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Rotary Clubs in NegOcc launch anti-polio awareness drive

By Nanette Guadalquiver

October 24, 2019, 8:05 pm

<p><strong>CAMPAIGN VS. POLIO.</strong> Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson lauds the Rotary Clubs in Negros Occidental during the launch of the 'End Polio Now' campaign at Robinsons Place Bacolod on Wednesday (Oct. 23, 2019). The event was held ahead of the World Polio Day on October 24 to heighten awareness of the resurgence of the debilitating and deadly disease. <em>(Photo courtesy of PIO Negros Occidental)</em></p>

CAMPAIGN VS. POLIO. Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson lauds the Rotary Clubs in Negros Occidental during the launch of the 'End Polio Now' campaign at Robinsons Place Bacolod on Wednesday (Oct. 23, 2019). The event was held ahead of the World Polio Day on October 24 to heighten awareness of the resurgence of the debilitating and deadly disease. (Photo courtesy of PIO Negros Occidental)

BACOLOD CITY -- The Rotary Clubs in Negros Occidental have kicked off the “End Polio Now” campaign here to heighten awareness of the resurgence of the debilitating and deadly disease.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, who spoke during the launch at Robinsons Place Bacolod on Wednesday, lauded the civic group’s commitment and consistency in the drive to save millions of children from polio.

“As we commemorate World Polio Day, we also commemorate hope and the possibility that with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), in which the Rotary is a dynamic member, we are on the brink of ending polio forever,” Lacson said.

October 24 is World Polio Day, an event established by Rotary International to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis.

The use of this inactivated poliovirus vaccine and subsequent widespread use of the oral poliovirus vaccine, developed by Albert Sabin, led to the establishment of the GPEI.

The Council of Presidents, led by Sugar Ababao, spearheaded the launch, which also introduced the staging of the End Polio Run in Bacolod on Jan. 18, 2020.

Ababao, president of the Rotary Club of Bacolod-North, said proceeds will go to the “End Polio Now” fund of Rotary International.

Polio has recently resurfaced in the Philippines, 19 years after the country was declared polio-free.

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. The virus is transmitted person-to-person mainly through the fecal-oral route.

“We have to put importance on the re-emergence of polio in our country and we must not allow our campaign in the past two decades to go to waste. All it takes is a drop to save lives,” Ababao said.

She added that education is important to make the people, especially parents, understand that it is safe to bring a child for polio immunization.

All 14 clubs in Negros Occidental -- the Rotary Clubs of Bacolod, Bacolod-South, Bacolod-East, Bacolod-West, Bacolod-North, Metro-Bacolod, Bacolod-Marapara, Bacolod Central, Silay, Kabankalan, Victorias, Binalbagan-East, Escalante and San Carlos-Calatrava -- are part of the “End Polio Now” campaign.

Rotary International has been instrumental in eradicating polio worldwide and has succeeded in doing so in almost all countries except in three – Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria – until the Philippines confirmed two cases recently, which categorized it as an epidemic since it can spread fast. (PNA)


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