Rotary news may 2014 v1 by Rotary News India

Vol.64, Issue 11 Annual Subscription Rs.480

May 2014

See you at 2014 RI Convention, Sydney.

Wrapper_Front_Front_Inside_May14_1.indd 2

30-Apr-14 11:31:59 AM

Wrapper_Front_Front_Inside_May14_1.indd 3

30-Apr-14 11:32:01 AM

C O N T E N T S

13 15 22 40 43 51 Contents.indd 6

In My Thoughts

First Thought

Polio Free Conclave 2014

National PolioPlus Orientation and Planning Meet

Global Outlook

Our Campaign against Illiteracy

4/30/2014 11:27:39 AM

Contents.indd 7

4/30/2014 11:27:44 AM

C O N T E N T S

54 56 62 70 72 84 Contents.indd 8

Renaissance

Around the Districts

Blue and Green

Beyond Books

Around the Districts

Very Briefly

4/30/2014 11:27:49 AM

Siga Marketing, 09381475767. Contents.indd 9

4/30/2014 11:27:51 AM

ADVISORY BOARD

TRUSTEES Chairman DG Rabi Narayan Nanda, RI Dist.3262

RID

Secretary DG Radhe Shyam Rathi, RI Dist. 3053

PRIP Rajendra K. Saboo

RI Dist. 3080

Treasurer DG Hari Krishna Chitipothu, RI Dist. 3150

PRIP Kalyan Banerjee

RI Dist. 3060

RI Dist. 2980

R. Visweswaran

PRID Sushil Gupta

RI Dist. 3010

RI Dist. 3000

Sundararajan Gopal

PRID Ashok Mahajan

RI Dist. 3140

RI Dist. 3010

Vinod Bansal

PRID Yash Pal Das

RI Dist. 3080

RI Dist. 3020

Dr. Poosha Darbha

PRID Shekhar Mehta

RI Dist. 3291

RI Dist. 3030

Kishore Kedia

RIDN Dr. Manoj D. Desai

RI Dist. 3060

RI Dist. 3040

Nitin Dafria

Rabi Narayan Nanda

RI Dist. 3262

RI Dist. 3051

Dr. Gyaneshwar Rao

Radhe Shyam Rathi

RI Dist. 3053

RI Dist. 3052

Anil Agarwal

Hari Krishna Chitipothu

RI Dist. 3150

RI Dist. 3060

Dineshsinh P. Thakor

PDG R. Badri Prasad

RI Dist. 3190

RI Dist. 3070

Dr. Pawan Gupta

PDG Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh

RI Dist. 3261

RI Dist. 3080

Rakesh Aggarwal

PDG Ramesh Aggarwal

RI Dist. 3010

RI Dist. 3090

Dr. Arun Gupta

DGE I.S.A.K Nazar

RI Dist. 3230

RI Dist. 3100

Rakesh Singhal

RI Dist. 3110

Devendra Kumar Agrawal

RI Dist. 3120

Suresh Kumar Agarwal

DG Vinod Bansal - Finance Committee

RI Dist. 3131

Dr. Deepak Shikarpur

DG Deepak Shikarpur - Editorial Committee

RI Dist. 3132

Dr. Prafulla Mirajgaonkar

DG Anil Agarwal - Marketing Committee

RI Dist. 3140

Lata Subraidu

DG Mohan Mulherkar - Marketing Committee

RI Dist. 3160

R. Gopinath

RI Dist. 3170

Mohan M. Mulherkar

RI Dist. 3180

S. Gururaj

RI Dist. 3190

K. S. Nagendra

RI Dist. 3201

Dr. K. Ajay Kumar

RI Dist. 3202

Dr. Senthilnathan Siva

RI Dist. 3211

John C. Neroth

RI Dist. 3212

J. Jesiah Villavarayar

RI Dist. 3230

A.P. Kanna

RI Dist. 3240

Arijit Kumar Endow

RI Dist. 3250

Rajiv Modi

RI Dist. 3261

Rakesh Chaturvedi

RI Dist. 3291

Rajani Mukerji

RI Dist. 3292

Dilendra Raj Shrestha

Contents.indd 10

P.T. Prabhakar

RI Dist. 3230

COMMITTEES

ROTARY NEWS ROTARY SAMACHAR Acting Editor Jaishree Assistant Editor S. Selvi

Send all correspondence and subscriptions to ROTARY NEWS TRUST 3rd Floor, Dugar Towers, 34 Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai 600 008, India. Phone : 044 42145666 Fax : 044 28528818 e-mail : rotarynews@rosaonline.org

4/30/2014 11:27:51 AM

Adv_Endpolionow_Amitabh Bachchan.indd 11

4/25/2014 12:29:18 PM

Your Comments Well Written Article titled, ‘The lives of mothers’ in December 2013 issue was a brilliant one with beautiful paintings of the mother and child images from different parts of the world. It shows pictures speaks more than words. I hope Rotary will improve maternal and child healthcare around the world. Rtn. Dr. Satya Subramanyam RC Berhampur RI District 3262 The article, ‘Land of Enlightenment - Bodh Gaya’ in the January 2014 issue, with brilliant photographs and description of history was very interesting. Rtn S.P. Tiwari RC Rohitashwa Rohtas RI District 3250 ‘The Affable God’ article in the February 2014 issue is interesting and informative. Rtn. V. Seshadri RC Madras Central RI District 3230 ‘President Pranab Mukherjee Receives Rotary’s Highest Award’ and ‘India celebrates victory over polio’ were the highlights of the March 2014 magazine. ‘Pick of the Month’ portrays Rotary’s good work in various villages and cities. ‘Flight of Fantasy’ was a fascinating read. Rtn. Yaad K. Sugandha RC Rewari Main RI District 3010 The article, ‘Change Management’ is really a very knowledgeable

article. I would like to convey my compliments to Ann Nanda G. Hampiholi, the writer for writing such valuable thoughts like “Life is a collection of changes; every change is a challenge and challenge when faced may bring success or else they may act as stepping stone to success.” There are more lovely ideas mentioned herein. I would request that such articles should invariably be published in Rotary News so that Rotarians will be benefitted with such motivating thoughts. Rtn. R.K. Kapoor RC Roopnagar RI District 3080 The article, ‘Why Polio?’ by Peter Ross Range is the real story of polio eradication movement from the earth. It is very informative, enlightening and encouraging to all Rotarians. The great initiative by the Rotarians created a history throughout the world. Rtn. D.K. Zarekar RC Nashik-Ambad RI District 3030 Princely Visit The Royal visit of Prince Charles to Serum Institute in Pune is a historical moment to be proud of and cherished by all Rotarians. Thank you very much for publishing that photograph in the February ’14 issue. Rtn. P. Iyapparajan RC Theni RI District 3000 Act before it Acts The article, ‘The Pink Ribbon Cause’ in November issue about launch of mobile

mammography unit for detection and creation of awareness about breast cancer is very much informative and educative. I hope many districts take up this project, as the prediction of WHO, that by 2020, one in eight urban women in India is likely to develop breast cancer in her life time is alarming. Rtn. R. Murali Krishna RC Berhampur RI District 3262 Grammar Facts Rotary News is becoming exponentially fascinating, issue after issue. Every article that appears in Rotary News is good and special. Especially ‘Grammar Guru’ teaches and corrects many usages of English. Sometimes I am taken by surprise finding that, what I have been using as correct is in fact incorrect. Subtle humour warps and wefts throughout the articles by Dr. Saraswathi and sometimes they are hilarious. In the February 2014 issue in ‘Grammar Guru’ in the last paragraph, it is written, “I had thousand rupees slashed away...” but I think it should be ‘stashed.’ Rtn. A. Chandrasekharan RC Tiruchirapalli Fort RI District 3000 Redistricting? In Rotary News January 2014 issue, under the head ‘Pick of the Month’ in page 64, the RI District number of RC Kanhangad is wrongly printed as 3211, instead of 3202. Rtn. P.O. Thomas RC Alleppey RI District 3211

The editor welcomes brief comments on the contents of the magazine, but reserves the right to edit submissions for style and length. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or the R I leadership, nor do the editors take responsibility for errors of fact that may be expressed by the writers. Only letters that include a verifiable name, address and day and evening phone numbers can be considered for publication. Readers are our source of encouragement. Some of our esteemed patrons share their valuable feedback….

