Two Drops Is All it Takes: Preventing Polio

At the United Nations, where I first learned about Rotary and the opportunity of the Ambassadorial Scholarship, I had seen their flagship program “PolioPlus” all over the place.  The red “End Polio Now” posters were all over the WHO and UNICEF and in researching in preparation for my scholarship I had seen pictures of Rotarians in faraway places issuing immunizations to young children and infants.  The United Nations celebrated the success of the program each year with Rotary and I was determined to find a way to join them on this adventure.  

 

Today, Wednesday, February 15^th 2012, my dream came true.

PolioPlus is Rotary's most ambitious program in the organization's history, and something that I have waited a very long time to participate. Since 1985, Rotary has led the private sector in the global effort to rid the world of this crippling disease partnering with WHO, UNICEF, CDC and the Gates Foundation.

Hanging out with family after several successful immunizations!

To date, over 2 billion children have been immunized against Polio and there has been a 99% reduction in the number of cases each year.  When Rotary first launched its PolioPlus campaign in 1985, there were over 350,000 cases of polio each year – over 1,000 cases per day in over 125 countries.  Today, to date, there are 210 countries, territories and areas around the world that are polio-free.  Annual cases are down to fewer than 1,700 a year and there are currently only four countries which remain polio endemic: Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Nigeria (PAIN). Rotary to date has committed over $881 million to eradicating polio, and will announce an additional $200 million fundraised for the cause at the Rotary International Convention in Bangkok this summer. 

My very first immunization

Just two drops can prevent polio.  So, what does it feel like to be administering those precious two drops?  I find that I rarely am at a loss for words, but when trying to describe the emotions from participating in Rotary's National Immunization Day – I am speechless.  How do you describe the feeling of directly impacting twenty infants’ lives – just by simply squeezing two drops into their mouths?  It feels like playing God with the ability to change lives.  And by the end of the day, after we counted our medical records and packed up to go home, it felt a bit like Superwoman (sans the tight leather suit) when she soars around skyscrapers after saving the town from evil.  To think that in that day, we were a part of the over 2 billion immunizations against polio, is overwhelming, humbling and liberating all at the same time.

For my first attempt, the Rotarians were nice enough to give me a happy looking 18 month old baby.  As some experienced Rotarians noted – the infants don’t even know what is happening, so they are always happy and easy to distract.  My hands were shaking as I lifted the dropper to her mouth and I cringed as I watched her make a horrible face at the taste of the drug.  She started to open her mouth to cry, but the same more-experienced PolioPlus Rotarian jumped in and distracted her with a cookie.  Those cookies quickly became my bargain over the course of the next several hours – and worked to sweeten every bitter-tasting experience by simply dangling it in front of the toddler’s face, seconds after administering the drops.

Cookies: Almost as good as a magic trick!

I got better overtime, but still couldn’t deal with the fact that my delivering the drops caused this shock and pain to come over each child’s face.  They would wince and I was right there with them – with upturned lips, squinted eyes and a squished nose, hoping it would all be over for them soon.  One little girl, in a beautiful pink dress and black shiny shoes was screaming before I even came near her with the drops.  I had to force myself to keep my eyes open as I winced giving her the drops.  She kicked and screamed and wrestled my hands but within seconds, it was all over and she was happily eating her cookie.

Yuck that stuff can't taste good

While the entire day was spectacular, and my head spun as I tried to remember and capture each and every child, there was one family that stood out above all others.  Limping towards us, using two crutches, was a man, about in his 40s, with serious crippling from polio.  With him skipping along were his two daughters, in pig tails and colorful dresses, babbling away to their Dad who struggled to make the long walk down the narrow streets in the village to where the immunization table was.  As he handed me their medical records, he smiled with a toothless grin and said to me in Thai, (which someone translated), “This is important. I wish my parents had taken me.  I do not want them to live as I do.”

 

There is no better way to understand Rotary, service and mankind than in that moment.

To learn more about Rotary International's fight against Polio - Click HERE!