Monday, April 29, 2013
Fantastic updates about Polio Eradication
Rotarians,
Please see below for information regarding recent updates benefitting the polio eradication efforts. This is terrific news! Please feel free to share!
~~~~~~
Gates announced that his foundation would commit one-third of the total cost of the GPEI’s budget over the plan’s six-year implementation, for a total of $1.8 billion. The funds will be allocated with the goal of enabling the GPEI to operate effectively against all of the plan's objectives. To encourage other donors to commit the remaining funding up front, the Gates funding for 2016-2018 will be released when the GPEI secures funding that ensures the foundation’s contribution does not exceed one-third of the total budget for those years.
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Carlos Slim Foundation
Dalio Foundation
The Foundation for a Greater Opportunity established by Carl C. Icahn
The Tahir Foundation
Please see below for information regarding recent updates benefitting the polio eradication efforts. This is terrific news! Please feel free to share!
This morning, financial commitments totaling approximately US$4
billion over six years toward the US$5.5 billion endgame strategy of
the Global Polio Eradication Initiative were announced during the Global
Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi.
Of note are new contributions from new donors, totaling $355
million:
·
Albert L. Ueltschi Foundation
·
Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation-Global
·
Bloomberg Philanthropies
·
Carlos Slim Foundation
·
Dalio Foundation
·
The Foundation for a Greater
Opportunity established by Carl C. Icahn
·
The Tahir Foundation
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi also announced a second pledge to
polio eradication of US$120 million, adding to his first contribution made in
2011. A range of other donors, including the Islamic Development Bank, Ireland
and Japan, helped round out the additional new pledges.
Rotary was represented at the meeting
by India National PolioPlus Chair Deepak Kapur, International PolioPlus
Committee Chair Bob Scott, PolioPlus Director Carol Pandak, and the entire
2-day event was emceed by Rotary polio ambassador, actress Archie Panjabi.
The chart with the contribution breakdown is attached, and the final
press release follows below. A story highlighting the good news from the
Vaccine Summit will soon be posted on the RI and End Polio Now websites and
this news will also be promoted via Rotary’s social media channels. Please let
us know if you would like this information in French, Portuguese, Spanish,
Korean or Japan. Translations will be forthcoming as soon as they are
completed.
Best regards,
Carol Pandak
Director, PolioPlus~~~~~~
GPEI press release:
Global Leaders Support
New Six-Year Plan to Deliver a Polio-Free World by 2018
·
Pledges announced will
enable over a billion children to be vaccinated
·
Global eradication
program will move simultaneously on multiple fronts expanding focus to improve
childhood immunization and protect gains made to date
·
New commitments by
governments and philanthropists boost effort to meet plan’s budget goal
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates ¦ 25 April 2013
– Today, at the Global Vaccine
Summit, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) presented a comprehensive six-year plan, the first plan to
eradicate all types of polio disease – both wild poliovirus and vaccine-derived
cases – simultaneously. Global leaders and individual philanthropists signaled
their confidence in the plan by pledging close to three-quarters of the plan’s
projected US$5.5 billion cost over six years. They also called upon additional
donors to commit up front the additional US$1.5 billion needed to ensure
eradication.
The new plan capitalizes on the best opportunity
to eradicate polio, with the number of children paralyzed by this disease at
the lowest level ever: just 223 cases in 2012 and only 19 so far this year. The
urgency is linked to the tremendous advances made in 2012 and the narrow window
of opportunity to seize on that progress and stop all poliovirus transmission
before polio-free countries become re-infected.
“After millennia
battling polio, this plan puts us within sight of the endgame. We have new
knowledge about the polioviruses, new technologies and new tactics to reach the
most vulnerable communities. The extensive experience, infrastructure and
knowledge gained from ending polio can help us reach all children and all
communities with essential health services,” said World Health Organization
Director-General Margaret Chan.
A new plan to end polio, strengthen immunization systems and plan
for transition
The Polio Eradication & Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018
was developed by the GPEI in extensive consultation with a broad range of
stakeholders. The plan incorporates the lessons learned from India’s success
becoming polio-free in early 2012 and cutting-edge knowledge about the risk of
circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses. It also complements the tailored
Emergency Action Plans being implemented since last year in the remaining
polio-endemic countries – Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria – including
approaches in place to vaccinate children in insecure areas.
At the Summit,
held today in Abu Dhabi, global leaders announced their confidence in the
plan’s ability to achieve a lasting polio-free world by 2018 and pledged their
financial and political support for its implementation.