In My Thoughts

Dear Fellow Rotarians, I’ve had a unique opportunity to be a part of the polio eradication campaign from its very beginnings, more than a quarter century ago, to where we are now, which is truly “this close” to the end. None of us knew back then how long eradication would take, or how many obstacles we’d meet along the way. I’m not sure how we would have felt about taking on the challenge if we had known. But there is one thing I know for sure: that every single day of the last 29 years has been worth it. Because over those years, we have saved millions of children from being paralyzed by polio. There’s no way to put a price tag on that. And today, we are closer than ever to a world in which no child will be paralyzed, ever again. It’s been a long race to the finish line. That line is now in sight. But we’ll cross it only if we keep moving forward. And the only way to do that is with the help of every single Rotarian, everywhere in the world. The first thing we need is your voice, and your advocacy. Think ahead to World Polio Day, on 24 October: What can your club and district do to raise awareness? Write letters to your elected officials, hold a purple pinkie fundraiser, plan an event with a local school. If you or someone you know has a story to tell about polio, share it at www.endpolionow.org/stories. The most important thing is to keep the momentum going. Let your community, and the world, know that the fight against polio is at its most critical stage yet. I’m glad to report that the End Polio Now – Make History Today campaign is going well. Rotary met the terms of the new agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and received US $70 million in matching funds in January, which will be fully committed in this calendar year. We have four more years of this agreement remaining, during which the Gates Foundation will match two-to-one every dollar Rotary spends on polio, to a maximum of $35 million per year. I encourage all of you to do what you can to help us make the most of this opportunity. I know that together, we can engage Rotary to end polio – and change the world, forever.

Ron D. Burton President, Rotary International MAY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 13

South Asia Reception.indd 59

25-Feb-14 7:09:22 PM

First Thought My dear Partners in Service, From Ideas to Achievements From Concepts to Completion All that we have done Makes Chapter Ten a Perfect Ten! We had an extraordinary Polio Summit on March 29–30, 2014, at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, to celebrate the WHO certification of a Polio-free India. This prestigious summit was inaugurated by the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, who complimented the Rotarians for this great achievement. We were delighted to have the presence of RIPE Gary Huang and Corinna, RIPN K.R. Ravindran and Vanathy, TRF Chair D.K. Lee and his wife Young Ja, IPPC Chair Bob Scott, IPPC Chair Elect John F. Germ and a host of dignitaries from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria, Bangladesh, etc. May is the month which we should all use for a self assessment of our performance during 2013–14. We should now compare our plans made in July 2013, with actual achievements till date and chalk out a plan of action for the unfinished work, in the remaining weeks. It was W. Somerset Maugham who said, “It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.” So let us do our very best in the remaining time and achieve nothing but the best. The 52-week Rotary year is somewhat like a 50-over one-day cricket match. During the recently concluded World Cup many of us had the opportunity to see world class cricket teams, keenly competing for the Cup. Though all teams were good, the teams that won were those which made the best use of the last 5 or 6 overs and so is it in Rotary. The clubs who make the best use of the last 5 or 6 weeks, completing unfinished projects and achieving planned targets are those who will be the winners. When the history of Rotary year 2013–14 is written, it is these clubs, who ‘batted’ well in the last few weeks who will be carving out a niche for themselves. In the month of May, many Rotary clubs face the problem of poor attendance at the weekly meetings. This should not deter us, because many of our Rotarians are taking a well-deserved break and will be back soon with their batteries fully charged, ready to do more service. That brings me to the subject of Attendance and Service. Recently I completed 30 years of perfect attendance and this reminded me of what Past RI President Cliff Dochterman wrote about attendance and service. He recalls an episode where Rtn. C.P.H. Teenstra, RI President in 1965–66 was visiting a Rotary club, and the Club President proudly announced that one of their members had 49 years of perfect attendance. The venerable RI President quickly replied, “Very interesting—but what has he done for Rotary?” Frequently, clubs tend to equate Rotary attendance with Rotary service. Regular weekly attendance is a very important part of a good Rotary club because Rotary is an organisation of participants, not just members whose names are listed on the roster. But, 100 percent attendance should not be the only goal of Rotarians. Just as there is a difference between a container and its contents, there is a significant difference between attending Rotary meeting and performing Rotary service. Even though I am impressed when Rotarians proudly announce a 100 percent attendance record of 10/15 or even 50 years, I still wonder what have they done for Rotary. Rotarians with 85 percent attendance may deserve equal recognition, especially if they have sponsored a number of new members, made annual contributions to TRF, taken part in community service projects, attended the yearly district conference, invited Youth Exchange students into their homes, made the effort to greet visiting Rotarians and frequently travelled to the international conventions. Those are the Rotarians who are involved in Rotary. Most of us recognise the 100 percent attendance records because they are easy to measure. But we overlook and seldom recognise those who are doing the work of our Rotary clubs, week after week. Perhaps the greatest compliment a Rotarian could receive is not that “he or she has 25 years of perfect Rotary attendance,” but rather that, “he or she has 25 years of perfect Rotary service.”

Rtn. P.T. Prabhakar RI Director, 2013–15

Yours in Rotary,

P.T. Prabhakar Director Rotary International (2013–15) MAY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 15

District Wise Contribution Totals to The Rotary Foundation as on March 31, 2014 (in US Dollars)

District Number

APF

2980 3000 3010 3020 3030 3040 3051 3052 3053 3060 3070 3080 3090 3100 3110 3120 3131 3132 3140 3150 3160 3170 3180 3190 3201 3202 3211 3212 3230 3240 3250 3261 3262 3291 India India Total

68,617 18,060 3,67,716 20,189 1,921 40,712 7,619 1,63,476 11,192 55,457 18,015 36,802 2,555 67,403 68,624 20,525 2,11,371 35,615 3,53,517 61,235 26,173 41,953 86,788 1,47,255 49,336 91,611 39,551 26,329 1,00,642 1,31,250 19,173 36,584 35,069 1,40,299 26,02,636

