The City of Oshawa proclaims World Polio Day in Oshawa on October 24, 2015

OSHAWA, ONTARIO – October 19, 2015 -- In honor of World Polio Day 2015, which is widely recognized on October 24, the Rotary Clubs of Oshawa and Oshawa-Parkwood received proclamations from The City of Oshawa on Monday, October 19, 2015, at the noon hour meeting of the Rotary Club of Oshawa, at the Oshawa Golf and Curling Club, it was announced today, by Geoff Lloyd, President of the Rotary Club of Oshawa.

Oshawa Mayor (who is also a long-time member of the Oshawa Rotary Club) John Henry presented the Proclamations to Geoff Lloyd, President of the Oshawa Rotary Club and to Mike McLaren, President of the Oshawa-Parkwood Rotary Club.

Mayor Henry said, “I am so proud of my Rotary Club of Oshawa and also the Oshawa-Parkwood Rotary Club for their efforts in Rotary’s 30-year mission to eradicate the crippling childhood disease, polio”.

As World Polio Day draws closer, the world is 99.9% polio free, the fight to end polio is not over and Rotary Clubs world-wide continue to raise funds to meet the challenge.

Mike McLaren, Oshawa-Parkwood Rotary Club President added, “On September 25, 2015, we celebrated an exciting milestone on the road to polio eradication. The World Health Organization declared Nigeria polio-free and removed it from the list of polio-endemic countries. This means there are no longer any polio-endemic countries in Africa, and only two endemic countries remain in the world. With a fully funded program and global commitment to ending this disease, we have the opportunity to interrupt transmission of the wild poliovirus in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2016, opening the door for the certification of global eradication in 2019. An increase in resources of $1.5 billion will help Rotary and its partners to focus on the last and most vulnerable children in Pakistan and Afghanistan, while continuing to protect hundreds of millions of children already living in polio-free countries.”

Oshawa Rotary President Geoff Lloyd said, “To date, Rotary members have contributed nearly $1.4 billion to the effort. Coinciding with World Polio Day, Rotary is ramping up its advocacy work in the 200 countries and regions where Rotary clubs exist to encourage every national government to commit to the funding levels needed to close the gap.”

“The message to world leaders is clear: support the final push to achieve eradication now while the goal has never been closer, or face the potential consequences of a new polio pandemic that could disable millions of children within a decade”, added President Lloyd.

Oshawa-Parkwood Rotary President Mike McLaren said, “On October 23 and 24, 2015, many cities all over the world, October 24, 2015 has been proclaimed World Polio Day in honour of Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio from the world. In Toronto, on October 24, World Polio Day, an “End Polio Now” sail will be raised outside at the front of the Westin Harbour Castle at the Rotary International District 7070 Conference, at a special 4:00 pm ceremony.”

“We encourage everyone to join us on October 23, 2015 for our third annual World Polio Day event. We’ll be streaming live from New York City, so tune in at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time to watch a global status update on the fight to end polio and take part in the conversation. Guests will include Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, celebrity ambassadors, polio survivors, and others. Watch at www.endpolio.org ', Geoff Lloyd added.

A highly infectious disease, polio causes paralysis and is sometimes fatal. As there is no cure, the best protection is prevention. For as little as US 60 cents worth of vaccine, a child can be protected against this crippling disease for life. After the successful engagement of over 200 countries and 20 million volunteers, polio could be the first human disease of the 21st century to be eradicated.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is spearheaded by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It includes the support of governments and other private sector donors.

Rotary’s main responsibilities are fundraising, advocacy, and volunteer recruitment. Since 1995, the advocacy efforts of Rotary and its partners have helped raise more than $8 billion from donor governments. And Rotary clubs also provide on the ground help in polio affected communities.

“It is so important to generate the funds needed to End Polio Now. To fail is to invite a polio resurgence that would condemn millions of children to lifelong paralysis in the years ahead. The bottom line is this: As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, all children – wherever they live – remain at risk”, said Mr. Bill Patchett, Chairman of Rotary International District 7070’s (southern Ontario) Rotary Foundation and the End polio Now Coordinator for Rotary Clubs in Eastern Canada and northeastern United States.

The main objective of Rotary International is service, in the community and throughout the world. As volunteers, Rotarians build goodwill and peace, provide humanitarian service, and encourage high ethical standards in all vocations.

Rotary invites the public to support the polio eradication initiative by visiting www.rotary.org , www.endpolio.org and be sure to visit the www.rotaryoshawa.org and the www.rotaryoshawa-parkwood.org website for more information about the two Oshawa Rotary Clubs.

Rotary invites the public to support the polio eradication initiative by visiting http://endpolionow.org and be sure to visit the www.rotaryoshawa.org and the www.rotaryoshawa-parkwood.org website for more information about the two Oshawa Rotary Clubs.