End Polio 2026
Since the Global Polio Eradication initiative was launched in 1988 purple has been
the chosen colour for World Polio Day, and on Saturday 24 October McCaig’s Tower
was lit in purple. Due to the work by Rotary and assistance from the Bill Gates
Foundation and international partners, polio has been 99.9% eradicated in the
world.
Still work to do but a great achievement.
Rotary International End Polio Now, Open Gardens Event - over £500 raised!
On Sunday 18th August, Rotary Club of Oban member Dot Dahl, and neighbours Gail and Bernard Boniface, opened their gardens at Mosspark, N Connel, to raise money towards Rotary International’s End Polio Now campaign. As well as two very different gardens to view, there were refreshments, accompanied by 6 local musicians playing traditional music, stalls, and some fun and games.
Dot Dahl said “I was absolutely delighted with the response. Local people’s generosity is remarkable. The sum of over £500 was raised on the day which will go goes towards the eradication of the wild polio virus. This takes millions of pounds, and is only made possible by donations such as these, which multiplied globally amounts to a great deal of money. This is matched by The Bill Gates Foundation, which is what makes the aim of eradication of the virus possible, hopefully within this decade.
Dot also mentioned a very recent BBC programme, The Life Scientific, featuring Bill Gates, his professional life, and now his philanthropic work. It is available to listen to as a podcast on BBC Sounds.
End Polio Now
Keen North Connel gardener and Rotary Club of Oban member, Dot Dahl opened her garden gates to the community and raised £335 for the Rotary Great Britain and Ireland Foundation Campaign to End Polio now on September 9th.
The Pop Up Open Garden was all Dot’s idea. She advertised the event by leafleting her neighbours, WhatsApp and by word of mouth around the community. Fellow Rotary Club of Oban and Oban U3A members were joined by Dot’s friends and neighbours and everyone enjoyed an afternoon of tea, cake (lot’s of cake), competitions, homemade waffles and a tour of Dot’s late summer garden. Even the showers didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits.
Dot said, “The turnout was brilliant, we had fun and we were able to raise some money for a great cause. I’ve been getting envelopes of donations being dropped through the letter box since the event which is amazing. I really want to thank everyone who supported the event.”
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ou can learn more about the GB&I End Polio Now Campaign here - https://www.rotarygbi.org/our-causes/end-polio-now/. If you’re interested in making a positive contribution to the Community please reach out to a Rotary Club member or visit our Website and Facebook page to learn more.
End Polio Now
In 1985, Rotary made a pledge to eradicate polio. Since then, together with partner health agencies, Rotary has brought down the number of cases by 99%, with the result that polio is on the brink of being only the second disease ever to be completely eradicated. There are now only three countries in the world where polio is still endemic - Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria - and in these countries there remains only a handful of cases.
Polio is a crippling disease that can lead to limbs of the victim becoming limp and disfigured and, in some cases, can cause paralysis and even death. Luckily, with a simple immunisation, children can be completely protected from this debilitating and potentially fatal disease.
Rotary clubs in Great Britain and Ireland have donated more than £19 million to polio eradication initiatives.
Rotary members worldwide have so far raised £570 million and every penny raised goes to the project. Rotarians all work on a purely voluntary basis so funds are not drained away in administration costs.
As a follow on from the "End Polio Now" campaign which Rotary International started in 1985 with other health agencies Oban Rotary Co-Ordinator Walter Burton is seen here accepting a cheque for £750 from President Graham Fraser towards the continuing campaign.
The £750 was raised locally in Oban which included the sale of "polio Jam" with Rotarians Ronnie Forbes and Derek Connery also in the picture holding the jars aloft.
