February 2021 Newsletter
Routine Immunization
A cornerstone of the polio eradication strategy is the need to ensure high (more than 80%) immunization coverage of children in the first year of life, with at least three doses of oral polio vaccine as part of national routine immunization schedules.
While routine immunization alone cannot eradicate the disease, good routine oral polio vaccine coverage increases population immunity, reduces the incidence of polio and makes eradication feasible.
If uniformly high immunization coverage is not maintained, pockets of non-immunized children build up, favouring continued spread and outbreaks of the poliovirus.
According to WHO/UNICEF immunization coverage estimates, 86% of infants received three doses of oral polio vaccine in 2010, compared with 75% in 1990.
Polio-free countries must continue to ensure high levels of immunization coverage to prevent the re-establishment of poliovirus through importations from other countries. This can happen through international travellers, migrant populations or population sub-groups who refuse immunization.
An increasing number of industrialized, polio-free countries are using inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in routine immunization schedules. IPV is not recommended for routine use in polio-endemic countries or in developing countries at risk of poliovirus importations as it does not stop transmission of the virus, and is more complex to administer and costly than oral polio vaccine.
Watch the Video "Every Last Child" Click HERE
What it takes to vaccinate 39 million children in Pakistan
Health workers take COVID-19 precautions to deliver polio drops
With masks on their faces and sanitizers in their pockets, an immunization team makes their way through the narrow lanes of Lahore’s historic old city.
“Our children are like flowers and these anti-polio drives help them grow up healthy and strong,” says Zubair, who along with his colleague Afzal is part of Pakistan’s 260,000-strong frontline vaccinator workforce.
It is the second day of the National Immunization Days (NID) campaign, which launched on 21 September, and the third immunization drive after a four-month suspension of door-to door campaigns due to the risks associated with COVID-19.
After polio campaigns were stopped in March 2020, the number of polio cases in Pakistan continued to increase. An initial small-scale round of vaccinations resumed in July, when over 700,000 children were reached. A second round went ahead in August, where 32 million children were vaccinated across the country. In both campaigns, vaccinators took precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including wearing masks and regularly washing hands.
The Rotary Week of Service is April 17-24, 2021
Rotary Grows Peace
This doable, meaningful service project addresses two of Rotary's 7 Areas of Focus: "Peace" and "Supporting our Environment." Promoting peace has long been a Rotary priority and supporting the environment was recently added recently to our Rotary efforts. Changes in climate have deeply affected
world peace. The loss of farmland, persistent drought and violent storms have disrupted people living on the margins all over the world. The upheaval and massive migrations of starving, frightened people resonate with all of us.
Building even one garden or planting one tree can provide benefits to a community. Imagine if Rotarians all over the state contributed their efforts to "green and growing" projects! Working with local partners we can contribute toward improved air quality while help ing to stabilize lives all over the world.
Interested? Start by identifying potential agencies and/or partners to approach. Your club might engage schools and colleges, County Master Gardeners, governments, private garden s and landscape centers Partnering with other Rotary Clubs will expand club resources Project ideas are provided below.
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DID YOU KNOW ROTARY PEACE FELLOWSHIPS ARE FREE?
READ TO LEARN MORE
Each year, Rotary awards up to 130 fully funded fellowships for dedicated leaders from around the world to study at one of our peace centers. The application process is February 1 – May 31. There is no cost to the applicant, nor the Rotary club or District.
Since the program began in 2002, the Rotary Peace Centers have trained more than 1,400 fellows who now work in more than 115 countries. Many serve as leaders in education, business, trade, research, law, journalism, governments, NGOs, the military, education, police and law enforcement, and international organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank.
Hopefully, you know someone personally, or through your network you know others who may know others interested in applying for the Rotary Peace Fellowship. Applicants can be working here in Arizona, or anywhere else in the USA, or the world.
Visit D5495 Website and click on “Resources” tab. Then click on the “Peacebuilding Resources” tab and you will see 6 helpful links under “Peace Fellowships/Peace Centers.”
A Power Point Presentation is available to all D5495 Rotary Clubs and is less than 10 minutes duration. Three members of the D5495 Peace Fellowships committee will be glad to make these presentations to your club via Zoom, and answer any questions:
Tony Cerato Mary Zongolowicz Zarrin Caldwell
D5495 Peace Fellowship Chair Rotary Club of Sun City Rotary Peace Fellow 2011
tcerato@aol.com mary.zongolowicz@gmail.com zarrin15@yahool.com
Our speaker for the day was Barb Feder, the District 5495 Diversity, Equity and InclusionTask Force Chair. Barb, who has been a Rotarian since 1992, president of the Tempe club in 1997-98 and president of Tempe Downtown in 2016-17 also served as District Governor for D5510 in 2001-2. Her honors include Paul Harris, Major Donor and the Rotary Service Above Self award. Her husband Abe is also a PDG.
Per Barb, RI has a central focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. While we are diversified internationally, not all groups are represented. An international task force is up and running, and even though Rotary has a history of diverse backgrounds, RI has affirmed its commitment by issuing a more explicit DEI inclusion statement in 2019.
ROTARY CLUB OF GOODYEAR PEBBLECREEK, Goodyear, Ariz.- The Rotary Club of Goodyear PebbleCreek (GYPC) values strong schools and strong communities. This thriving service club prioritizes partnerships with Avondale, Litchfield, and Agua Fria School Districts, with emphasis on Title I schools where children from low-income families compose at least forty percent of enrollment.
Most recently, GYPC Rotary donated 27 ChromeBooks to students at Corte Sierra Elementary School in the Litchfield Elementary School District. This generous gift was made possible by grant support from the United Parcel Service (UPS).
Principal Tanya Rotteger says, “In light of this global pandemic, our Falcons are relying on technology to protect their mental health and to achieve academic goals. Especially in light of the pandemic, many families simply cannot afford adequate devices for all of their children.”
In addition to critical technology for students, the GYPC Rotary Club has also raised money this year for emergency supplies for Title I school nurses, white boards for student use, STEM education funding, teacher appreciation gifts, student uniforms, and holiday boxes with food and books for families in need.
Presidential conferences showcase Rotaract | |||||||
RI President Holger Knaack will hold three virtual presidential conferences that will showcase the leadership of Rotaract members and collaboration between Rotaract and Rotary around the world. Knaack said he chose to focus on Rotaract leaders because young people have the potential to reshape our organization: “The COVID-19 epidemic has made clear that we are living in a different world, a world dominated by young people with the foresight and drive to take advantage of rapid change.” The three events will be hosted from Brazil, 15-16 January; Nigeria, 22-24 January; and the United States, 14-16 May. GRANTS
BRAND FIDELITY
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