Nassau, Bahamas -
On Thursday, February 23, the
Royal Towers at Atlantis will be illuminated with the message ‘End
Polio Now’ – a message that Rotary International is keen to have
the whole world see and understand.
The hope is that all who see
the brightly lit words emblazoned on the iconic Paradise Island landmark
will be inspired to join in the effort to rid the world of the deadly
disease.
The Rotary Club of East Nassau
is spearheading the local initiative to draw attention to the importance
of eradicating polio completely and Doctors Hospital has signed on as
a principal sponsor of the event.
On February 23, to mark the
107th anniversary of Rotary, the Royal Towers will be lit
up and RCEN will host a fundraising cocktail party from 6:00 to 8:00pm
on the Harbor Lawn, directly across from the Royal Tower, making The
Bahamas part of the lighting ‘chorus’ designed to raise funds and
awareness.
“In 2012 polio exists in
relatively small numbers in just four countries that are geographically
far removed from The Bahamas, but Doctors Hospital felt it important
to partner with Rotary in this ongoing eradication effort because we
realize that if this disease is not wiped out completely, it’s really
just a matter of time before it once again becomes something we all
have to be concerned about,” said Doctors Hospital Marketing Director
Jessica Robertson.
Rotary International took up
the challenge of eradicating Polio globally in 1985 and since then,
the world has gone from recording 350,000 new cases a year in 125 endemic
countries to fewer than 700 cases in four endemic countries, marking
a 99.8% decline in 27 years. In that time, type 2 Polio was eradicated
from the Earth, leaving just types 1 and 2.
“We really are this close
to eradicating Polio, but the last one percent is
predictably,
the hardest to achieve. Despite the impressive success already realized,
if we do not maintain our efforts in the endemic countries, over the
next 3-5 years in particular, there is a very real chance the virus
could re-establish itself, particularly in the African sub-continent
where living conditions, wide-spread migration across borders, cultural
and religious differences, make containing the virus that much harder,”
explained Lindsey Cancino of the Rotary Club of East Nassau.
Rotary Club
of East Nassau is hoping other corporate sponsors will come on board,
and tickets for the cocktail party on February 23rd are $25
and are available at
endpolionowbah@gmail.com
or by calling 396-0022.
