governments and Rotarians of the
Countries of South Asia and Nigeria for seeking Polio free South Asia and a
Polio free World.
B. COMMIT
• To vigorously pursue our incessant efforts hand in hand with governments
and other organizations towards eradication of Polio and seek the help of
one and ail to reach out to every child of the prescribed age to get Polio
drops and to achieve the benchmark of a certified Polio free world.
• To strengthen the routine immunization so that every child born receives
the required doses of Polio Vaccine at regular intervals.
• To engage in the service of humanity with all resources at our command to
ensure a Polio free world.
• To support the Rotarians of the Polio endemic countries to seek Polio free
status for their respective countries.
• To continue our collaboration with renewed spirit with the governments and
our partners agencies to redeem our pledge to the children of the world to
give them a Polio free world.
POLIOMYELITIS-UNDERSTANDING THE DISEASE
• Poliomyelitis, the disease commonly known as Polio, causes irreversible
paralysis.
• The disease caused by the virus is commonly known as Polio virus. It is of
3 types - PI, P2, & P3
• Polio affects children mostly under 5 years of age.
• Poliovirus enters the bodies of children through contaminated food and
water.
• The virus spreads through contaminated food and water and transmission is
faeco-oral.
• It multiplies inside the intestines of the children.
• In the final stages the virus enters the blood stream, attacks the nervous
system and destroys the nerve cells of the spinal cord, thus causing
paralysis.
• Once destroyed, the nerve cells cannot regenerate.
• The onset of paralysis is sudden and rapid. The paralysis is sudden and
rapid.
The Paralysed limbs are floopy or flaccid. It is the major cause of Acute
Flaccid Paralysis (AFP).
• Less than 1% of the infected children get AFP.
The 99% infected children without paralysis are more dangerous to others as
they transmit the infection silently.
Prevention
Polio is non curable but preventable through vaccines. At present Polio is
being prevented through immunisation by giving Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) or
by injecting Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV).
The disease can be eradicated completely only through mass vaccination with
OPV.
Advantage of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV)
• OPV induces individual protection against Polio.
• It limits the multiplication of wild (naturally occurring) virus inside
the gut.
• It reduces faecal excretion of the virus, thus creating an effective
barrier against circulation of wild Poliovirus
• It helps in the short term shedding of vaccine virus in the stools of
recently immunized children.
TWO DROPS OF LIFE
Thirty years ago this year, The Rotary Foundation funded the first
health, hunger and humanity (3H) Grant project: to immunize
six million children in the Philippines against polio.
James L. Bomar Jr. then the RI president (1979-80), signed an
agreement with the country's government to begin the immunizations
and on J 29 September 1979, he administrated the first drops of
vaccine to a Philippine child.
The US$760,000 effort set the stage for Rotary's decades-long
commitment to the eradication of polio.
Source : THE ROTARIAN, December, 2009
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