Battle against polio is won, but war is still on: Dr Bachoo Master

Rotary Club of Jamshedpur organises panel discussion on “Rotary and Polio”

Jamshedpur, Oct 29: Rotary Club of Jamshedpur organised panel discussion on “Rotary and Polio” with an aim to spread awareness about Polio Plus Project closest to the heart of every Rotarian around the world to eradicate polio from the face of the world.

The panelists comprised chairperson of Polio Plus Committee Dr Bachoo Master, PDG Rtn Vijay Mehta and PDG Rtn Dr R Bharat.

The Panel discussion covered all aspects of the Polio Plus Project- its conception, history of its growth, success, obstacles and hindrances, and sustained efforts towards achieving 100 % eradication of Polio.

The panelists informed the members that Rotary has contributed approx. 2.1 billion USD towards eradication of polio and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has contributed double the amount of Rotary’s Contribution towards the cause.

That we have succeeded up to 99.9% in eradicating Polio and a small portion of 0.1% is pending, which is confined to the two Countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan.

However, Dr Master reiterated the fact that even if there is one single case of Polio left in the world, then the risk of the return of Polio still exists. Hence the battle is won, but the war is still going on. We cannot rest on our laurels till we have fully eradicated Polio from the face of the World. Dr Bharat added that if today all efforts of polio immunization drive is stopped then within 10 years polio virus will be back affecting 2 lakh children every year. A very scary but true fact. Hence, we need to continue in our efforts towards complete eradication of this crippling disease.

At the behest of President Madhumita Santra, the esteemed members of the club contributed generously towards the Polio Plus Fund and collected a sum of Rs 20,000. The Rotarians vowed to organise more such collection drives and continue to make efforts towards spreading awareness regarding the ”End Polio Now” mission of Rotary.