3220

63,408

3271 3272

57,497 19,857

3281 3282

79,710 61,650

3292 South Asia Total World Total

50,879 29,35,637 7,62,25,170

PolioPlus*

Other Restricted

India 10,384 1,000 507 0 485 4,528 484 102 121 47,929 166 14,955 0 4,824 0 34,977 2,050 0 50 16,191 1,932 6,005 32,327 18,507 6,267 0 0 18,371 2,005 0 0 0 2,71,365 5,89,143 1,639 1,770 3,695 47,995 1,589 27,339 33 0 510 2,223 619 14,030 0 1,11,875 22,333 7,860 16,907 0 52,129 1,485 1,610 0 5,719 18,846 2,132 0 6,176 100 0 0 0 500 498 39,352 10,00,000 14,43,734 10,29,910 Sri Lanka 2,171 18,121 Pakistan 225 3,165 1,280 2,379 Bangladesh 13,238 (2,869) 0 4,500 Nepal 50 11,980 14,60,698 10,67,185 2,32,39,251 95,23,236

* Excludes Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Endowment Fund 7,277 0 51,316 2,000 7,979 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,841 2,033 42,229 97,720 0 49,698 705 24,764 0 0 2,000 408 61,582 155 211 0 8,500 3,000

Total Contributions

3,64,415

87,278 18,567 4,24,045 22,775 57,950 55,832 12,444 1,98,452 13,242 71,699 25,952 87,636 8,822 85,774 70,629 20,525 10,74,720 41,058 4,47,437 1,87,882 26,206 94,385 1,02,142 2,83,894 79,529 1,08,517 95,165 28,347 1,86,789 1,33,537 25,661 36,584 44,069 1,83,150 10,00,000 54,40,695

1,000

84,699

3,187 0

64,075 23,516

2,000 0

92,079 66,150

0 3,70,603 2,14,82,713

62,908 58,34,123 13,04,70,371

Source: RI South Asia Office

Bookmark Rotary Rotary Social Media www.rotary.org/socialnetworks

More Online Resources books www.rotary.org/rotarian

www.rotary.org/rotaryminute

Rotary Images www.rotary.org/rotaryimages

Rotary eNewsletters www.rotary.org/newsletters

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Rising to the challenge We have seen that when Rotarians are motivated, they will rise to a challenge. Not long ago, we reached the US $200 million milestone through Rotary’s Challenge for polio eradication, in response to grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We not only met our goal but exceeded it, raising $228.7 million. Now we have a new opportunity. The Gates Foundation has agreed to match, two-to-one, every dollar that Rotary spends on polio eradication over the next five years, up to $35 million per year. But before we spend this money, we will have to raise it. The decision to accept this offer was not made lightly. We know that we have already asked Rotarians for a great deal, and they have been so generous already. We are “this close” to interrupting transmission of the wild poliovirus worldwide. This is an incredible achievement, but we still have much work to do to make a polio-free world a reality. For decades, we have been working to get the number of polio cases down, year by year. Every year that had fewer cases of polio than the one before was a good year. But now we are in a new stage — the final battle of our war against polio. Now there is no such thing as “good enough.” There cannot be a single case of polio left anywhere in the world. This means that every outbreak, however small, must be met with a massive response. We can do this only if we have the resources. And that is why we cannot wait to raise this money — to End Polio Now and make history today.

Dong Kurn (D.K.) Lee Foundation Trustee Chair

TAKE YOUR CLUB

TO THE NEXT LEVEL

IMPLEMENT THE CLUB LEADERSHIP PLAN

Develop a long-range plan Simplify the committee structure Involve all club members

Find more information at www.rotary.org FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 17

Subscribe 2014–2015

NOW!

For the year

Annual Subscription India - Rs.480 No. of copies Rotary News (English) Rotary Samachar (Hindi)

For new members pro-rata subscription at the rate of Rs.40 per month, per member may be sent. Please attach the TYPED list of individual members with their complete address and PIN Code. Intimate language preference (English / Hindi) against each member’s name. Please do not send the Semi-annual Report for address list. Rotary Club of .......................................................................................................... RI District ................................ Name of the President/Secretary ............................................................................................................................... Address ...................................................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................................................................... City ............................................. State ................................................................ PIN

Mobile ........................................ Fax ................................................... E-mail ......................................................... DD No. ................................................ Dated ................................................. for Rs. ............................................... Drawn on ..................................................................................................................................................................... in favour of “ROTARY NEWS TRUST” payable at CHENNAI is enclosed. Outstation cheques will not be accepted Date:

President/Secretary

Mail this form to: Rotary News Trust, Dugar Towers, 3rd Floor, 34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai 600 008. ROTARY NEWS JULY 2007 Tamil Nadu, India. Ph: 044 4214 5666, Fax: 044 2852 8818, e-mail: rotarynews@rosaonline.org

Procedure for Subscribing to Rotary News magazine 1.

Subscriptions are for the Rotary year (July to June).

All members of the club must subscribe to a Rotary magazine.

The annual subscription for the magazine is Rs.480 per member.

Subscriptions for the full year must be sent in July of every year.

Prorated subscriptions at the rate of Rs.40 per month can be sent for members joining after July.

Subscription account of the club with Rotary News is a running account and does not cease at the end of June every year.

Names of all members, with their complete postal address with PIN CODE must be typed and sent along with the form and DD/cheques payable at par. Outstation cheques will not be accepted.

Copies of Semi Annual Report SHOULD NOT be sent to be used as address list.

10.

Language preference (English or Hindi) for each member must be intimated alongside their name.

11.

Clubs must intimate the approximate reduction in subscriptions for the next Rotary year, if anticipated, to Rotary News during May of every year.

12.

Failure to report reduction in subscription will result in the magazine being dispatched as per the existing list in July and thereafter till intimation is received.

13.

Clubs will be liable to pay for the number of magazines sent as per the existing list with Rotary News Trust.

14.

Unpaid dues of the club will be shown as outstanding against the club.

15.

Any payment received subsequently will be adjusted against earlier dues.

16.

Names of clubs with dues payable to Rotary News will be intimated to RI, to be taken off the list of eligible clubs that can participate in the election process in the district.

17.

The membership of the club, as reported by RI, will be tallied with the subscription list for accuracy in subscription.

18.

If a club wants to switch over to The Rotarian from July of a year, the decision to stop subscription to Rotary News must be intimated in May.

19.

Failure to do so will result in the magazine being dispatched to the club and the club will be liable to pay for Rotary News magazine dispatched to the members as per existing list.

