World Polio Day

This year thanks to the Town Council World Polio Day, 24th October,  was marked in Newmarket by lighting the Clock Tower Purple.

The event was among thousands be held by Rotary Clubs around the world on World Polio Day, 24th October.

Rotary members in Newmarket were taking action on World Polio Day to raise awareness, funds, and support to end polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that still threatens children in parts of the world today.   

When Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, there were 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries every year. We have made great progress against the disease since then. Today, polio cases have been reduced by 99.9 percent, and just two countries continue to report cases of wild poliovirus: Afghanistan and Pakistan. And we remain committed to the end.

With polio nearly eradicated, Rotary and its partners must sustain this progress and continue to reach every child with the polio vaccine. Without full funding and political commitment, this paralyzing disease could return to polio-free countries, putting children everywhere at risk. Rotary has committed to raising US$50 million each year to support global polio eradication efforts. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged to match that 2-to-1, for a total yearly contribution of $150 million.  

In Newmarket following earlier "swimathons" more recently we have organised two successful snowdrop walks at Landwade Hall and after the first walk Tony Savill gave a talk at Exning Primary School whose year 6 pupils then planted 4000 purple crocus corms. This year we circulated the material for the talk to all our local schools and academies and Tony gave the talk by Zoom to Laureate School. 

There is a lot to celebrate this year with the announcement that Africa is now designated free of wild type polio virus. Rotary has contributed more than $2.1 billion to ending polio since 1985, including more than £20,000 donated by the Rotary Club of Newmarket.