The Rotary Club of Accra Airport on Thursday, October 19, held the 2023 edition of the polio fundraising breakfast meeting.
This event aims to support the Rotary Club International’s Polio Plus Project.
The ‘Arise for Polio’ initiative serves as a platform for Rotary Club members, partners, donors from the Ghanaian business community, and international organizations like UNICEF and the World Health Organization to come together in the fight against polio.
The event brought together individuals and organizations with a shared commitment to eradicating polio, a disease that has affected communities around the world. The Rotary Club of Accra Airport, in alignment with the global Rotary movement, is actively engaged in the battle against this debilitating illness, which continues to pose a threat to public health.
In a welcome address to the gathering at the Lancaster Hotel in Accra, the President of the Rotary Club of Accra-Airport, Peace Akwei-Brock said the ‘Arise for Polio’ campaign is a call to action, a rallying cry for communities, individuals, and organizations to join forces and finally rid the world of polio. She said the Rotary-Accra Airport, under her leadership and its dedicated members, has taken up this challenge with great enthusiasm.
She noted that the club has initiated a range of activities and fundraising efforts to support the campaign. These activities include charity walks, awareness drives, and partnerships with local businesses and organizations, all aimed at raising funds for the cause. The proceeds will be channelled into vaccination programs and other essential efforts to protect children from the virus.
She expressed her excitement about the campaign and noted that “Polio has no place in our world, and it’s an honour to be part of this global movement to eradicate it once and for all. Our club is committed to doing our part, and we call upon our community and partners to stand with us in this crucial endeavour.”
In a keynote address read on his behalf, the CEO of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr Bernard Okoe-Boye commended and congratulated Rotary International for all the efforts invested in their 37-year fight to eliminate polio globally.
“Polio is a very debilitating viral disease which has no cure and causes permanent irreversible paralysis or death in its victims, mostly children. Between July 2019 and August 2020, a total of 31 children were paralysed from the disease in Ghana. So, although the African continent was declared polio-free in 2020, the NHIA agrees that we cannot be complacent. Neither can we relent as a country in our efforts to continue the partnership against polio which the Rotary Club of Accra-Airport is aptly propagating,” he said.
“The NHIA appreciates that to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the attainment of Universal Health Coverage for Ghana, come 2030, the authority needs to embrace disease prevention activities, that which the Polio Fund is earmarked for, rather than just the curative aspect of diseases.”
The NHIA also donated an amount of GHS 20,000.00 to the Polio Fund in advance of World Polio Day to help eradicate polio.
The Rotary-Accra Airport Club is renowned for its dedication to humanitarian efforts and philanthropic initiatives in Ghana. They have been instrumental in spearheading numerous projects to improve the lives of individuals in their community, and this latest campaign is no exception.
Polio, a highly infectious disease caused by the poliovirus, has been a scourge throughout history, but thanks to extensive global vaccination efforts, the world is closer than ever to eradicating it. Rotary International has been at the forefront of this mission, tirelessly working to immunize children and strengthen healthcare systems in countries where polio is still a threat.