Membership in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives Rotary No. of Women Rotaract Interact RI RI Zone District Clubs Rotarians Rotarians

5 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

2980 3000 3010 3020 3030 3040 3051 3052 3053 3060 3070 3080 3090 3100 3110 3120 3131 3132 3140 3150 3160 3170 3180 3190 3201 3202 3211 3212 3220 3230 3240 3250 3261 3262 3271 3272 3281 3282 3291 3292 Total

155 88 130 66 85 96 64 64 50 80 114 82 75 88 109 66 105 71 134 93 57 126 132 89 124 95 126 81 59 127 72 90 72 69 84 87 127 79 147 86 3,744

6,359 4,103 5,379 3,151 4,523 2,187 2,538 3,251 1,803 3,504 3,273 3,269 2,021 2,009 3,421 2,449 4,582 3,070 7,116 3,451 2,096 4,843 5,438 3,650 4,751 3,756 3,855 3,503 1,686 5,938 2,599 3,185 2,252 2,570 1,539 2,213 3,885 2,235 4,132 2,765 1,38,350

106 291 550 178 432 213 172 420 144 291 228 163 82 94 158 146 623 215 922 277 83 223 201 254 267 170 159 113 194 361 239 348 226 213 174 375 384 145 593 298 10,725

60 122 50 27 39 21 33 21 12 32 39 39 17 9 40 21 41 25 93 53 5 23 36 41 54 41 5 5 56 91 34 33 12 20 30 12 164 109 41 89 1,695

261 244 172 172 174 80 116 121 29 96 115 142 27 81 37 30 162 82 333 149 37 250 351 100 80 326 56 123 180 342 108 109 93 57 15 36 42 17 92 85 5,122

RCC

183 68 80 258 121 131 328 116 89 100 55 96 122 146 60 48 65 52 136 107 80 153 140 41 43 37 113 115 93 269 108 159 40 64 13 31 114 36 511 83 4,604

As on April 1, 2014 Source: RI South Asia Office 20 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2014

CONVENTION

Start with water Safe water, improved sanitation, and hygiene education are essential for healthy human development. Although access to water has increased dramatically, progress on sanitation lags far behind. Millions of children die every year from preventable water-borne illnesses. Rotarians travelling to Sydney, Australia, for the 2014 RI Convention, 1–4 June, can learn more about these issues at the World Water Summit held by the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG) on Friday, 30 May. Keynote speakers include Bob Scott, Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee Chair; Vanessa Tobin, former head of water, sanitation, and hygiene programmes at UNICEF; and Braimah Apambire, Director of the Centre for International Water and Sustainability at the Desert Research Institute. Breakout sessions in the morning and afternoon will feature presentations by water and sanitation experts and focus on how water projects can promote progress in Rotary’s other areas of focus. Bill Boyd, past RI President and current WASRAG Chair, and K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran, RI Presidentnominee and past member of the WASRAG Board, will moderate the event. Register at www.startwith water.org. Register for the 2014 RI Convention in Sydney at www.riconvention.org.

Adv_Kich Steel.indd 21

4/22/2014 3:34:58 PM

POLIOPLUS

22 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2014

ndia achieved a great milestone on January 13, 2014 by completing three years without an incidence of polio. That anniversary was celebrated with great aplomb at New Delhi’s Talkotora Stadium by the country’s top leadership and the worldwide partners involved in the Polio Eradication campaign. India and Southeast Asia were declared polio-free on 27 March by the Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication. To celebrate this historic milestone Rotary International hosted ‘Polio Free Conclave 2014’on 29 and 30 March at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The Honourable President of India inaugurated the two-day celebration of Southeast

Asia achieving the regional Polio-free certification. Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Honourable Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad was the guest of honour. He was joined by the Who’s Who of Rotary International. Amongst the dignitaries present were former Union Health Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss and former Health Minister of Delhi Dr. Harsh Vardhan, along with six former Union Health Secretaries, who have all been instrumental in leading the eradication efforts in India with distinction. More than 700 participants including health ministers and delegates from neighbouring and SEAR (South East Asia Region) countries, representatives of global

MAY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 23

organisations such as WHO, UNICEF, CDC, BMGF and USAID, and Rotary members from across the world, joined in the event to celebrate and renew Rotaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to ending polio from the world. Rotarian delegates were thrilled to meet and interact with two Past Rotary International Presidents, the Chair of TRF, Rotary International President-elect and Rotary International President-nominee, Incoming Trustee TRF, the current RI Director, RI Director-nominee, Chair International PolioPlus Committee (IPPC) and incoming IPPC Chair, PRIDs and many Rotary International officers. RI Director P.T. Prabhakar, convener of this historic conclave, welcomed the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee and the august gathering. He pointed out that while 24 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2014

Clockwise: PRIP Raja Saboo and RI Director P.T. Prabhakar presenting memento to President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee; President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee addresses the summit; Section of the audience; Former Health Minister of Delhi, Dr. Harsh Vardan; President of India presents memento to Former Health Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss.

MAY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 25

WELCOME ADDRESS by Rtn. P. T. Prabhakar Convener, Polio Free Conclave 2014 Director, Rotary International 2013–15

Good Morning friends, This morning, we have assembled here to celebrate our nation’s victory over an invisible enemy, ‘the dreaded polio virus’ which was crippling our innocent children for so long. Believe me, today is the red letter day in the history of Rotary in India! On January 13, 2014, India completed three years without reporting a single new case of polio since Ruksar, that innocent girl from Howrah, West Bengal was diagnosed with polio on 13th January 2011. Could you believe, in 2009, just 5 years ago, 741 polio cases were reported in India. Believe me, the situation was desperate. We were concerned that we will ever achieve our goal of a polio-free India. But, my dear friends, fortunately that was the time, years of hard work started paying rich dividends. How did it happen – Who did it? We did it. Give yourselves a round of applause. Total commitment, dedication and hard work from each of the partners (Rotary, WHO, UNICEF, CDC) and perfect planning and meticulous execution of the 26 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2014

programme by Government of India and all the State governments across the country ensured a polio-free India! To celebrate this great achievement, we are proud to have amongst us today our most respected and honoured Chief Guest, the President of India, Honourable Shri Pranab Mukherjee. Sir, on behalf of the 1.38 lakh Rotarians of India, I welcome you with folded hands. Your presence has made this day most memorable! The Honourable Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad has been a great source of strength and support for us. Sir, I extend a warm welcome! Our honoured guest, former Health Minister of India, Shri Anbumani Ramadoss… we are celebrating today because of you and we are honoured by your presence! Our Rotary world leader for 2014-15, the man who has given us the wonderful theme, Light up Rotary, Rotary International President-elect Gary Huang and Lady Corinna, we

are delighted to have you with us to share our joy. I have great pleasure in welcoming the pride of Rotary in South Asia, our world leader for 2015–16, RIPN K.R. Ravindran and Vanathy. I welcome PRIP Raja Saboo and PRIP Kalyan, whose meticulous planning and perfect execution has made this a great summit. Our IPPC Chair Bob Scott and Chair-elect John Germ have travelled 12,000 km from USA to share our joy today, we extend our hearty welcome to you. Last but not the least, our partners in service from WHO, CDC, UNICEF, our Rotarians from all over India, I welcome you all. Thanks for coming and sharing our joy. Friends, we did so very well in our polio eradication programme that Pope John Paul said, “God bless the Rotarians because they are saving the children of the world.” Today is the time to savour that blessings, celebrate our success and rededicate ourselves to the cause of global polio eradication. Thank You, Ladies and Gentlemen.

