(openPR) - 10.20.2010– Evanston, Ill. USA – In recognition of World Polio Day, thousands of Rotary club members from the Bay Area will join together on Sunday, Oct. 24, to mark Rotary’s 25-year fight to eradicate this crippling childhood disease. Events will culminate in dramatic fashion at dusk, when the exterior of the San Francisco Ferry Building will be illuminated with Rotary’s pledge to “End Polio Now.

“This lighting event is not only a declaration of Bay Area Rotary members' commitment to end this disease, it reflects the commitment of Rotary members across the globe,” said Bill Koefoed, a member of the Rotary Club of San Francisco. “We have eliminated 99 percent of this disease and are going to continue our fight against polio until no child is threatened by it.”

The San Francisco Ferry Building will join other iconic structures worldwide that have carried Rotary’s message, including the Roman Coliseum, the Sydney Opera House, the British House of Parliament and Chicago’s Wrigley Building.

Earlier that day, an expected 3,000 Rotary members and supporters will walk from Pier 39 to the San Francisco Ferry Building along the Embarcadero to show their commitment to polio eradication. The public is invited to participate and can register at: bit.ly/bbAe8j

This year, significant progress has been made against polio in the remaining four polio-endemic countries, particularly in Nigeria and India. Nigeria, until recently the global epicenter of polio, has reported only eight cases in 2010, compared with nearly 400 at this point last year. India has also seen major progress, with an 80-percent reduction in polio cases since last year.

“We have come a long way,” said Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar, trustee chair of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. “We have reduced the number of polio cases by over 99 percent. But we can’t let up now. The remaining one percent is proving to be the most challenging, since the poliovirus persists in the most intractable parts of the world. We have the tools to eradicate this devastating disease. It’s up to us to make sure we have the resources needed to reach every child.”

Since 1985, eradicating polio worldwide has been Rotary’s top philanthropic goal. Rotary has contributed more than US$900 million and countless volunteer hours to protect more than two billion children in 122 countries. In addition to India and Nigeria, the disease remains endemic -- meaning spread of the wild poliovirus has never been interrupted -- only to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Until endemic polio transmission is stopped, other countries remain at risk for imported cases. For example, Tajikistan this year reported a serious polio outbreak traced to India.

In response to a $355 million challenge grant awarded to Rotary by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary clubs worldwide are aiming to raise a total of $200 million by 2012. The organization has already raised more than $147 million toward that goal. The funding will provide critical support to polio eradication activities.

Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide to provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. It is comprised of 1.2 million members working in more than 33,000 clubs in 200 countries and geographic regions.
For further information visit, www.rotary.org/endpolio or www.polioeradication.org

Tom McVey: 847-866-3065 (Office) 309-287-0945 (Cell) or Thomas.McVey@rotary.org
Ginger Taylor McDonald: 408-395-2622 or Rotaryzone26ginger@gmail.com

Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide to provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. It is comprised of 1.2 million members working in more than 33,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographic regions. Rotary members initiate community projects that address many of today’s most critical issues such as violence, AIDS, hunger, the environment and clean water.

Rotary International
1560 Sherman Avenue
Evanston, Illinois
60201
USA
Contact: Petina Dixon - 847-866-3054 or Petina.Dixon@rotary.org
Contact: Tom McVey - 847-866-3065 or Thomas.McVey@rotary.org