“Ending polio will not
only be an historic feat for humanity, but also a huge part of our efforts to
reach every hard-to-reach child with a range of life-saving vaccines,” said
UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake.
The plan addresses the
operational challenges of vaccinating children, including in densely populated
urban areas, hard-to-reach areas and areas of insecurity. The plan includes the
use of polio eradication experience and resources to strengthen immunization
systems in high-priority countries. It also lays out a process for planning how
to transition the GPEI’s resources and lessons, particularly in reaching the most
marginalized and vulnerable children and communities, so that they continue to
be of service to other public health efforts. It is estimated that the GPEI’s
efforts to eradicate polio could deliver total net benefits of US$40-50 billion
by 2035 from reduced treatment costs and gains in productivity.
Earlier this month, in a
Scientific
Declaration on Polio Eradication, more than 400 scientists and
global health experts from around the world endorsed the GPEI plan, and
reaffirmed the conviction that a polio-free world can be secured by 2018.
Philanthropists endorse
value of investing in the end of polio
In remarks made at the
Summit, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
underscored the numerous benefits of ending polio and the need to provide
health and development interventions to the hardest-to-reach children. He also
called on additional donors to come forward with long-term commitments to fully
fund the GPEI plan.
“This plan isn’t just a
polio eradication plan, it’s a global immunization plan with the goal of ending
polio while improving efforts to protect all children, including the most
vulnerable, with life-saving vaccines,” said Gates. “Successful
implementation of the plan requires a significant but time-limited investment
that will deliver a polio-free world and pay dividends for future generations.”
Gates announced that his foundation would commit one-third of the total cost of the GPEI’s budget over the plan’s six-year implementation, for a total of $1.8 billion. The funds will be allocated with the goal of enabling the GPEI to operate effectively against all of the plan's objectives. To encourage other donors to commit the remaining funding up front, the Gates funding for 2016-2018 will be released when the GPEI secures funding that ensures the foundation’s contribution does not exceed one-third of the total budget for those years.
Joining Gates was a new
group of individual philanthropists that announced its support for full
implementation of the new plan. The total new pledges from philanthropists to
the polio initiative amounted to an additional US$335 million toward the plan’s
six-year budget. The donors commended the tremendous progress toward
eradication made in the last year and expressed their desire to help change
history and end polio while the opportunity still exists. Philanthropies making
commitments include:
Albert L. Ueltschi
Foundation
Alwaleed Bin Talal
Foundation-GlobalBloomberg Philanthropies
Carlos Slim Foundation
Dalio Foundation
The Foundation for a Greater Opportunity established by Carl C. Icahn
The Tahir Foundation
A fully funded plan and sustained
political commitment will protect gains made to date and enable the GPEI to
execute against short- and long-term objectives
At the Summit, leaders
from polio-endemic countries reaffirmed their continued focus on polio
eradication and welcomed the plan’s broadened scope to improve immunization
systems.
Praising the plan’s
expanded focus to ensure that polio eradication efforts – which reach the
world’s most vulnerable children – support broader health interventions,
long-time donors Canada, Germany, Norway and the UK, as well as Nigeria,
announced new commitments to support the plan’s long-term objectives. His
Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and
Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, announced a second pledge to
polio eradication of US$120 million, adding to his first contribution made in
2011. A range of other donors, including the Islamic Development Bank, Ireland
and Japan, helped round out the additional pledges.
Rotary International, the
flagship donor to the GPEI, pledged its commitment through 2018 to raise funds
and mobilize support of the endgame strategy. “To stop polio once and for all,
we need to act quickly so that children are fully protected and countries are
not re-infected,” said Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka. “This
takes the commitment of national and local leaders where polio still exists,
the continued support of donor countries, and the steadfast commitment of
heroic vaccinators.”
The GPEI will work with
donors on the timely conversion of these pledges into commitments and the
disbursement of funds so that the program can fully deliver on the plan.
The plan’s US$5.5
billion budget over six years requires sustaining current yearly spending to
eradicate polio. The new plan’s budget includes the costs of reaching and
vaccinating more than 250 million children multiple times every year,
monitoring and surveillance in more than 70 countries, and securing the
infrastructure that can benefit other health and development programs.
“Today we have the
fewest cases in the fewest places ever, making it critical to use the best
opportunity the world has ever had to put an end to this terrible, preventable
disease,” said Anne Schuchat, M.D., head of the Center for Global Health
at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Notes for editors:
The plan was created by
the GPEI in extensive consultation with national health authorities, global
health initiatives, scientific experts, donors and other stakeholders. There
are four main objectives of the plan: 1) Poliovirus Detection and Interruption;
2) Immunization Systems Strengthening and Oral Polio Vaccine Withdrawal; 3)
Containment and Certification; and 4) Legacy Planning.