PRID Sudharshan Agarwal (extreme right) being honoured by PRIPs Kalyan Banerjee and Rajendra K. Saboo

it is a great occasion to celebrate a polio-free India, we should not become complacent and we should strengthen our routine immunisation. During the inaugural session, Conclave Chairman PRIP Raja Saboo, observing the importance of the two-day conclave said, “Some people call it a historic day, after all polio has been consigned to history books in this region. To us in Rotary, it is a day of awakening to the realisation of a dream.” The Honourable President inaugurated the event and complimenting Rotary said, “As I thank Rotary International for inviting me today,

RIPN K.R. Ravindran addressing the summit. MAY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 27

KEYNOTE ADDRESS by Rtn. Rajendra K. Saboo Chair, Polio Free Conclave 2014 Past RI President

Respected Rashtrapatiji, Honoured Guest Azad Sahab, our Rotary International President Elect Gary Huang, our very special guest Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, India’s Health Secretary Shri Luv Verma, Rotary Foundation Chair Dr. D.K. Lee, my colleagues, distinguished guests, very valued global and Rotary co-travellers. I join my Rotary International Director P.T. Prabhakar in welcoming you all today. We are particularly happy to recognise the presence of strong delegation of SEARO countries of the region that has just been certified to be polio-free. We are delighted to have senior level representation from Pakistan, as also from Nigeria and Afghanistan — the countries that are doing everything possible to have such celebrations as we are having here today. Some people call it a historic day, after all, polio has been consigned to the history books in this region. To us in Rotary it is a day of ‘awakening’ to the realisation of a dream. Respected Rashtrapatiji, we are truly honoured by your presence. 28 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2014

I recall when in 1992, I returned to my homeland after completing my term as President of Rotary International, I met you. At that time you showed keen interest in what Rotary was doing with particular reference to polio eradication programme. India still had large number of polio cases and there was a need to review the strategies and you took keen, sustained interest at that crucial time. I and Rotary are, therefore, particularly elated that now when you are heading the country the success has been achieved. For Rotary, it all started way back in 1979, when Rotarians immunised more than six million children against polio in the Philippines. With that success Rotary started dreaming. Could Rotary think of immunising the children of the world by the time the organisation celebrates its 100 years in 2005. But we knew that Rotary alone cannot do it. In 1985, Rotary joined WHO, UNICEF and Centre of Disease Control in USA. This was a strong partnership but it was realised that

unless the national governments of the world took the ownership of the programme, the objective would not be reachable. Thus the World Health Assembly followed, in 1988, to eradicate polio from the face of the earth. It has been an arduous journey for India with vast population, yet the positive factor was that the eradication of polio became a national agenda for the government and the people of India. Two years back, on 24th of February, we had a polio summit in this very hall hosted by Government of India and Rotary. At just that time we received a letter from Director General of WHO that with one year of ‘No Polio’ case India has been taken off the list of endemic countries. This gave us and also to the world, a ray of hope, and today, two years later we stand with our heads held high and this has been possible because of the leadership that Government of India provided through the dynamism of Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, who led from the front to the success of today.

Passing through many hurdles during which each of the leaders in the Government made a tremendous contribution and we salute them all. Please applaud. I will also like to recognise the presence of Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss. During his tenure, there were many critical issues and he contributed very richly to the progress that we have made. Rotary recognised the value of the total involvement of the population and reached out to the minority communities and made our dream their dream; for their children are our children too. And Rotary has started Polio Corrective Surgeries in order to bring about a social awareness. Partnership has been the most significant journey. Since last some years, we are joined by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Aditya Birla Group and many others walked with us not just in monetary support but with total involvement. We cannot thank enough, lakhs of volunteers who helped in reaching out to the children, putting drops in their mouth. If Rotary is to be credited, it is not just for funding but because the Rotarians at the grassroots scanned the slums, railway stations, moving trains, migrating populations. Part of the history is behind us, but the total history is still to be written. Thus, today, it is not just a celebration, my friends; it is the commitment of keeping India polio-free, keeping Southeast Asia region polio-free, leading to a polio-free world. If, out of five children, four are polio-free today, as Bruce Aylward of WHO mentioned the other day, we have to make sure that the fifth child also becomes polio-free, lest the four children be in danger of getting back the polio virus. This is our challenge. This challenge we have to accept, we have to meet. There is just no option. Thank You.

From top: PRIP Kalyan Banerjee presents memento to RIPE Gary Huang; Memento to TRF Trustee Chair D.K. Lee; Mrs. Rajashree Birla honoured by Trustee Elect Sushil Gupta.

I recall their unyielding advocacy and relentless efforts, over the years, to execute their comprehensive campaign against polio in all parts of our country. I am confident that we can count on the support of our partners as

we join the international community in rooting out the polio virus permanently from the globe.â&#x20AC;? The Union Health Minister too complimented Rotary saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I must compliment the Rotarians for their contributions in funding MAY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 29

INAUGURAL ADDRESS by Rtn. Gary C. K. Huang RI President Elect

Honourable President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee, All my dear friends, Rotarians in the family of Rotary, Good After Noon! It is my great honour to be here to congratulate you on the success of polio eradication in the South-east Asia region. We have been waiting three years to make sure that India is truly poliofree. And now we can celebrate. We have many special guests with us today. I would like to thank the Honourable President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee for joining us. It is because of your commitment to eradicate polio that we are here today. This is a success story that Rotarians everywhere can be proud of. We have shown that we can do together as the family of Rotary around the world. We have achieved what seems impossible. Of course, this is special victory for Rotarians in the Southeast Asia region including India, Bangladesh Bhutan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. There are one hundred forty thousand Rotarians in this country and I want 30 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2014

to congratulate each and everyone of you on this accomplishment. I remember the beginning of Rotary’s polio journey and I am sure that many of you too. Thirty years ago, we launched the first PolioPlus campaign. Back then, we could not have imagined the highs and lows of this journey, we could not have imagined how this cause will bring Rotarians closer together and we could not have imagined how polio eradication will define our organisation and our legacy. There is a quote I want to share by the Chinese philosopher Confucius: “The man who move mountains begins by carrying away small stones.” Rotary began to carry small stones with our first fund-raising campaign in 1985. We pledged to raise 120 million dollars for polio eradication. Instead we raised more than double that amount — 247 million US Dollars. Then we kept going; with each campaign we carried away more stones. One child at a time, one country at a time, one region at a time!

Today Rotary has contributed more than one billion dollars to eradicate polio. Now that is enough money to move mountains. However given with all that money in the war, we will not be here if not for your hard work; you not only used your dollars, you used your brains to create plans, used your voice to lobby your government, your hands to administer the drops — you kept it everything and you won. Here in South-east Asia region your brothers and especially the children, we all won. We have almost moved our ‘mountain.’ We all know that there are three big stones left — Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is why you are here. To share what you have learned, to inspire others, to make sure we reach our goals and to strengthen this great partnership we have. It is only by working together with the Government of India, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, US CDC and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that we were successful in India. In fact the global polio eradication initiative is the largest

Raise your voice to tell people that if we can reach every child with polio drops, we can reach every child with other health benefits... public health ever in history. This partnership has created a model for health campaign not just here but around the world. Our victory is not only an example of organisation working successfully with other organisations; it is also an example of people caring about other people, of neighbours taking care of neighbours, of communities making sure that all their children are vaccinated. We have brought the people together to do this, we have made the world a smaller place. So we are here to look back and celebrate. We are also here to look forward and we are here to talk about how we can eradicate polio for good. We are not done, I am sorry, but we cannot rest yet. No, we must keep up our hard work. It is because Rotarians make a lot of noise about this issue, we are here today. So please, raise your voice and make sure we continue to be here. Raise your voice to tell people that if we can reach every child with polio drops, we can reach every child with other health benefits, we can immunise them against measles, we can get them bed-nets to to protect them against malaria, we can give them Vitamin A to boost their immunity system, we can reach their mothers with life saving information about breast-feeding and hygiene.

