Sharon Daves, a Truman, Arkansas native and UCA graduate (class of 1998), is Deputy Director of the Global Disease Detection Regional Center in India for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
Daves updated the Conway Noon Rotary Club on how polio eradication efforts are going in India and other countries.
Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal disease caused by a virus that spreads from person to person invading the brain and spinal cord and causing paralysis. There is no cure, but there are safe and effective vaccines.
Polio affects children under the age of five and one in every 200 cases, the paralysis is irreversible.
The strategy to eradicate polio is based on preventing infection by immunizing every child to stop transmission and ultimately make the world polio free.
Daves said we’re making good progress.
“We’re down from 125 countries battling polio in 1988 to only 3 remaining endemic countries today, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.” Daves added,
“There are five organizations working together to eliminate polio in India, The World Health Organization (WHO), the Government of India, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Rotary International and The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and we’re very close.” Routines vaccination campaigns are conducted, local celebrities, religious and political leaders work together to educate the population on the effects of polio and getting vaccinated early.
Daves thanked the efforts of Rotary International for their continued efforts to eradicate this terrible disease.
Members of the Conway Noon Rotary Club, just as all members of Rotary International the world over, live by the principles laid out in the 4-way Test. “Of all the things we say and do: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”