Circulating
vaccine-derived poliovirus: On very rare occasions, the live, weakened
poliovirus contained in the oral polio vaccine may genetically alter in the
immunized person’s gut. If a population is seriously under-immunized, the virus
may begin circulating in the community, and is referred to as a circulating
vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV). Between 2000 and 2011 – a period in which
more than 10 billion doses of oral polio vaccine were given worldwide – cVDPV
outbreaks resulted in 580 polio cases. In the same period, wild poliovirus paralyzed
more than 15,500 children. As wild poliovirus declines, however, the proportion
of cVDPV in low-immunity communities rises. The new plan uses cutting-edge
knowledge about these viruses and new tactics to raise immunity, including
introduction of inactivated polio vaccine and phasing out use of the component
of the oral polio vaccine which gives rise to the majority of cVDPV. If a
population is fully immunized against polio, it will be protected against the
spread of both wild and vaccine strains of poliovirus.
Additional resources:
Additional resources:
Breakdown of pledges
toward GPEI 2013-2018 budget – http://www.polioeradication.org/Financing.aspx
Polio Eradication and
Endgame Strategy Plan Executive Summary – http://www.polioeradication.org/Portals/0/Document/Resources/StrategyWork/PEESP_ES_EN_A4.pdf
Polio Eradication and
Endgame Strategic Plan Fact File – http://www.polioeradication.org/Portals/0/Document/Resources/StrategyWork/GPEI_Plan_FactFile_EN.pdf
Global Vaccine Summit
Media Resources – www.globalvaccinesummit.org
About GPEI
The Global Polio
Eradication Initiative (GPEI), launched in 1988, is spearheaded by national
governments, the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF, and supported by
key partners including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Since its launch, the incidence of polio has been reduced by more than 99 percent. In 1988, more than 350,000 children were paralyzed each year in more than 125 endemic countries. Today, only three countries remain endemic: Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Last year, cases of wild poliovirus plunged from 650 in 2011 to 223, the largest drop in a decade. As of 17 April, 19 cases have been reported, a 60% reduction compared to this time last year.
Since its launch, the incidence of polio has been reduced by more than 99 percent. In 1988, more than 350,000 children were paralyzed each year in more than 125 endemic countries. Today, only three countries remain endemic: Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Last year, cases of wild poliovirus plunged from 650 in 2011 to 223, the largest drop in a decade. As of 17 April, 19 cases have been reported, a 60% reduction compared to this time last year.
==================================================================
As printed in the Seattle Times
Polio endgame? Bill Gates enlists Islamic nations in final push for eradication
At a summit in Abu Dhabi, Bill Gates and other leaders push for $5.5 billion to wipe out polio by 2018.
Seattle Times science reporter
Stamping out polio has proved harder than anyone imagined, with the latest blow coming in the form of deadly attacks on health workers delivering vaccine in Pakistan and Nigeria.
But despite the recent setbacks, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will join with other leaders this week to argue that the crippling disease can be eradicated by 2018, thanks to a new strategy and unprecedented political support in the handful of countries where polio persists.
It won’t be cheap, though. A new estimate puts the total price tag for the six-year push at $5.5 billion, about half of which still must be raised. That’s one of the main goals of a summit that starts Wednesday in the Persian Gulf state of Abu Dhabi, where the focus will be on increased funding from Muslim nations in addition to traditional, Western donors.
“Islamic leadership ... is a critical part of this final stage of polio eradication,” said Dr. Chris Elias, president of global development for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Islam is the dominant religion in Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Nigeria, the three nations where polio remains endemic.
Once common around the world, including in the United States, the sewage-borne virus was eliminated in wealthy countries after the development of a vaccine. When the first global eradication effort was launched in 1988, about 350,000 children a year were paralyzed by polio. In 2012, there were only 223 cases worldwide.
But the disease has clung stubbornly in a few corners of the globe, occasionally flaring up and spreading to other areas. “Until the polio virus is completely eradicated everywhere, no country is safe from reinfection,” Gates wrote this month in the Cairo Review of Global Affairs.
Three previous target dates for eradication — 2000, 2005 and 2012 — have come and gone without success.
But advocates say things are different this time, pointing to new tools and to India’s surprising success in wiping out the disease in 2011.
