Rotary Wants FG To Sustain Polio Intervention

Rotary Club, a global humanitarian organisation, has urged the Federal Government to sustain its intervention programme for the reduction of polio disease in the country.

The President of Rotary Club of Port Harcourt, District 9140, Rotarian Virginia Major, made this appeal at a Road show organized by the Club, tagged End Polio now, at the weekend.

Mrs Major expressed optimism that by 2013 the fight against polio would be won, when it would be  ascertained that every child has been immunised in Nigeria.

She said, “we are very optimistic we will encourage the federal government to continue with their intervention. The reason we’re optimistic is that the number of cases is reducing but the spread is increasing, so we can not afford for the federal government intervention to cease at this time”.

“We are almost there, just a little but more. We have done 99 per cent, the one percent is the most difficult, so we can’t relent”, the Rotarian President stressed.

She noted sadly, that only three countries in the world, including Nigeria, still have the virus that causes polio and called on the rest of the Rotary family, Federal, states and local governments as well as well-meaning Nigerians to spread the “gospel against polio”.

Chairman of the Road show committee, Mr. Ozoya Esezobor, stated that the aim of the Road Show was to enlighten people about the menace of the deadly disease, its effect on children and advised that people should let their children be immunised against the vaccine preventable disease.

Tonye Nria-Dappa