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Polioplus — jewel in Rotary’s crown
Addressing the multidistrict TRF recognition dinner for zone 5 TRF donors, TRF trustee Bharat Pandya said TRF’s flagship programme is “our Polioplus programme, which has today given Rotary a seat at every government platform in the world.” Often he had heard Rotarians despair and complain that Rotary doesn’t get proper recognition for its PP programme. Well, one of the partners of Rotary’s polio programme “is the Gates Foundation. Go to the Foundation website and read what it writes about the PP programme. It says that as far as the polio eradication programme is concerned, the world will not be where it is today without Rotary, and the world will not get where it wants to get without Rotary.”
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This was not all. He added that last October, at the World Health Summit in Berlin, there was a pledge taken by various governments and organisations on what they will give in the next three years to finally eradicate polio. The second last speaker was TRF trustee chair Ian Riseley, and he said on behalf of Rotarians, I am pledging $150 million for polio eradication. That was the second highest pledge. The last speaker was the CEO of the Gates Foundation. “He pledged $1.2 billion for the next three years, but more important, while pledging, he made our trustee chair Ian stand there, and pointing to him, said that but for Rotary, the status of polio would not have been where it is today.”
Pandya added that Rotary’s slogan “this close to Polio” and its goal to eradicate it completely, is indeed close. “Bill Gates gives full credit for polio eradication work to Rotary. Do you know that all the money that the Gates Foundation has given till now — all of $1.5 billion, and another $1.2 billion pledged for the next three years — is only through Rotary? It is not given through WHO, UNICEF or world governments, but through TRF. If WHO or UNICEF wants a grant for polio, they have to approach TRF for that money.”
The last thought Pandya left with the large gathering of 500 people was that in the recent Gates Foundation report, Bill Gates himself had written that the Foundation has given a lot of money for polio eradication but the “real work has been done by the Rotarians. And he goes on to write that when — he does not say ‘if’ but ‘when’ — polio finally gets eradicated, the first call I will make is to the TRF headquarters and thank Rotarians for the work they have done. If that is not recognition, then what is it?”
Sharing another bit of “good news” with the gathering, Pandya said that while in 2021, six cases of polio had been found, in 2022, the number had gone up to 30 cases. “But from Sep 6, 2022, onwards, not a single case has been found either in Pakistan, Afghanistan or Mozambique.” Five months without a single polio case gave the hope that perhaps in 2026 the world, and Rotarians, might be finally able to say: Yes, polio has been eradicated from the world. “Then, each of us my friends, can lift our collars, our heads, with pride and say this is our gift to the children and grandchildren of the world.”
Addressing the meet, Kerala minister for general education and labour Sivankutty thanked Rotary for the tremendous help it has been extending through its selfless service projects in Kerala. These include helping the victims of the several natural calamities the state has faced in recent times, providing homes to flood victims and valuable diagnostic and treatment medical equipment to government hospitals. While the sewing machines which were being distributed to women from disadvantaged families will help them get a secure livelihood, the bicycles will empower 1,000 girls to cycle their way to schooling and knowledge.
PDG Daniel said each of the 1,000 sewing machines cost ` 5,000 (project cost `50 lakh), and it would help 1,000 women support their families. The 1,000 bicycles, donated by PDG Sagadhevan and clubs from RID 3211, will be given to girls in government and government-aided schools to prevent their dropping out from school.
Apart from RRFC Daniel and PDG Sagadhevan, host DG K Babumon (RID 3211), EMGA Madhav Chandran, and zone 5 ARRFCs PDGs R Balaji Babu, Harikrishnan Nambiar, A Karthikeyan, AV Pathy, S Muthupalaniappan, DGs V Selvanathan (2981), P Saravanan (2982), Rajmohan Nair (3201), Pramod Nayanar (3204) and B Elangakumaran (3203) attended the event. Fifteen AKS members (from 2020–2023), four of them second level, were honoured.
Pictures by Rasheeda Bhagat