“Five years ago, most people thought India would be the last place with polio,” Elias said.
The Indian government mustered more than 2 million workers for the polio fight and pioneered approaches now being applied in other countries.
In Nigeria, health agencies are deploying smaller vaccination teams armed with high-tech maps and GPS-equipped cellphones that allow them to cover more homes in less time — meaning fewer households are missed.
In Afghanistan, permanent polio teams are replacing the large-scale campaigns that are easy targets for opposition and violence. When the teams are allowed to work in dangerous areas, they take advantage of the window by dosing children on an accelerated schedule.
As part of enhanced surveillance systems, sewage in vulnerable areas is regularly checked for polio virus. When the bug turned up in Cairo’s sewage recently, the source was quickly traced to construction workers from Pakistan, who were then targeted for vaccination, said Apoorva Mallya, senior program officer for the Gates Foundation’s polio programs.
Every diagnosed case of polio is genetically analyzed to identify where the virus originated, and to determine its type. One of the three major types of polio virus was eradicated more than a decade ago. A second strain appears poised to disappear soon, with only one known case in the past six months.
“If what we’re seeing now is a reduction in the genetic diversity of the virus, that’s another indicator of progress,” Mallya said.
For the first time, the new eradication plan also includes a road map for phasing out the oral polio vaccine, which contains weakened, live viruses that in rare cases can actually cause the disease. It will be replaced by an injectable vaccine that’s more expensive, but contains killed virus with no risk of infection.
Some health experts remain skeptical that the 2018 target will be reached, or that it’s worth such a huge investment to eradicate a disease that afflicts so few people.
An independent panel that evaluates the polio program cautioned recently that “success is far from assured,” and pointed out that several countries are already scaling back their vaccination programs.
Dr. Howard Frumkin, dean of the University of Washington’s School of Public Health, is concerned that the focus on polio will divert money from other health priorities. But he still joined more than 400 leading scientists from around the world in signing onto a declaration of support for the eradication program.
“I think we’re at the 1-yard line now, and we’ve never been there before,” Frumkin said. “I think we need to stick with it.”
What seems like an enormous investment will pay off manyfold in reduced incidence of disease and the ability to phase out costly vaccination programs once polio is no longer a threat, Frumkin said.
Polio would be only the second disease erased from the earth, after smallpox. “If we succeed in eradicating polio, we will prove that setting big goals leads to big victories,” Gates wrote Tuesday in a Globe and Mail op-ed with Canada’s Minister of International Co-operation.
Gates has declared polio eradication his top priority. Over the past few years, the Gates Foundation has spent about $300 million annually on the effort and expects to continue that general level of support, Mallya said. That would pencil out to another $1.8 billion over the course of the six-year eradication program.
Gates and other program coordinators, including UNICEF and the World Health Organization, recently began reaching out to wealthy Arab nations for help bankrolling the effort.
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi committed $50 million in 2011 to help vaccinate 35 million children in Afghanistan and Pakistan against polio, and is expected to announce new funding this week. The Islamic Development Bank made its first donation to polio programs last year, with a $227 million financing package for Pakistan.
Sandi Doughton: 206-464-2491 or sdoughton@seattletimes.com
It won’t be cheap, though. A new estimate puts the total price tag for the six-year push at $5.5 billion, about half of which still must be raised. That’s one of the main goals of a summit that starts Wednesday in the Persian Gulf state of Abu Dhabi, where the focus will be on increased funding from Muslim nations in addition to traditional, Western donors.
“Islamic leadership ... is a critical part of this final stage of polio eradication,” said Dr. Chris Elias, president of global development for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Islam is the dominant religion in Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Nigeria, the three nations where polio remains endemic.
Once common around the world, including in the United States, the sewage-borne virus was eliminated in wealthy countries after the development of a vaccine. When the first global eradication effort was launched in 1988, about 350,000 children a year were paralyzed by polio. In 2012, there were only 223 cases worldwide.
But the disease has clung stubbornly in a few corners of the globe, occasionally flaring up and spreading to other areas. “Until the polio virus is completely eradicated everywhere, no country is safe from reinfection,” Gates wrote this month in the Cairo Review of Global Affairs.
Three previous target dates for eradication — 2000, 2005 and 2012 — have come and gone without success.
But advocates say things are different this time, pointing to new tools and to India’s surprising success in wiping out the disease in 2011.
“Five years ago, most people thought India would be the last place with polio,” Elias said.
The Indian government mustered more than 2 million workers for the polio fight and pioneered approaches now being applied in other countries.
