News of D5170 and Beyond TRF NewsToday ROTARY DISTRICT 5170 A P R I L 2 0 1 4 A B O U T THE ROTARY ROTARY BRINGS FREE HEALTH SERVICES FOUNDATION INTO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES The Rotary Foun- dation enables Ro- Rotary clubs of South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Nigeria and South tarians to advance Nigeria, Uganda, and Ghana team up with NGOs, Africa, reaching over world understand- businesses and governments for Rotary Family 275,000 people. Health Days More than 5,500 ing, goodwill, and Rotary members peace through the EVANSTON, Ill. — Rotary Family Health Days from 362 clubs par- – an innovative international campaign provid- improvement of ticipated. ing free health-care services to underserved health, the sup- families -- launches its fourth edition in April “We believe we have achieved ‘proof of con- port of education, 2014, aiming to reach 350,000 people in Ugan- cept’ and identified the power of our health and the alleviation da, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Swaziland campaign,” said Marion Bunch, director and and Lesotho. managing partner of RFHD and a Rotary club of poverty. member from Georgia, USA, who became ac- Rotary Family Health Days (RFHD) promotes tive in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa af- healthy living and disease prevention by ter losing a son to the disease, and has since providing free, comprehensive health-care ser- expanded the scope of her efforts to address Inside this issue: vices to tens of thousands of people in under- other health issues. “We have learned that privileged communities. The program, led by News Around the 1 when a campaign delivers several interventions World Rotary’s mobilizing arm - Rotarians for Family at once, the benefits rise exponentially for Health & AIDS Prevention - addresses Africa’s families and communities.” Polio News 2-3 most pressing health challenges, including HIV/ According to the World Health Organization Notes from the Chair 2 AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and reproductive health, as well as conditions such as diabetes (WHO), every year millions of Africans die Grants by Club 4-5 and hypertension. An important component is from diseases that are preventable and treata- APF Giving Update 6-7 immunizing children against polio, measles and ble. The region faces many challenges including other vaccine-preventable diseases. weak and fragmented health systems, inade- Tools for Success 8 quate resources for delivering proven inter- The Rotary-led program is sponsored by The ventions, limited access to health-services and Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, the South Africa extreme poverty. Rotary Family Health Days Department of Health, the Centers for Dis- addresses these challenges by bringing life- ease Control and Prevention CDC, USAID, saving health services into the communities the SABC and Caxton as primary media part- most at risk. ners as well as YFM, Media 24 news and Inde- pendent Newspapers in the Western Cape. Rotary Family Health Days 2014 RFHD launched in 2011 at 160 sites in Uganda South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho: April 2-4 and Kenya and immediately exceeded organiz- (160 sites) ers’ expectations by drawing 38,000 people to Ghana: April 10-12 (30 sites) the one-day event. In 2012, Nigeria signed on Uganda: April 10-12 (120 sites) and the program expanded to three days. By Nigeria: April 24-26 (150 sites) 2013, RFHD operated 368 sites in Uganda, From the desk of the chairman Roger Hassler, PDG In this edition of the TRF NewsToday you will read about all the wonderful grants that our clubs have been working on, and I applaud each and every one of them. Rotarians have Engaged Rotary and now are Changing Lives! I would specifically ask you to note how our Global Grants leverage our money to achieve and even great impact on the lives of people in the world. With approximately $195 thousand dollars of District Designated Funds (DDF) grants in excess o $1.1 million dollars have been generated. With the matching funds from TRF: One to one on DDF and .50 to 1 on cash, plus the contributions from host clubs and contributing organizations, so much more can be accomplished with Global Grants. Although the District is now at 97% of the Foundation Goal (the accumulation of the clubs goals), there are still 30 clubs that have not achieve the goal they set for themselves at the beginning of the year. There is still time and I would like to encourage club Presidents and Foundation Chairs to have a one on one conversation with the mem- bers who have not as yet made a contribution. Currently in our District there are 1412 members who have not made a donation and please do not forget our new members! The contribution does not have to be much, so $10 to $1,000 