Arab News Japan
TOKYO: To support World Polio Day and raise awareness of the disease, about 420 Rotarians held a walk in the Roppongi district of Tokyo as part of a worldwide campaign to eradicate polio.
The Tokyo Rotarians wore bright red T-shirts with “END POLIO NOW” written on them and marched from Karajan Square at the upmarket Ark Hills complex to the equally upscale Azabudai Hills.
Rotary Governor ITO Chie described the organization’s role in highlighting the disease and taking steps to eradicate it.
“Now is the time to once again deepen our understanding of polio, take action and spread the word to our local communities,” she said. “Eradicating polio is a promise that Rotary has made to the children of the world.”
MARUI Junko, representative of Medical Research Co., Ltd., a member of the Tokyo Chuo New Rotary Club, told Arab News Japan that The Rotary Club of Japan has conducted a polio vaccination campaign in Karachi and surrounding areas in 2023 to protect Pakistani children from the highly contagious disease.
The Rotary Foundation launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988 when there were 350,000 polio cases worldwide each year. There has been a 99.9 percent drop in polio cases since then.
Polio, or acute poliomyelitis, especially affects children under the age of 5. It is transmitted from person to person, most commonly through contaminated water. There is currently no cure, but it is preventable with a safe vaccine.
SEIKE Ai, the governor of Tokyo’s Minato Ward, told Arab News Japan she is attending the event to contribute to the polio eradication campaign in the world including in Gaza.
The World Health Organization says that the second phase of a polio vaccination campaign has started in central Gaza. Aid groups carried out a first round of vaccinations last month.