In Nigeria, health agencies are deploying smaller vaccination teams armed with high-tech maps and GPS-equipped cellphones that allow them to cover more homes in less time — meaning fewer households are missed.
In Afghanistan, permanent polio teams are replacing the large-scale campaigns that are easy targets for opposition and violence. When the teams are allowed to work in dangerous areas, they take advantage of the window by dosing children on an accelerated schedule.
As part of enhanced surveillance systems, sewage in vulnerable areas is regularly checked for polio virus. When the bug turned up in Cairo’s sewage recently, the source was quickly traced to construction workers from Pakistan, who were then targeted for vaccination, said Apoorva Mallya, senior program officer for the Gates Foundation’s polio programs.
Every diagnosed case of polio is genetically analyzed to identify where the virus originated, and to determine its type. One of the three major types of polio virus was eradicated more than a decade ago. A second strain appears poised to disappear soon, with only one known case in the past six months.
“If what we’re seeing now is a reduction in the genetic diversity of the virus, that’s another indicator of progress,” Mallya said.
For the first time, the new eradication plan also includes a road map for phasing out the oral polio vaccine, which contains weakened, live viruses that in rare cases can actually cause the disease. It will be replaced by an injectable vaccine that’s more expensive, but contains killed virus with no risk of infection.
Some health experts remain skeptical that the 2018 target will be reached, or that it’s worth such a huge investment to eradicate a disease that afflicts so few people.
An independent panel that evaluates the polio program cautioned recently that “success is far from assured,” and pointed out that several countries are already scaling back their vaccination programs.
Dr. Howard Frumkin, dean of the University of Washington’s School of Public Health, is concerned that the focus on polio will divert money from other health priorities. But he still joined more than 400 leading scientists from around the world in signing onto a declaration of support for the eradication program.
“I think we’re at the 1-yard line now, and we’ve never been there before,” Frumkin said. “I think we need to stick with it.”
What seems like an enormous investment will pay off manyfold in reduced incidence of disease and the ability to phase out costly vaccination programs once polio is no longer a threat, Frumkin said.
Polio would be only the second disease erased from the earth, after smallpox. “If we succeed in eradicating polio, we will prove that setting big goals leads to big victories,” Gates wrote Tuesday in a Globe and Mail op-ed with Canada’s Minister of International Co-operation.
Gates has declared polio eradication his top priority. Over the past few years, the Gates Foundation has spent about $300 million annually on the effort and expects to continue that general level of support, Mallya said. That would pencil out to another $1.8 billion over the course of the six-year eradication program.
Gates and other program coordinators, including UNICEF and the World Health Organization, recently began reaching out to wealthy Arab nations for help bankrolling the effort.
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi committed $50 million in 2011 to help vaccinate 35 million children in Afghanistan and Pakistan against polio, and is expected to announce new funding this week. The Islamic Development Bank made its first donation to polio programs last year, with a $227 million financing package for Pakistan.
Sandi Doughton: 206-464-2491 or sdoughton@seattletimes.com
Friday, April 5, 2013
District Conference - London, May 17 - 19
 |
|
Rotary 6740 District Conference
-Hampton Inn London,
KY
Join your fellow Rotarians to celebrate “Peace Through
Service” in London, Kentucky May 17-19, 2013.
Reserve your hotel room at the special $99 rate today-rooms go quickly
at this busy time of year. The conference will recognize the successes of our
clubs, offer an opportunity for fellowship, and you don’t miss the musical talent we have planned or the
fabulous food of London’s Chef Terry that will be part of the fun. “London Downtown” is spectacular in the
spring and special events in London will add to this weekend if you bring your
family along. They can enjoy the
“Cruise-in on Main” on Saturday featuring cars from the 50’s and the Fifth
Annual Shriners Bluegrass Show on May 17 and 18. See you there!
|
April Training and Events
Please see below for important training information and details about a few of the Rotary events in April. Enjoy! Christie Adams
FINAL Future Vision Grant Management Seminar - IMPORTANT TRAINING
FUTURE VISION GRANT MANAGEMENT SEMINAR
Saturday, April 13th, 9 am - 12 pm
Lexington Rotary Office
305A Victorian Square
Parking Garage at Short and Broadway
In order for your Rotary Club to become qualified to participate in the grant programs under the Future Vision model effective July 1, 2013, it is necessary that at least one member of your Rotary Club attends a Future Vision Grant Management Seminar. This will be the sixth AND FINAL opportunity to attend one of the seminars.
Any questions, please call Jack McAllister or John Adams.
