Lahaina Sunset Rotary to Raise Funds for Fight Against Polio

Image provided by Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset.

Following a major global health milestone last month, the members of the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset urge Maui residents to join them in the global fight to eradicate polio by visiting their education booth in front of the Lahaina Cannery Mall Safeway between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24.

The booth will feature written information about the End Polio Now campaign.

Buy a mug for $21 and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will match your contribution two to one. Donations will also be accepted.

This education day comes at an important time in the fight to eradicate polio, which would be only the second human disease to be eradicated after smallpox. In September, the World Health Organization declared Africa’s last polio-endemic country, Nigeria, polio-free, leaving only two countries which have never stopped the virus—Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In 1988, when Rotary and its partners committed to eradicating the disease, polio paralyzed more than 350,000 children per year in 125 countries—more than 1,000 per day. Since that time, the number of polio cases has been reduced by 99.9%, with less than 55 cases in two countries to date in 2015.

On Oct. 23, Rotary and UNICEF will host an event in New York City which will stream live online, providing an update on the world’s progress against polio, with notable speakers including journalists, health experts, celebrities, polio survivors and more. Viewers can tune in live at 6:30 p.m. EDT, or watch a recording of the event any time after it streams.

Rotary has contributed more than $1.4 billion to ending polio. Funds contributed to Rotary are tripled thanks to a two-to-one match by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Rotary is joined in the fight to end polio by its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a public-private partnership that also includes the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.

Visit rotary.org and endpolio.org for more about Rotary and its efforts to eradicate polio.

For more information about Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset, visit rotarycluboflahainasunsetblog.org.