Certainly there are plenty of political developments to talk about as the Obama administration begins to define and act on its agenda, but today I'd like to mention something worthwhile that may get a little less notice:
In 1985 Rotary International, the umbrella organization of the 30,000-plus Rotary clubs all over the world, proposed a plan to eradicate the crippling disease poliomyelitis (polio) around the globe. In a major international effort since then, involving Rotary, the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, UNICEF and recently the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and funding of more than US $ 6 billion, polio has now been almost completely eliminated. Perhaps the best illustration of this success, I suspect, is that younger people in the U.S. probably have never, or rarely, heard of the disease, don't know anyone who is affected by it, and certainly never took shots or (later) mouth-administered vaccine for it.
The key words here are almost completely eradicated, because new strains have mutated over time, new cases of the disease continue to crop up in a few countries, and by travel from these countries, the disease has been spread back to some countries that were polio-free.
In the past, Rotary has raised a total of $825 million toward the eradication of polio, mainly from donations by individuals -- Rotarians and others -- around the world. Now, the Rotary Foundation has pledged an additional $100 million to help complete the job. If you'd like to find out more about this very worthwhile effort, please check out the RI Website, or if you would like to contribute directly, you can move right to the contribution page, select "Polio Plus Fund," and use your credit card to make a donation. It's secure, and it's tax-deductible (in the U.S.).
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