Since 1990, childhood mortality in India has fallen by 46 per cent. We are not just talking about polio; we can help children, we can save children. We have a plan — polio eradication and end game strategy plan — we want, not just India, but the entire world to be polio-free by 2018. This plan is in place but this plan is expensive. It is a 5.5 billion dollars plan. To make this plan work, we need to do what we started doing in the first polio campaign — raise money. Fortunately we have a great partner to help us to raise the money. Rotary has a new agreement with the Gates Foundation. They are going to make 2 to 1 for every dollar we spend for the next five years for polio eradication, up to 35 million dollars a year. So if we spend 1 dollar to eradicate polio, they give 2; if we spend 35 million dollars, they give 70 million US Dollars more. It is a challenge and it is an opportunity. We cannot let it pass. Before we can spend this money we have to raise it. I have been reading many news stories about India being polio-free. They talk about how just five years ago, India was home to half of world’s polio cases; about how India had to overcome challenges so great that many did not think it could be done. But you did not give up. Thanks to you, we have shown

the world what we can do. Congratulations to all the Indian Friends. Now, the world is watching to see if we can finish the job. People are inspired; more people are joining the fight — to use this occasion to move forward. If we can eradicate polio here, we can do it anywhere. I think, we all know the story of the tortoise and hare. There was a speedy hare who challenged a slow tortoise to a race. So they raced. The hare was so fast and so far ahead of the tortoise, that he stopped to take a nap before finish. The tortoise did not stop. The tortoise kept going and going and he passed the sleeping hare and he crossed the finishing line first. What we can learn from this story is that slow and steady wins the race. Even, we cannot run as fast as polio, we will win because we will not stop working. We will keep going. So please take a deep breath and let’s keep moving. I began by quoting one Chinese philosopher, I will end with another “Never lose courage, Never lose faith, nothing in this world is impossible, if you are determined.” Thank you for your hard work, for your determination and for never giving up. May God bless each and every one of you! Namaste. Thank You. MAY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 31

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS by Hon’ble President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee

Good Afternoon. Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Minister for Health and Family Welfare; Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Former Minister, Government of India; Luv Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Mr. Gary C.K. Huang, World President-elect, Rotary International; Mr. Rajendra K. Saboo, Conclave Chair; Shri P.T. Prabhakar, Director of Rotary International; Mr. D.K. Lee, Chairman Rotary Foundation; Kalyan Banerjee, Conclave Co-chairman; K. R. Ravindran, Rotary International President Nominee; Mr. Bob Scott, Chairman International PolioPlus Committee; Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen. It’s indeed a privilege for me to be amidst you this afternoon in celebrating India’s polio-free status. The official recognition by the International Certification Committee, that India has effectively immunised its population against polio; that there has not been a single case of polio detected in India in the last three years is a momentous occasion indeed. For a country, that was till only recently among the worst affected by the virus, this is a landmark achievement. Polio eradication has been a priority health 32 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2014

objective of the Government of India for quite some time. The realisation of the goal was made possible when unprecedented and gigantic programme was undertaken by Government of India across the length and breadth of our country. Government of India and state governments were supported in this operation by doctors, volunteers, professionals, private enterprises and international organisations. They all came together to make that extraordinary collective effort — each was necessary to wipe out this crippling disease. International organisations like the UNICEF, World Health Organisation and Rotary International network contributed with a variety of their human and material resources and best practices. To them, I would like to convey my deep appreciation; I would like to congratulate the countless men and women of India who applied themselves with vigour to implement the initiatives taken up at multiple levels. They worked persistently to spread awareness, administer the polio vaccine and follow up with surveillance, investigations and prompt medical attention, wherever

required, to achieve the goal that has been accomplished today. In a country like India, where the sheer number of population and access to remote regions is a unique challenge, the fact that the programme reached every corner of our country, that volunteers were successful in persuading all communities about the importance of immunisation and eliciting their cooperation, repeatedly, for timely administration of the prescribed doses, speaks of the unparalleled dedication of all concerned. As I thank the Rotary International for inviting me today, I recall their unyielding advocacy and relentless efforts over the years to execute this comprehensive campaign against polio in all parts of the world. Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, while we rejoice today, we must remind ourselves of those nations whose battle against the polio virus is not yet over. Those children are yet to be properly protected against it. A few weeks ago, on the occasion of India’s completion of three years without polio, I had stressed that our success must make us more vigilant or we will continue to

UNICEF, WHO and Rotary International network contributed with a variety of their human and material resources and best practices. The worldwide network of the Rotary International could be an important asset. They have demonstrated that civil society can play a key role in supporting and supplementing Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts to address the challenging health issues. be at risk until the whole world is free of the virus. We need to keep up our watchfulness and preparedness and take all the precautions necessary to ensure that there is no recurrence of the dreadful disease in our country. I do believe that as viruses and diseases do not respect any borders, it is in our own interest to assist those populations of the global community that are still vulnerable. I would like our people to reach out to such countries that can benefit from our experiences. Countries such as Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, countries in West Africa and even Syria, which are said to be polio-infected, can be assisted in so many ways. We can share with

them the strategies that brought us success and help them improve their own health systems and infrastructure. As long as polio virus survives anywhere, it is a threat to all populations everywhere. I am confident that we can count on the support of our partners as we join the international community in rooting out the polio virus permanently from the globe. The worldwide network of the Rotary International could be an important asset. They have demonstrated that civil society can play a key role in supporting and supplementing Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts to address the challenging health issues. They have set a very good example and that I am sure,

will inspire similar partnership in other areas of healthcare in our country. I do believe that every contribution, big or small, to the overall effort will be favourable. With these words, I once again congratulate the Union Ministry for Health, particularly the current Union Health Minister Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose unparalleled zeal to eradicate polio from India has brought us to this day, and the State governments, all those who contributed to making India polio-free. I offer my felicitations to the people of India on this historic day and wish them best of health and happiness. Jai Hind. MAY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 33

KEYNOTE ADDRESS by Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare

Honourable President of India Janab Pranab Mukherjeeji, Mr. Gary Huang, President Elect Rotary International, Mr. D.K. Lee, Chairman, Rotary Foundation, Mr. Anbumani Ramadossji, my predecessor, Mr. R.K. Saboo, the Chairman of the Conclave and former President of Rotary International, Mr. Kalyan Banerjee, distinguished Rotarians on the dais, Health Secretary Mr. Luv Verma, representatives of Rotary International, WHO, UNICEF, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, US CDC and other partner agencies, representatives of South-east Asia countries, dear Rotarian friends from across the world. Ladies and Gentlemen! It’s a matter of great satisfaction and pride that India has finally achieved polio eradication having unitedly taken up the challenge to stem out this dreaded disease from the country. Just two days ago, on 27th March 2014 along with the honourable minister of WHO South-East Asian region, I had the privilege of receiving polio-free certification for the entire South-east Asia region. On this momentous and historic achievement, I take this opportunity to 34 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2014

thank all the stakeholders and partners in this challenging yet deeply satisfying journey, particularly our valued partner — Rotary International. Ladies and Gentlemen, when I took over as Health Minister of India in May 2009, one of the serious challenges facing us was the fact that India still accounted for the highest polio incidence in the world. I have a great satisfaction, that in 2010, we took a policy decision to introduce the new bivalent polio vaccine which was indigenously developed for the first time. Aggressive immunisation and micro-block level planning covering most endemic areas had an electrifying effect. Strong political will at the highest levels ensured pumping in of required financial resources and deployment of huge manpower in this gigantic task. Constant monitoring and maintaining the supply chains was yet another challenge, which Government of India faced and successfully accomplished in order to virtually reach every child of the country. Coverage rate touched almost 100 percent, and the historic programme was thus affected. You can imagine