Upcoming Events
April
13 - Future Vision Grant Management Seminar, Lexington - 9 am Lexington Rotary Office 305A Victorian Square. Park in the garage at Short and Broadway
19 - RC Lexington Sunrise Gospel Concert featuring The Isaacs, 7 p.m. Immanuel Baptist Church
19- RC Whitesburg Golf Scramble, Raven Rock Golf Course, Jenkins
19 - RC London Golf Scramble, London Country Club
20 - 21 RC Georgetown Kite and Culture Festival, Cardome Center, Noon - 5 p.m.
May
2 - RC Paris Run for the Roses
13 - RC Florence Spring benefit concert for Polio Plus, Florence Baptist Church
17 - 20 District Conference, London
24 - RC Lexington Sunrise Arlington Elementary School Lunch
June
8 - Zone Success Seminar, Florence
23 - 26 - International Convention, Lisbon, Portugal
November
15 - 17, District Conference, Louisville, Kentucky
Thursday, March 21, 2013
A Message from the District Governor
Dear Rotarians,
March is literacy month- something I am involved with every
day as I work with adults who are mastering everything from phonics to
algebra. As a matter of fact, it was the
Rotary emphasis on literacy that initially attracted me as a member of Rotary. It is inspiring that nearly every club in our
district has a project that improves or impacts literacy. Just a few examples of literacy activities are
annual dictionary projects such as those done by the clubs of London, Stanford,
Kenton County and others; the adoption of a school as by Lexington Sunrise that
encourages both the students and the parents; the Pineville club supporting the local adult
literacy program; the Rotary Club of Whitesburg implementing the Imagination
Library project with the Hazard club soon to follow; and other clubs helping
with test fee scholarships for GED students.
District literacy projects are numerous and widespread. All these efforts have a positive effect on
our district by improving literacy in children and adults, improving the
graduation rates, and inspiring people to achieve the one thing that cannot be
taken from them-an education.
What are the literacy needs of your community? Take a look at the graduation rate in your county
by accessing the link below:
There are many variables involved in calculating the average
graduation rate for a county, but it will give you a good idea of how many
young people in your community are successful in completing high school. You might be shocked by the numbers or
pleasantly surprised. For those of us in
the literacy field, high school graduation rates are one factor in determining
the literacy needs of a community. To
access a county profile for your county and identify the percent of adults at different
educational levels, visit the link below and scroll down the page for your
county profile:
By clicking on these links, you will have completed a quick
needs assessment for literacy in your community. A needs assessment will be a required step
for accessing Rotary Foundation funds as we move to the new grant model
presently known as Future Vision.
Rotary literacy takes center stage in our district during
March, too. Our presidents-elect will
head to Nashville for their training on March 21-24. Also, District Governor Elect Jack McAllister
and incoming District Foundation Chair John Adams are conducting training in
the new grant model throughout the district.
Be sure your club attends so that it is eligible for foundation funds.
I leave you with a quote from Abraham Lincoln about reading:
“A
capacity, and taste, for reading, gives access to whatever has already been
discovered by others. It is the key, or one of the keys, to the already solved
problems. And not only so. It gives a relish, and facility, for successfully
pursuing the [yet] unsolved ones.”
Peace Through Service
Kathryn Hardman, Governor
Rotary International District 6740Polio Update
ENDPOLIONOW.ORG
Rotary and partners have set a date of December 31, 2018 as a goal date to have reached certification!
Weekly
Update
World
Health Organization
Week
Ending 27 February 2013
New
wild polio cases reported in the past week for 2012: 1
New
wild polio cases reported in the past week for 2013: 3
Total
number of cases in 2012: 223
Total
number of wild cases in 2013: 5
General
Polio Headlines – Week Ending 27 Feb. 2013
”In
Pakistan on 26 February, a police officer providing security to a polio
vaccination team was shot and killed in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). No
vaccinators were harmed . . .”
Endemic
Country Headlines—Week Ending 27 Feb. 2013
Afghanistan
One
new case. "This
is the first WPV case in the country for 2013.”
Nigeria
Two
new cases. "These
are the first WPV cases in the country for 2013.”
Pakistan
No
new cases.
Total cases for 2013 is 2. "The security situation continues to be monitored
closely, in consultation with law enforcement agencies.”
We
have a lot of work, before us, to get to the 2018 Goal. We can accomplish this
goal and we will!! So as scripture admonishes, "HANDS TO THE PLOW".
