World Polio Day
World Polio Day, 24 October 2009 was an ideal time to raise public awareness of the ravages of polio and garner support for eradication efforts.
The Final Inch - see the trailer
This Academy Award-nominated 38-minute documentary follows health workers, including Rotarian volunteers, as they immunize children in India.
A review
Few people have any real idea of the conditions of life in parts of India and this film gives an excellent view of the challenges of life in the slums, especially regarding health and sanitation. You see polio vaccination volunteers, Rotary members and health workers plodding through garbage, crossing rivers and facing extreme suspicion and prejudice as they try to reach every child. Once they reach a family, we see them labor to convince the parents that they are not there to hurt their baby, but to prevent it from getting polio, a disease that can cripple and kill. Yes, polio still exists in the world and ruins thousands of lives a year. It really opened my eyes and I can't recommend this film enough.
The long awaited DVD on the struggle to eradicate Polio, "The Final Inch" is now for sale on Amazon.com. It costs US$7.50 and US$2 of each sale goes to the PolioPlus. It's been translated into 19 languages. You can order it at this link .
More details of this film at www.thefinalinch.org (click on screenings at the bottom of the home page)
Communities are more likely to contribute to Rotary’s US$200 Million Challenge if they know that ending polio will
• Spare children forever from death and disability caused by the disease
• Save an estimated US$1 billion per year that could be spent on addressing other public health concerns
Rotary clubs and districts can use World Polio Day, a Saturday, to launch or conclude a full week of activities. For example, clubs could arrange screenings of The Final Inch at one or more community theaters.
For more examples of ways to observe World Polio Day, go to www.rotary.org and search challenge grant fundraising ideas. In a scene from The Final Inch, members of an immunization team carry oral polio vaccine to a village in India. Courtesy of Vermilion Pictures