or more makes a difference in the life of someone less fortunate. OK, I can't end this note without mentioning Polio. It is vital that we continue our effort to eradicate this scourge against children. Please encourage members to be generous as with their help we can get this done! As always the Foundation team stands ready to help so feel free to call on us! SOUTH-EAST ASIA REGION OF 1.8 BILLION PEOPLE DECLARED POLIO-FREE Global Polio Eradication Initiative of the WHO South-East Asia Region The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) today congratulates the South-East Asia Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) on being certified polio-free, a historic milestone in the worldwide effort to end polio and real- ize the broad benefits eradication will bring. The 11 countries in the region – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste – are home to 1.8 billion people and represent the fourth of six WHO regions of the globe to be officially certified polio-free. India, once deemed the most difficult place to end polio, recorded its last case January 2011, enabling completion of regional certification. Other countries such as Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan have been polio-free and waiting for this day for more than 15 years. Ending polio in these countries forged strong systems now being used to advance other health priorities. In Bangla- desh, immunization coverage for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis rose from 82% to 96% between 2000 and 2012, in a pe- riod of intense polio eradication activity; in Nepal, the rate went from 74% to 90%. Some countries have expanded their polio surveillance networks to track other vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles & Japanese encephalitis. South-East Asia’s remarkable achievement in ending polio was made possible by unprecedented commitment from governments to hold high-quality vaccination campaigns that reached a total of 7.5 billion children over 17 years, in every home from the busiest city street to the remotest rural corner, with the dedication of millions of community health workers and volunteers. Between 1995 and 2012, the polio program conducted 189 nationwide campaigns across the region and administered more than 13 billion doses of oral polio vaccine. The region’s accomplishment marks a vital step toward the GPEI’s goal of delivering a polio-free world by 2018. Inno- vative approaches and new partners are driving global progress against a plan to stop transmission, improve immuniza- tion rates and make a lasting impact on child mortality. However, this progress is at risk unless polio is ended in the three countries where it has never been stopped: Recent outbreaks in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa are stark reminders that polio anywhere is a threat everywhere. Until polio is stopped in the remaining three endemic areas, all countries need to maintain sensitive surveillance and high immunization rates to rapidly detect any importa- tion of poliovirus and minimize its impact. Now that 80% of the world’s population lives in regions certified polio-free, the goal of eradication is closer than ever. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a public-private partnership led by national governments, the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Unit- ed Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. P A G E 3 Total cases Year-to-date 2014 Year-to-date 2013 Total in 2013 Globally 61 19 414 - in endemic countries 52 19 160 - in non-endemic countries 9 0 254 Polio Updates from around the globe - See more at: http://www.polioeradication.org/ Afghanistan in all of Asia. positive samples were detected in No new WPV1 case was report- The Peshawar valley is considered 2013 and 2014. ed. Total number of cases for the main engine of transmission. Immunization activity with bOPV 2013 is 14 and for 2014 the total targeting children up to age nine is 4. Central Africa are ongoing in West Bank and No new cases reported of vaccine In Equat Guinea 1 new WPV1 Gaza. case was reported. Total for 2014 -derived poliovirus (cVDPV2). West Africa Nationwide eradication activities is 3. No new WPV cases were report- are planned for late April using Due to continued virus circulation ed. bivalent OPV.. in Cameroon, WHO has elevated the risk of international spread to National campaigns are planned Nigeria “very high” . for April and May (multi country) No new WPV cases were report- Emergency response campaigns The Middle East ed . The total number of WPV are being conducted and assessed The most recent WPV1 case in cases for 2013 was 53. Total num- throughout the region in April, the region was in Iraq. ber for 2014 remains 1. May and June. This includes Cam- 40 cases are confirmed in Syria; No new cVDPV2 was reported.