The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : Rotary to focus on final push to eradicate polio

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Wednesday, Jul 08, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Rotary to focus on final push to eradicate polio

Staff Reporter

Photo: C.V.Subrahmanyam

New facility: Rotary International Director K.R. Ravindran at the inauguration of Rotary Club Visakha Port City’s blood bank’s component separation unit at Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. Club District Governor Ch. Kishore Kumar is at extreme right. —

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Rotary International will devote the next one year to the final push to eradicate polio, its International Director K.R. Ravindran has said. Owing to the consistent efforts of the Rotary, India and Afghanistan may be free from the disease in the next year or so, he told reporters here on Tuesday.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has initially given 100 million dollars but with a challenge to Rotary to give a matching grant. With Rotary progress on raising the amount, the foundation made an additional grant of 350 million dollars in January 2009. Mr. Ravindran said together with Rotary’s contribution, it came to 555 million dollars. Rotary has so far contributed 800 million US dollars for polio eradication and helped immunize two billion children in 122 countries. Since Rotary vowed to eradicate polio and took up its ‘crusade’, cases plunged by 99 per cent all over the world.

In 2008, the polio cases reported were less than 2,000 all over the world. But India along with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria continues to be polio-endemic. The Indian Government has been steadfastly supporting efforts to arrest the spread spending about 150 million dollars every year. However, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar continue to be worrying as 119 cases have been reported from these States during the first six months of 2009, Mr. Ravindran admitted.

It’s the eradication that was important, he said adding sporadic cases once it was achieved could be dealt with effectively.

Mr. Ravindran is the first Sri Lankan to be on the Board of Directors of Rotary International. He is that country’s Polio Plus Chair.

On a two-day visit to the city, he lauded the Rs.1.5 crore project of Rotary Club Visakha Port City that included own premises for Rotary Blood Bank and a conference hall. Mr. Ravindran inaugurated the component separating unit of the blood bank set up at a cost of Rs.25 lakhs.

Rotary District Governor Ch. Kishore Kumar said for the first time a blood bank run by an international NGO was offering 24-hour services. It has so far cumulatively collected 50,000 units of blood. Its processing charges were about half the ones prescribed by the government. Club president B.K. Rai and Blood Bank secretary Kantipudi Venkateswara Rao participated.

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