The Last leg of Journey towards Victory

Whatever the struggle, continue the climb. It may be only one step to the summit. Diane Westlake

I am moved by these words by Diane Westlake as it reminds me about the current phase that we are going through in continuing our commitment towards the eradication of Polio which is no doubt, a realistic and achievable objective now. With West Bengal being the only state so far with sole Polio case in 2011, we are just few steps away from reaching our goal.

Rotarians have flung themselves into Polio drive ever since the campaign was initiated. Our untiring effort has not only helped in controlling the tenacious disease from spreading like wild fire, but has also facilitated in making the life of children better. The anti-polio drive conducted by Rotary International’s India National PolioPlus Committee along with the Govt. of India and partners viz. WHO & UNICEF have saved the lives of 40 lakh children till date.

Success requires persistence. Today, we are aware that we have not succeeded yet and we need to move ahead with a greater degree of zeal and be prepared for the last 1% of fight against Polio which is going to be the most threatening of all the challenges that we have faced till date.

With the monsoon season upon us, the need of the hour is to remain ever vigilant and carry out massive immunization campaigns throughout the length and breadth of the country. Monsoon is the high-transmission season for Polio that brings with it the menace of the deadly Polio virus which generally grows during the monsoons as the atmosphere supports the growth of microbes during the rainy season. To prevent the deadly virus from springing back and spreading its terror, it is important to raise the immunity of children against Polio in every possible way.

Immunizing the children before the onset of monsoon should be treated as an urgent priority so as to avert the re-emergence of Polio Virus. We have to ensure that we reach out to the scattered and mobile population in difficult-to-reach areas .Simultaneously, through house-to-house visits, we have ascertain that people from both rural and urban areas participate in the polio-eradication programme by immunizing their children. Concurrently, we have to continue imparting regular education to the rural population on the importance of maintaining hygiene, nutrition and sanitation to keep Polio virus and other infectious diseases at bay.

Prevention of recurrence of Polio virus during Monsoon which is a high-risk season for Polio transmission would be counted as another alluring triumph which will take us another inch closer towards our mission of Polio eradication. It is going to be an intricate task with lots of stumbling blocks in between but despite all the hindrances we have to go to great lengths to conquer our goal of Polio eradication. You know the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. It implies that when any situation becomes complex, the strong will always work harder to meet the challenge." Let us imbibe the spirit of strength and courage and like true soldiers take charge to get our act together in order to fast-track our mission against Polio till we eradicate the horrendous Polio virus completely.

Polio eradication campaign has entered the final phase with our committed efforts and eradication of the last 1% of the Polio virus rests solely on our allegiance. This is the crucial period and let us not to give up but continue with the good work through the same zeal and strength as Polio eradication drive is on the home stretch now and victory is not far away. But let us remember that the fight is not over till we win !