Rotary International aims to rid India of polio in two years

Banerjee added,“Nigeria has been most highly affected country with polio so far. The key cause for this is the lacking awareness among the people there. Despite the immunisation facilities being provided to them,they remain a little reluctant towards bringing their children for immunisation. We,therefore,offer them a lot of counselling,as well.”

Rotary International is one of the biggest service club organisations with over 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs worldwide.

Club members are volunteers from varied fields and professions who work locally,regionally and internationally to combat hunger,improve health and sanitation,provide education and job training,promote peace,and eradicate polio under the motto ‘Service Above Self’.

Banerjee is the Director of United Phosphorous Limited. His term as Rotary International president will end on June 30 next year.

The organisation,aiming at providing humanitarian services and developing peace among communities,has been running the polio eradication campaign globally for the last three decades.

The polio eradication project was initiated by the organisation in 1979 wherein more than 600,000 children were immunised against polio in the Philippines. The immunisations were followed in other Asian and African nations. In 1988,Unicef and WHO joined the campaign.

“Under our upcoming medico-mission project which begins in January,a team of 20 medical experts and 10 volunteers will be sent to Africa and Pakistan for providing free surgeries to the needy,” Banerjee said.

A similar project was carried out by the volunteers of Rotary International last year wherein nearly 3,000 free-of-cost orthopaedic,gynaecology,eye and dental surgeries were performed on the patients in Chindwara,Madhya Pradesh.