John
Salyers, DGN
Polio
Chair, D6740
Zone Success Seminar - June 8th
Success Seminar Invitation
Rotary Zone 30 Success Seminars
2013
Information and Ideas for a Successful
Year
Register by May 27, 2013
Be Prepared for 2013-14!
Latest Updates from RI and TRF!
Sharing Ideas! Fundraising & Grants! Public
Image & PR!
Membership Growth and
Engagement!
June 1:
|
Florence Kentucky
|
June 8:
|
Gardendale,
Alabama
|
Hilton Cincinnati Airport
|
Gardendale Civic
Center
| ||
7373TurfwayRoad
|
970 Main Street
| ||
Florence, KY 41042
|
Gardendale, AL
35071
|
Registration: 8:00 am - 8:30
am Seminar: 8:30am – 3:30 pm
Please ensure that this Invitation Form
and the associated Registration Form are widely distributed so all interested
Rotarians can register and attend
this worthwhile seminar.
The Purpose of the
Seminars is to bring
district leaders and interested Rotarians up to date about the latest
programs and policies of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation, and to
provide the tools and information needed to hold successful district seminars
and lead your district in 2013-14.
Who should attend from each
District: DG, DGE, DGN, AGs, District Foundation Chair (and
Foundation Committee members), Membership Chair, Public Relations Chair, New
Generations Chair, District Trainer and interested Rotarians.
Topics to be covered: RI Strategic Plan, RI Programs,
Membership, Building Bigger, Better and Bolder Clubs; Rotary Foundation fundraising, Global and District Grants,
Rotary Foundation programs, and Public Image and PR.
Hosted
by your Zone 30 Coordinator Team: Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator,
Steve Leonard; Rotary Coordinator, Glen Vanderford and; Rotary Public Image
Coordinator, Mac Wall
Registration Fee: $30.00/participant. Cash or check only. Includes
materials, lunch and breaks.
Register
by May 27 using the attached form and
e-mail or fax to: RC Glen Vanderford E-mail: gv6760@bellsouth.net, P: 731-668-9851 F: 731-668-9851
Hotel
options:
June 1, Florence, KY, Hilton Cincinnati
Airport. 7373 Turfway Road Florence, Kentucky
41042.
A block of
rooms has been set aside at the special rate of $89 plus tax. Phone: (859)
371-4400.
Reservation
deadline May 16. Higher
rates apply after May 16. Online
group booking code: rotary.
June 8, Gardendale, AL. Best Western Plus, 842 Thompson Street, Gardendale, AL, 35071.
Mention Rotary
to get special rate of $80.10 plus tax. Phone: 205-631-1181.
FOR REGISTRATION FORM AND SURVEY OF TOPICS please email request to cchamp7303@aol.com. The forms and survey cannot be attached or copied to the newsletter. I will work to include them in a different format next month.
FOR REGISTRATION FORM AND SURVEY OF TOPICS please email request to cchamp7303@aol.com. The forms and survey cannot be attached or copied to the newsletter. I will work to include them in a different format next month.
RCs Corbin and London Host Successful International Dinner
A great turnout of guests attended the Rotary International Dinner hosted by RCs Corbin and London on February 16th.
Approximately 20 countries were represented and about 400 people attended the
dinner. Proceeds from the Dinner will be sent to Polio Plus campaign on behalf
of the London
 |
| Garry Conley (former Club President), wife Amy and their granddaughter were proud to say “We are this close…” to eradicating Polio! |
 |
| We had GREAT representation from the |
 |
| District Governor Kathryn Hardman and Club President Linda Gilreath were also promoting “We are this close…”! |
Mayor Michael Bloomberg donates $100 million to Polio initiative
Bloomberg
Donates $100 Million
NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Michael R. Bloomberg today announced a $100
million donation to support polio eradication efforts through Bloomberg Philanthropies. The donation will help fund
the Global Polio Eradication Initiative's (GPEI) six year plan to eradicate
polio.
Polio is a vaccine-preventable disease that can lead to paralysis or death. Due to tremendous advances in 2012, there are today the fewest number of polio cases in the fewest countries ever, creating a unique opportunity to end the disease forever. In response, the GPEI has developed a long-term strategy to achieve global eradication by 2018. The eradication strategy addresses all aspects of ending polio, including stopping transmission, strengthening routine immunization, addressing challenges such as insecurity and access, and preparing the polio infrastructure to reach children with other health services. Polio partner organizations, donors and endemic countries are actively working to secure the necessary funds to ensure money is not a barrier to the plan's success.
