News Release
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October 24th was World Polio Day in the city this past Friday, and a special End Polio Now fundraising lunch was held at the Davedi Club.
The lunch, a joint effort of the Rotary Club of North Bay and the Davedi Club, raised an estimated $2,000 towards the complete eradication of polio by 2018. Thanks to the current partnership in place with The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the actual amount being contributed will end up being doubled to $4,000.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative continues to be Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation’s number one priority. Rotary and its partners, have reduced polio cases by 99 percent worldwide since the first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979, with currently only 3 polio-endemic countries remaining – Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, also involves several partners – WHO (World Health Organization), UNICEF, CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Earlier in the day, Mayor McDonald joined North Bay Rotary Club President Colin Thacker and Julie Perry, President of the Nipissing Club in raising the End Polio Now flag at city hall.
For more information on this initiative or to make a donation online visit - www.rotaryclubofnorthbay.org.
