Sierra Leone Rotary, others considerably score achievement in the eradication of Polio

Saidu Kanu, President of Rotary, WHO Representative witnessing

News Correspondent

The Sierra Leone Rotary and other partners in health have jointly commemorated the reserved efforts on the eradication of the polio-free in Sierra Leone, the even was occurred on the 25^th August, Wilkinson Road, Freetown.

President, Saidu Kanu Rotary Club of Freetown, in his speech, said, they were to attain such achievement through the relentless fundraising effort on their parts to ensure that polio comes to end life in the country.

He stated that every year, Rotary sets funding goals of millions of dollars and successfully exceeded them each year. In 2020, Rotary poises to raise $100 million to enhance the efforts, and in three years, Rotary ad the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced an increased combined pledge of up to $450 million with a 2-to-1 match from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation if Rotary reaches its funding target. The Rotary Clubs in Sierra Leone will continue to play its parts to contribute to the yearly fundraising goal.

 He maintained that Rotarians in Sierra Leone will remain more active as they have joined all partners to raise awareness, aggressively advocate the cause to public and private institutions, ensuring they contribute to the Global Fundraising process. He also emphasized that they will popularize immunization and surveillance programmes that government and partners were committed to supporting.

The Rotary president stated that Sierra Leone became Polio Free in 2010 and has remained so through the scheduling of local and national immunization days, routine surveillance and engagement at community and institutional levels, through decades of commitment and hard work Rotary with partners over 2.5 billion children have received the oral polio vaccine and have been save the scourge of unnecessary childhood paralysis.

Evans Liyosi, Representative of World Health Organization (WHO) intimated that, many years ago, when every day more than one thousand (1000) cases of polio were recorded globally, the thought of reaching such stage in the fight against the disease was farfetched.