No new Wild Polio cases reported this week.  We are now 3 weeks since the most recent reported Wild Polio Case – on 10/1/23 in Pakistan. 

What can you do to Support World Polio Day?

1. Register your club’s World Polio Day action by 24 October.
2. Share the “Make Polio History” video on your social media.
3. Visit the World Polio Day Resources webpage and find content you can share.
4. Pitch a story about World Polio Day and your club’s contributions to eradicating polio to a local media outlet.
5. Learn about the two vaccines used to stop polio transmission — inactivated polio vaccine and oral polio vaccine.
6. DONATE – Make a personal donation to the END POLIO NOW effort.

Each donation made to Rotary’s End Polio Now effort is matched 2:1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to maximise its effect. As such, if you give US$10 to the effort, as an example, the amount becomes US$30, and with that, 60 children will be vaccinated in the remaining affected countries. Thank you for everything that you do! We wish you a very successful World Polio Day!

In the lead-up to World Polio Day on 24 October, GPEI has launched a Make Polio History campaign to rally existing and new supporters of polio eradication from all over the world to champion the cause. We need your help! Add your voice in support of eradication by visiting the campaign website and taking action. https://makepoliohistory.org/

This year, each Rotarian is encouraged to make a personal donation (of a size dictated by their financial situation) to the PolioPlus Fund by World Polio Day. I made mine last week and am encouraging each of my club members to join me! And Club leaders are urged to make sure each donation is recognized as Paul Harris or Major Donor credit.

A Win Against Polio is a Win for Global Health!

2023 Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Cases – 322 Benin – 3, Burkina Faso – 2, Burundi – 1, Central African Republic – 12, Chad – 37, Cote d’ Ivoire – 5, DR Congo – 176, Guinea – 7, Indonesia – 3, Israel – 1, Kenya – 5, Madagascar – 17, Mali – 9, Mozambique – 3, Nigeria – 26, Somalia – 3, Tanzania – 2, Yemen – 3, Zambia – 1.

New Polio Cases & Samples This Week –

• Cameroon: two cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
• Central African Republic: one cVDPV2 case
• Côte d’Ivoire: two cVDPV2 cases and four positive environmental samples
• DR Congo: three cVDPV1 and three cVDPV2 cases, two cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
• Madagascar: three cVDPV1 positive environmental samples
• Mali: one cVDPV2 case
• Yemen: one cVDPV2 case

2022 Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Case Total – 912 Afghanistan – 43, Algeria – 3, Benin – 11 (3 in 2021), Burundi – 1, Cameroon – 3 (3 in 2021), Central African Republic – 6, Chad -44 (0 in 2021), DR Congo – 507 (28 in 2021), Republic of Congo – 1, Eritrea – 1, Ethiopia – 1, Ghana – 3, Indonesia – 1, Israel – 1, Madagascar – 14 (13 in 2021), Malawi – 4, Mali – 2, Mozambique – 22 (2 in 2021), Niger – 16 (18 in 2021), Nigeria – 48 (415 in 2021), Pakistan – 8, Somalia – 5 (1 in 2021), Sudan – 1, Togo – 2, United States – 1, Yemen – 162 (69 in 2021).

2021 Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Cases -689 in 22 Countries.  

2020 Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Cases – 1,113 in 26 countries in 2020.

Quote of the Day

“It’s not easy taking my problems one at a time when they refuse to get in line.”

— Ashleigh Brilliant, Writer, Cartoonist

The Final Two Polio Endemic Countries:

as of 10/21/2023

0 new Polio cases reported this week. The most recent cases had an onset of paralysis on 9/24/23.
0  WPV1 and 0 CVDPV2-Positive Environmental Samples were reported this week in Afghanistan.
6 Wild Polio cases – 2023 (all from Nangarhar Province)
2 Wild Polio case – 2022
4 Wild Polio cases – 2021
56 Wild Polio cases – 2020

Our Goal is Global Polio Eradication!!

Terry Ziegler, Polio Update Newsletter Editor Rotary Region 36