HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 02 World Polio Proclamation
World Polio Day Proclamation
Thursday, October 24, 2019
WHEREAS, Rotary in 1985 launched PolioPlus and in 1988 helped establish the Global
Polio Eradication Initiative, which today includes the World Health Organization, U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, to immunize the children of the world against polio; and
WHEREAS, polio cases have dropped by 99.9 percent since 1988 and the world stands on
the threshold of eradicating the disease; and
WHEREAS, to date, Rotary has contributed more than $1.9 billion dollars and countless
volunteer hours to protecting more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries; and
WHEREAS, Rotary is working to raise an additional $50 million dollars per year, which
would be leveraged for maximum impact by an additional $100 million dollars annually
from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and
WHEREAS, these efforts are providing much-needed operational support, medical staff,
laboratory equipment, and educational materials for health workers and parents; and
WHEREAS, there are Rotary members in clubs throughout Oregon that sponsor service
projects to address critical issues as poverty, disease, hunger, illiteracy, and the
environment in their local communities and abroad;
NOW,
THEREFORE: I, Christine Lundberg, Mayor of the City of Springfield, do herby proclaim
October 24, 2019
World Polio Day
and encourage all citizens to join me and Rotary International in the fight for a polio-free
world.
_________________________________
Christine L. Lundberg
Mayor