Staff Writer

Oct 4, 2022

Rotary International District 3011, Delhi Fellowship for Cycling to Serve, and Delhi Public School conducted a mega cycle rally to raise awareness about leprosy and Polio on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti this year.

India was declared Polio-free by WHO in 2014 and the last case was detected in 2011. However, in recent months, over 27 incidents of wild Poliovirus have re-emerged from different parts of the world including – Afghanistan (2), Pakistan (19) and Mozambique (6). The detection of Poliovirus, and even cases of Polio, in places where it hasn’t been found for years has demonstrated once again that eradicating a human disease isn’t easy, especially in the final stages.

Rotary members along with its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) have been at the center of the worldwide effort to eradicate Polio for more than three decades. In 2020-21, 1,27,558 new leprosy cases were detected. Out of these, approximately 60 per cent were from India. Leprosy is curable and becomes non-communicable with just a few doses of MDT.

Deepak Kapur, Chairman, Rotary International’s National PolioPlus Committee, said, “The re-emergence of Polio highlights the importance of vaccination as the only form of protection against Polio and many other diseases. People need to be encouraged to get vaccinated when vaccination rates are dropping in some communities. And it reinforces the fact that Polio anywhere is a threat everywhere, which underscores the importance of the End Polio Now campaign.”

RI District 3011 Governor, Rtn Ashok Kantoor, said, “As part of this initiative, Rotary members are contributing ₹30 lakh to support our fight against Polio across the world. There is a lot of misinformation regarding Leprosy, particularly with respect to its perceived incurability, which results in social exclusion and stigma. It is important that there is awareness about its treatment and curability. The goal of this rally has been to create awareness among people regarding both these diseases.”

Satish Upadhaya, Vice Chairman, North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), said, “I laud the work being done by the Rotary Clubs in fighting Polio and now in creating awareness around Leprosy. Only with this knowledge will the ostracization of patients end, allowing them to live a life of dignity and security.”