Rotary and its GPEI partners celebrate a monumental achievement, say global eradication of wild polio is possible with the continued dedication and persistence of Rotarians.

Story Written By: Ryan Hyland
Aug. 24, 2020

The World Health Organization (WHO) on 25 August announced that transmission of the wild poliovirus has officially been stopped in all 47 countries of its African region. This is a historic and vital step toward global eradication of polio, which is Rotary’s top priority.

After decades of hard won gains in the region, Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) — WHO, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the vaccine alliance — are proclaiming the milestone an achievement in public health. They offer it as proof that strong commitment, coordination, and perseverance can rid the world of polio.

The certification that the African region is free of wild poliovirus comes after the independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) conducted thorough field verifications that confirmed no new cases and analyzed documentation of polio surveillance, immunization, and laboratory capacity by Cameroon, Central African Republic, Nigeria, and South Sudan. The commission had already accepted the documentation of the other 43 countries in the region.

The last cases of polio caused by the wild virus in the African region were recorded in Nigeria’s northern state of Borno in August 2016, after two years with no cases. Conflict, along with challenges in reaching mobile populations, had hampered efforts to immunize children there.

Now that the African region is free of wild poliovirus, five of WHO’s six regions, representing more than 90 percent of the world’s population, are now free of the disease. Polio caused by the wild virus is still endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region.

The African region’s wild polio-free certification was celebrated during a livestream event. Speakers included Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Bill Gates, Rotary International President Holger Knaack, Nigeria PolioPlus chair Dr. Tunji Funsho, and representatives of other GPEI partners. The celebration was followed by a press conference.

In the program, Knaack spoke about people needing good news during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “The challenges ahead are formidable,” Knaack said. “That’s why we must recognize this great achievement and commend all the people who played important roles in reaching this milestone. It took tremendous effort over many years.”

Please Read the full story at ENDPOLIO.org. 

by Amy Shane
Republished from the http://www.holtindependent.com/ 

COVID-19 slammed our country earlier this spring and as people of action, members of the O’Neill Rotary Club have answered the call. At a time when many community members have lost their jobs or had their hours reduced, food insecurity has become very real. The O’Neill Rotary Club became aware of an opportunity to leverage their funds to access matching grant funds from the Rotary International Foundation to help meet the need for a stable food source in two ways.

The club has donated $750, matched by an additional $750 from the Rotary International Foundation, to both the Meals on Wheels program and the O’Neill Community Food Pantry. The donation to the Meals on Wheels program will be used to purchase the disposable containers used to transport meals, as well as assist in purchasing the food used to prepare meals. Our local club members deliver Meals on Wheels regularly and will be next delivering the week of June 8 – 12. This program, coordinated by Jan Mitchell and supported by Terra Buller at the O’Neill Senior Center, is a crucial piece of providing food stability to our elderly and other vulnerable community members.

The O’Neill Food Pantry has seen a dramatic spike in usage during this unprecedented time. The O’Neill Rotary Club will be purchasing needed grocery items from Super Foods grocery store; they are helping our donation go further by giving generous discounts on purchased items. A big thanks to club member Ron Anderson and his wife Pam, and O’Neill Super Foods, for supporting our efforts!! Rotarians Cindy Cole and Steve Lind commented on the wonderful timing of this grant opportunity. “Just when the use of the Pantry is spiking, we are able to provide assistance to those struggling in our community!” Club members will purchase items for the May 21st Food Pantry, as well as the June 4th Food Pantry on the Mondays before the Pantry dates. Sheryl Cole, the coordinator of the O’Neill Food Pantry, provided the Club with a list of the items most needed at this time. We want to thank Sheryl and her team for all of the efforts they put into ensuring food stability for the O’Neill and surrounding communities!

This project is part of a larger effort by Rotary worldwide in response to the pandemic. The Rotary International Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International and local clubs worldwide. Rotary District 5630 has granted $25,150 to be used throughout outstate Nebraska in is response to COVID-19 and the pandemics impact on its communities.

Rotary’s motto is “service before self” and this is just one example of how Rotarians live that motto. The O’Neill Rotary Club meets at noon on Tuesdays (virtually via Zoom during this time), but typically at The Evergreen Assisted Living. We would like to invite all community members that want to make a difference to join our Club fellowship. You can join by contacting Co-presidents Ron Anderson or Steve Lind, or any other Rotarian. Together we can make our community and our world a better place! You can learn more about Rotary at www.Rotary.org.

Alliance Rotary Club distributed the grant award to Community Table and purchased gift cards from Newberry’s Common Ground and Dairy Queen to gift to all employees of Box Butte General Hospital.

Supporting small businesses who were experiencing a reduction in hours, customers, and income, as well as frontline healthcare workers, was another priority for the Club. To maximize the $1,000 grant, the Club purchased gift cards from Newberry’s Common Ground and Dairy Queen to donate to Box Butte General Hospital, a critical access hospital responsible for serving a large rural area. The donation of gift cards to BBGH helped the Club show gratitude for each of the 275 frontline healthcare professionals.

Rotary District 5630 made $25,150 available to clubs submitting a grant request project.  The Rotary Foundation  Disaster Aid grant was to be used throughout (central and Western) Nebraska in response to COVID-19 and the pandemic’s impact on its communities. If you are interested to learn more about Rotary Club, visit www.Rotary.org or contact Mara Andersen by email at mara@alliancereccenter.com with questions.

submitted by Mara Andersen
Alliance Rotary Club

On April 18, we lost a friend, a true humanitarian, a Rotarian.  Herb Knudsen was more than a member of the Ogallala Rotary Club.  Herb was the heart of the Ogallala Rotary Club.  Herb celebrated 30 years in February, and rarely missed a meeting.  Herb’s love of Rotary was in the Rotary Youth programs.  Herb was a Rotary Youth Exchange champion.  Exchange students over the past 23 years to Ogallala have remembered Herb in the video above.  Herb stayed young and vibrant by connecting with kids.  Herb was at RYLA so many times over the past 30 years and was a counselor to countless Rylarians.  Mostly Herb changed lives.

We will truly miss Herb’s smile, his engagement, but mostly the future RYE, RYLA students will miss Herb’s participation.  Our prayers are with his wife Karen and children Peter, Debbie, Karl and Mark.