"It's unthinkable that polio still exists in the world when we have the tools and technology to protect children from this preventable, debilitating disease. Now is the time to invest in making polio history. Doing so will protect future generations of children and pave the way for other life-saving interventions to reach the world's most vulnerable populations," said Bloomberg. "We are thrilled to join the Gates Foundation and other partners in the effort to end this disease once and for all."
"We're at a critical juncture in the global effort to end polio. If we're going to achieve a polio-free world, we must act quickly and commit now to providing the resources needed to fund the GPEI plan and to get the job done. Mayor Bloomberg's commitment is a key development in helping to ensure that all children are protected from this and other vaccine-preventable diseases. I look forward to continuing to work with him on this and other critical global health initiatives," said Gates.
The number of polio cases plunged to the lowest level ever in 2012 - less than 225 cases - and the number of countries where polio transmission has never been stopped was reduced to three - Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. India, long-regarded as the nation facing the greatest challenges to ending polio, was declared polio-free in February 2012. In response, the World Health Assembly declared ending polio a "programmatic global health emergency" and the Presidents of Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan are overseeing the implementation of emergency action plans in their countries. These plans have led to significant advancements in the efforts to reach hard-to-access children with the polio vaccine. Last year, Pakistan reduced cases by two-thirds and Afghanistan by half, but the number of cases in Nigeria doubled.
Mayor Bloomberg's commitment is the result of a deepening collaboration between Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the field of global health. Ending polio is one of the Gates Foundation's top priorities. The Gates Foundation has partnered with the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco use, and last year, the two foundations joined with other partners from around the world to fund a groundbreaking global family planning initiative to extend information and services to 120 million women by 2020.
GPEI's Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018 is spearheaded by WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in broad consultation with countries, donors, vaccine manufacturers, regulatory agencies and national and international advisory bodies. The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunization in November 2012 followed by the WHO Executive Board in January 2013 endorsed the major objectives of the Plan and its associated milestones. Finalization of the Plan is anticipated in March 2013.
Polio is a vaccine-preventable disease that can lead to paralysis or death. Due to tremendous advances in 2012, there are today the fewest number of polio cases in the fewest countries ever, creating a unique opportunity to end the disease forever. In response, the GPEI has developed a long-term strategy to achieve global eradication by 2018. The eradication strategy addresses all aspects of ending polio, including stopping transmission, strengthening routine immunization, addressing challenges such as insecurity and access, and preparing the polio infrastructure to reach children with other health services. Polio partner organizations, donors and endemic countries are actively working to secure the necessary funds to ensure money is not a barrier to the plan's success.
"It's unthinkable that polio still exists in the world when we have the tools and technology to protect children from this preventable, debilitating disease. Now is the time to invest in making polio history. Doing so will protect future generations of children and pave the way for other life-saving interventions to reach the world's most vulnerable populations," said Bloomberg. "We are thrilled to join the Gates Foundation and other partners in the effort to end this disease once and for all."
"We're at a critical juncture in the global effort to end polio. If we're going to achieve a polio-free world, we must act quickly and commit now to providing the resources needed to fund the GPEI plan and to get the job done. Mayor Bloomberg's commitment is a key development in helping to ensure that all children are protected from this and other vaccine-preventable diseases. I look forward to continuing to work with him on this and other critical global health initiatives," said Gates.
The number of polio cases plunged to the lowest level ever in 2012 - less than 225 cases - and the number of countries where polio transmission has never been stopped was reduced to three - Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. India, long-regarded as the nation facing the greatest challenges to ending polio, was declared polio-free in February 2012. In response, the World Health Assembly declared ending polio a "programmatic global health emergency" and the Presidents of Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan are overseeing the implementation of emergency action plans in their countries. These plans have led to significant advancements in the efforts to reach hard-to-access children with the polio vaccine. Last year, Pakistan reduced cases by two-thirds and Afghanistan by half, but the number of cases in Nigeria doubled.
Mayor Bloomberg's commitment is the result of a deepening collaboration between Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the field of global health. Ending polio is one of the Gates Foundation's top priorities. The Gates Foundation has partnered with the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco use, and last year, the two foundations joined with other partners from around the world to fund a groundbreaking global family planning initiative to extend information and services to 120 million women by 2020.
GPEI's Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018 is spearheaded by WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in broad consultation with countries, donors, vaccine manufacturers, regulatory agencies and national and international advisory bodies. The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunization in November 2012 followed by the WHO Executive Board in January 2013 endorsed the major objectives of the Plan and its associated milestones. Finalization of the Plan is anticipated in March 2013.
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