Polio Outbreak in Papua New Guinea - the following story provided by Peter Buchanan
If, like me, you have sometimes questioned the need for Rotary to continue to fund global polio eradication, I think the answer is closer to home that we’d guessed. On RNZ National 5 Oct. came news, from Enga Province in PNG’s highlands, of the death of a 9-month-old baby from polio after the virus paralysed its lung muscles.
Altogether, 14 people have been confirmed with the virus in PNG since the first case in June 2018. Ten of those affected are children under 5 years, across 5 provinces, and all have suffered some form of paralysis. PNG was declared free of polio in 2000, and apparently reduced funding for vaccinations soon afterwards.
In response to the return of polio in PNG, 9,000 World Health Organisation workers are undertaking a mass vaccination programme in every province, and early signs indicate that this is being effective in stopping further spread.
With World Polio Day on 24 Oct., and our polio fundraising on Mon. 12 Nov. via the Bohemian Rhapsody film (tickets from Penny and Hugh), there’s a need for funding to continue vaccination in countries such as Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and PNG.