Rotary Restates Determination To End Polio

The Rotary Club, a Worldwide non-governmental service organisation, has restated its determination to end polio myelitis in the world.

Director Rotary Foundation, Rotary Club of Port Harcourt, Rotary International (RI) 9,140, Nigeria, Edmund Anuforu, made this declaration at the club’s door to door Polio Immunisation and Monitoring Programme at Oroworukwo Town Hall, Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt.

Anutoru, also a medical doctor said, eradication of polio is one of RI’s main prommgrammes and would stop at nothing to ensure that the disease is eradicated from the world just as small pox.

Against this backdrop, Dr Anuforu said “even the RI president has come to Nigeria to hold talks with Nigeria’s President on ways to ensuring that polio is ended in Nigeria,” which is one of the three countries in the world, still having cases of polio myelitis.

He described the killing of seven health workers in Parkistan and nine in Kano, Nigeria as unfortunate, saying that “it is certainly a set back”, but stressed that Rotary is not deterred.

He said, “Rotary is not relenting in its efforts to ensure polio is kicked out, RI has been doing the best it can to educate the population in the areas specifically involved and that “even those involved in the killings would want their children immunised, they wouldn’t want their children to suffer from the disease.”

He further said, though the security situation in Nigeria is a challenge, Rotary is going ahead to educated people on behaviour change to ensure the effectiveness of the campaign against the disease, “afterall, a paralised child cannot be of use to anybody,” he added.