the size and the population of the country — to reach out to almost 100 percent children is something impossible and unimaginable, which we all did. Over a million accredited social health activities and Auxillary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) across the country, in addition, a 2.3 million strong team of frontline polio workers, volunteers and hundred fifty thousand supervisors worked day and night for the success of the polio rounds. Our constant hard work, involving state governments, partner agencies, film and sports celebrities, religious organisations, print and electronic media, parents and general public, has paid off and given us this hard-fought victory. With eradication of Indian polio virus, we will derive immense public health benefits for the present and the future. Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s a matter of great satisfaction for me that the several initiatives launched during the tenure of UPA Government have brought about overall improvement in the health scenario of the country which is reflected in the life expectancy increasing significantly by 5 years, over last 5 years.

With the eradication of Indian Poliovirus, we will derive immense public health benefits for the present and the future.

In fact, our victory over polio is both a symbol and result of efforts at all system-strengthening in the last five years with tremendous boost of health infrastructure and human resources across the country under the national level rural health mission. To meet the acute shortage of human resources we rationalised the rules of the Medical Council of India and Nursing Council of India about five years back. As a result of this path-breaking policy decision, almost 97 new medical colleges have been established, the number of MBBS seats has gone up by 55 percent, the PG seats have gone up by 75 percent and nursing seats have gone up by 90 percent. There has also been dramatic increase in health infrastructure during the past five years with over 33,000 large and small hospitals constructed and renovated from primary to district level. Six AIIMS have been established and made functional in the country during the past three years and 19 medical colleges upgraded to super-specialty status. Ladies and Gentlemen, here I would like to compliment the Rotarians who have been contributing resources, time and efforts for several global causes including polio eradication. Rotary partnered India in providing vaccines for the past few years of the polio campaign and has been helping with logistics and

man-power support since then, apart from constant advocacy and social mobilisation, the key focus of the issue. Rotarians have been contributing towards advocacy, goodwill, understanding and peace by improving health, education and alleviating poverty in many parts of the increasingly globalised world. Beginning from the founding of the first club in India in 1920, several projects have been taken up by India for serving society. These projects reflect the talent pool available within the organisation in India and are multifarious including the state-of-art blood bank in New Delhi, hospitals for cancer patients in Bangalore, internship and training centre for economic weaker sections of the society in Raipur, Chattisgarh and relief and rehabilitation works in the wake of national disasters. I would like to urge the Rotarians to expand the rural areas and use their expertise and skills for organising health camps and participate in the implementation of national programmes and schemes. Such participations would be useful in several areas such as maternal and child healthcare, routine immunisation, disease control programmes, particularly for MCDs, for healthcare of adolescents and elders. Ladies and Gentlemen, before I conclude I would like to once again thank our partners â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Rotary

International, WHO, UNICEF, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, US CDC and several other organisations who provided technical and programmatic support. I also acknowledge hundreds and thousands of our frontline workers, supervisors, vaccinators, volunteers, parents and children as well as senior officers of the Ministry who braved difficult times and circumstances to give two drops to each and every child of this country. Honourable Rashtrapatiji, I take this opportunity, heartfelt gratitude for the personal leadership that you have provided to the polio eradication and taking keen interest in the health sector initiatives. I appreciate the sincere efforts of Rotary International under the past and present leadership including Ron Burton, the current President who joined our national celebrations on 11th February and Mr. Gary Huang, the President-elect. Rotary International, especially their team in India, particularly R. K. Saboo and Mr. Kalyan Banerjee deserve hearty appreciation for taking up this worthwhile cause and believing all the while that polio could be won over. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all take pride in the fact that this historic public health milestone has been achieved today by working together in strong partnership. I thank you all. MAY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 35

ROTARY IN INDIA CELEBRATES VICTORY OVER POLIO

RI Director P. T. Prabhakar and RI Director Nominee Manoj Desai Below: Young Ja and Corinna.

We had several reasons to celebrate on March 29 and 30, 2014. First of all, in recognition of the enormous contribution of Rotarians towards a polio-free India, the head of the state, the Honourable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated our Polio Summit and paid rich encomiums to the Rotarians for their dedication. The Union Health Minister, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Health Minister Shri Anbumani Ramadoss and Mr. Harsh Vardhan, former Chief Minister of Delhi, great friends of Rotary, were all present to celebrate along with us. We had RIPE Gary Huang and Corinna, and RIPN K.R. Ravindran and Vanathy, and TRF Trustee Chair D.K. Lee and Young Ja with us to share our cup of joy. We had powerful delegations from Pakistan, Nigeria and several other countries. Every Rotarian in Vigyan Bhawan was overwhelmed by the compliments paid by the world leaders to the Indian Rotarians, for their stupendous success. The icing on the cake was the nationwide live telecast by Doordarshan, of the inaugural session of the summit. PRIP Rajaji also designed and produced a limited edition of numbered watches to mark the occasion of India’s victory over polio. I wish to place on record, my sincere thanks to PRIP Raja Sabooji, who made all the above possible, by his untiring and dedicated efforts over the last two months. Rtn. P.T. Prabhakar RI Director 2013–15 36 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2014

and manpower support towards polio eradication and other health preventive measures. This public health milestone has been achieved by working together with our partners — Rotary, UNICEF, WHO, CDC, Gates Foundation and many NGOs.” The two-day Conclave thereafter unfolded with sessions that deliberated upon five important topics, namely: How it began; Polio-free India – A New Dawn; The Key to Success: A strong Partnership; Polio Free World – Progress and the Way Forward and The Role of Civil Society. Participants found the sessions very relevant

and encouraging and helped enrich their experience and understanding of the struggle, contribution and the will to end polio in the country, with possible lessons for endemic countries, as well as for India’s future endeavours in leading a mass campaign. Six former health secretaries of India along with Session Chair PRID Sudarshan Agarwal informed the delegates about how the campaign began for Rotary in India. Dr. Harsh Vardhan recalled the initial days of the pilot campaign in 1994 in Delhi, India and his association with Rotary thereafter. He credited Rotary

VALEDICTORY ADDRESS by Rtn. Kalyan Banerjee Co-chair, Polio Free Conclave 2014 Past RI President

Our honoured guests and my Rotarian brothers and sisters, It’s now my great pleasure to express our deep gratitude to our distinguished guests and to all our other colleagues. First, our most graceful thanks to the Honourable President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee who has always been so supportive and appreciative of Rotary’s war against polio. Thank you Sir, for sharing today’s unforgettable moments with us. Next our gratitude goes to, Honourable Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad for really being the game-changer for the government in making India poliofree. He closed the gaps in the government systems, helped acquire our own funds for all our vaccine needs, put the right people in place and was always fully and personally engaged. He was the difference who made it all happen. Thank you Sir, for your inspiration! And of course, Honourable Former Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, who had taken up the job at a critical time and helped keep India fully focused on eradication, when the World Health Organisation

had sought to isolate India. Thank you for putting it all together, Sir! Thank you to Dr. Luv Verma, the Honourable Secretary for Health for continuing our mission today. Today, our thanks are also due to Rotary’s President Elect Gary Huang and his lady who have come to India only for a few hours to grace this event. We are very grateful to you Sir. We are also grateful to Trustee Chair D. K. Lee and Polio Committee Chair Dr. Bob Scott who continue our efforts to forever finish polio everywhere in our world. Our thanks go out also to President Nominee K.R. Ravindran from Sri Lanka, a country which was the first to eliminate polio in this region. We take now a minute to thank the thousands of nameless, faceless polio warriors, the Government staff, working against impossible odds in some of the most difficult circumstances and terrains and along with them the staff of WHO, UNICEF, CDC, The Gates Foundation; all of them did a fabulous super human job over long years — innovating, teaching and training — but always working to solve problems and find solutions.

We thank the families such as the Birlas and the Harshad Mehtas for their material contribution to finish the task. Yes. It’s been an unprecedented team effort and by far, most reckoning even unexpected. And as Rotarians, first one of our dream and then our privilege, to bring everything together, whether it’s the physical, moral or financial support of more than a billion dollars from the 1.2 million Rotarians of the world or getting all government agencies to extend their full support for solving every problem as they came up, as we are doing today in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. We thank our guests from these countries for being with us today! Today we feel both exhilarated and blessed that we have helped to make this miracle happen. To make our dreams real and to make our India a better, safer and healthier place for our future generations as we continue with routine immunisation and we keep a close vigil and extend our activities to other areas that matter most as suggested by the Honourable Minister of Health. Thank you all. Dhanyavad. MAY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 37

RIPE Gary Huang and Corinna at the Celebratory Dinner.

RIPE Gary Huang decorates TRF Trustee-elect Sushil Gupta with Arch Klumph Fellow (AKF) pin.

38 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2014

for giving unstinting support to the campaign and taking the campaign forward nationally. A documentary titled India’s Freedom from Polio — Rotary’s PolioPlus Journey in India that described the movement started by Rotarians in India to end polio was admired by the delegates. In the second session, Polio Free India - A New Dawn chaired by RI Director P.T. Prabhakar, Ms. Ayesha Raza Farooq, Pakistan Prime Minister’s focal person for polio eradication initiative made a powerful presentation about the challenges that the Government of Pakistan is facing in their polio eradication efforts and their strategies to overcome the same. In fact, the delegation from Pakistan was very impressed with India’s success and has gone back, with renewed vigour, to eradicate polio from Pakistan. To highlight the synergy created by the global partnership, an A/V message from Mr. Bill Gates was played, wherein Mr. Gates commended Rotary’s tireless efforts in the global campaign to end polio saying, “Thanks to these efforts, Rotary is

Senior leaders with RIPE Gary Huang.

Limited edition commemorative watch brought out on the occasion of Polio-free certification for India.

helping make global polio eradication a reality.” In the session chaired by Incoming Trustee of TRF, PRID Sushil Gupta spoke on ‘Role of Civil Society.’ Mrs. Rajashree Birla of the Aditya Birla Group spoke about her association with Rotary and how she has been inspired by Rotary’s service activities. Guest speaker, Bollywood celebrity Ms. Yami Gautam proved to be the cynosure of all eyes. She appeared to be quite overwhelmed by the scale of Rotary’s commitment to community service. During the concluding session presided over by PRIP Kalyan Banerjee, Rotary International Presidentnominee K.R. Ravindran spoke with feeling about the trailblazing role Rotary has played in ending polio in Sri Lanka, India and its efforts around

the world. He reminded the participants about an important event in Rotary history when PRIP Raja Saboo was the President of Rotary International. He said that PRIP Saboo had painted one eye of a Daruma Doll — a Japanese traditional doll that is a talisman of good luck — as a promise, with the wish that the incumbent RI President would paint the other eye when the world would be certified as being polio-free. Participants were presented Daruma dolls at the Conclave to repeat the same pledge and wish. President-nominee Ravindran asked all delegates to paint one eye of the doll and to keep it at home till the time when the world is certified to be polio-free; he asked everyone to paint the other eye at the time of fulfillment of Rotary’s pledge and wish. On 29 March, a celebratory dinner to commemorate the occasion of

India’s victory over polio was expertly organised by TRF Trustee-elect, Sushil Gupta at his brand new, spectacularly luxurious hotel, JW Marriott. At the Conclave, past Chairmen, Past and current members of the India National PolioPlus Committee were congratulated and recognised by PRIP Raja Saboo and Kalyan Banerjee. The conclave evoked intense appreciation from all concerned on the role civil society, particularly the role played by Rotary in making the country poliofree. The partners and the Government of India congratulated Rotary for hosting the impressive international event in the country, to celebrate victory over polio. With inputs from Mr. Lokesh Gupta Manager, India National PolioPlus Committee MAY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 39

NATIONAL POLIOPLUS ORIENTATION & PLANNING MEET

ational Orientation and Planning Meet (NOPM) 2014, the annual event organised by Rotary International’s India National PolioPlus Committee (INPPC) for DGEs and DPPCs from all Rotary Districts in India was held at Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi from 30th to 31st March 2014. This NOPM is the first orientation meet of Rotary leaders in a polio-free country and it was held in conjunction with “Polio Free Conclave 2014” that was held on 29th and 30th March, to commemorate and celebrate the certification of WHO’s South East Asia Region (SEAR) — of which India is a part — as being polio-free. DGEs and DPPCs who were delighted to be a part of this historic celebration were thrilled to see the galaxy of Rotary leaders at the NOPM inaugural session. Presiding the session was INPPC Chair, PDG Deepak Kapur, and

40 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2014

gracing the head table were RI Director P.T. Prabhakar, Deputy Project Manager, NPSP – WHO Dr. Sunil Bahl, incoming TRF Trustee Sushil Gupta, RIPN K.R. Ravindran, PRIP Kalyan Banerjee, PRIP R.K.Saboo, Dr. Rakesh Kumar, IAS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Vice Chair and Incoming IPPC Chair John F. Germ, IPPC Chair Dr. Robert S. Scott, TRF Chair D.K. Lee and RIPE Gary C.K. Huang. Speakers, while complimenting and congratulating the Government, Rotarians and partner agencies for making India polio-free, requested the audience not to be complacent because of the impending danger from importation. RI Director P.T. Prabhakar while emphasising the fact that “polio-virus anywhere in the world is a threat to children everywhere in the world” sighted the recent example of Somalia — the country that was declared

polio-free about 10 years ago, got re-infected and reported 194 new polio cases during 2013. Rotarians were urged to concentrate on improving routine immunisation levels in our country to maintain the polio-free status and to share the lessons learned and expertise gained with other polio affected countries to make the world polio-free. Inaugural session was adjourned, but the discussions continued while enjoying the sumptuous dinner. Group discussions were started from 9 am on March 30, with NCM’s sharing their expertise with DGEs and DPPCs. Session 1 - Overview and planning of the PolioPlus routine immunisation programme was discussed in three small groups led by NCMs Raman Bhatia, D.N. Padhi and Dr. P. Narayana and ably supported by NCMs Sudhir Gupta, Dr. I.S. Tomer, Ajay Saxena, Dr. Rajiv Pradhan, Vinod