<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.20544" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=2> <STRONG><FONT size=3>Messages In This Digest (2
Messages) </FONT></STRONG>
<DIV id=ygrp-summary><A name=toc></A>
<DL>
<DT>1. <A class=ygrp-subj href="mhtml:mid://00000057/#1"><FONT face=Georgia
color=#1e66ae>1488: Somalia Polio Free</FONT></A> From: Sunil K
Zachariah
<DD> </DD>
<DT>2. <A class=ygrp-subj href="mhtml:mid://00000057/#2"><FONT face=Georgia
color=#1e66ae>1489: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to speak at Ontario presidential
peace s</FONT></A> From: Sunil K Zachariah </DT></DL></DIV>
<H1><FONT size=3>Messages </FONT></H1>
<DL class=first>
<DT>1. <A
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1406;_ylc=X3oDMTJxdDdybHFxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE0MDYEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIwNzIyMjEyNA--"
name=1><FONT color=#1e66ae size=2>1488: Somalia Polio Free
</FONT></A></DT></DL>
<H4 class=last><FONT size=2>Wed Apr 2, 2008 3:46 am (PDT)
</FONT></H4>
<DIV class=ygrp-content>Somalia scores `historic' polio-free achievement<BR>By
Dan Nixon and Vivian Fiore <BR><BR>In a triumph over violence, poverty, and poor
infrastructure, Somalia <BR>has once again become polio-free. The Global Polio
Eradication <BR>Initiative (GPEI) announced on 25 March that the West African
nation <BR>hasn't reported a case of polio since a year ago. Although it
<BR>eradicated the disease in 2002, Somalia became reinfected in 2005 by
<BR>poliovirus originating in Nigeria, resulting in an outbreak of 228
<BR>cases.<BR><BR>Innovative approaches tailored to conflict areas were pivotal
in <BR>conquering polio in Somalia. More than 10,000 volunteers and health
<BR>workers used several doses of monovalent vaccines to immunize <BR>children
in insecure areas in a short period. With strong community <BR>support, the
effort succeeded in reaching more than 1.8 million <BR>children under age five
across one of the most dangerous countries on <BR>earth.<BR><BR>"This truly
historic achievement shows that polio can be eradicated <BR>everywhere, even in
the most challenging and difficult settings," <BR>says Dr. Hussein A. Gezairy,
director of the World Health <BR>Organization'<WBR>s Eastern Mediterranean
Regional Office. <BR><BR>One of Somalia's volunteers and health workers is Ali
Mao Moallim, <BR>the last person on earth to contract smallpox — the first
disease <BR>eradicated worldwide — in 1977. Working with the World Health
<BR>Organization, he has traveled extensively in his country to immunize
<BR>children against polio and promote community support for immunization
<BR>campaigns. "Somalia was the last country with smallpox," he says. "I
<BR>wanted to help ensure that we would not be the last place with polio
<BR>too." <BR><BR>"Somalia beat polio in the midst of more widespread conflict
and <BR>poverty than that affecting Afghanistan and Pakistan," says Dr.
<BR>Maritel Costales, a UNICEF senior health adviser in New York, who <BR>cited
the challenges of overcoming widespread insecurity and large <BR>population
movements in a country with no central government. "But <BR>Somalia shows that
when communities are engaged, children everywhere <BR>can be
reached."<BR><BR>Afghanistan and Pakistan, which together accounted for 5
percent of <BR>all polio cases in 2007, could be the first of the four remaining
<BR>endemic countries — the other two are India and Nigeria — to end <BR>polio.
<BR><BR>Consistent financial commitment continues to be crucial to polio
<BR>eradication. Rotary International, the top private-sector contributor
<BR>and volunteer arm of the GPEI, has contributed US$9.2 million for <BR>polio
eradication in Somalia and $700 million worldwide since 1985. <BR>The global
effort faces a shortage of $525 million for 2008-09, <BR>funding urgently needed
to fight the disease in the remaining endemic <BR>countries and protect children
in high-risk polio-free areas.<BR><BR>"Somalia clearly shows that the tailored
tools and tactics of the <BR>intensified eradication effort are working," says
Mohamed Benmejdoub, <BR>chair of Rotary's Eastern Mediterranean PolioPlus
Committee. "A polio-<BR>free world is a feasible public health goal and a global
public good. <BR>I urge governments across the world — and in particular the G-8
<BR>countries — to rapidly make available the necessary resources. <BR>Together,
we can ensure that no child need ever again suffer the <BR>terrible pain of
lifelong polio paralysis." <BR><BR>Source: Rotary International News
<BR>Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary<BR><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=ygrp-dateline>
<DIV class=offset>2. <A
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1407;_ylc=X3oDMTJxOG5kcWxoBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE0MDcEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIwNzIyMjEyNA--"
name=2><FONT color=#1e66ae>1489: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to speak at Ontario
presidential peace s </FONT></A></DIV></DIV>
<H4 class=last><FONT size=2>Wed Apr 2, 2008 3:48 am (PDT)
</FONT></H4>
<DIV class=ygrp-content>Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to speak at presidential peace
summit <BR><BR>Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will speak to Rotarians about enviornmental
<BR>concerns and world peace during a keynote address this month at The
<BR>Presidential Peace Forum in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. <BR><BR>The conference
will take place 25-27 April and is aimed at increasing <BR>awareness about
Rotary's role in promoting peace. It will include a <BR>parade of international
flags, an ecumenical faith service, a <BR>concert, and panel discussions
centered around the forum's <BR>theme, "Peace Is Possible." RI President Wilfrid
J. Wilkinson will <BR>speak at the opening ceremony. <BR><BR>Kennedy was named
one of Time magazine's "Heroes for the Planet" for <BR>his success in helping
Riverkeeper lead the fight to restore the <BR>Hudson River. The group's
achievment helped spawn more than 160 <BR>Waterkeeper organizations across the
globe. <BR><BR>Other keynote speakers for the the peace summit include Former UN
<BR>Ambassador Allan Rock, Jordanian UN Ambassador HRH Prince Zeid Ra'ad <BR>and
Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Lloyd Axworthy. <BR><BR>In the three days leading up
to the event, various community <BR>activities will be held just across the
border in Detroit, which is <BR>connected to Windsor by a bridge over the
Detroit River. <BR><BR>In conjunction with the forum, organizers are encouraging
Rotarians <BR>to visit the event's Web site, Rotary Peace Summit, and share
stories <BR>about how they've worked to foster peace and understanding.
<BR><BR>"We're shining the light on what we do to make the world a more
peace-<BR>filled place," says District Governor Jennifer Jones, who came up
<BR>with the idea for the conference. "Rotary clubs initiate thousands of
<BR>humanitarian projects every year. Each child we teach to read, every
<BR>adult we help learn a trade, and every community playground we build <BR>is
another step toward bringing the world together." <BR><BR>Jones, governor of
District 6400 (Ontario, Canada; Michigan, USA), is <BR>planning on attendance of
4,000 and has reserved a quarter of those <BR>slots for youth participants. The
cost is US$175 for adults and $100 <BR>for youths. Rotarians and non-Rotarians
can register on the summit's <BR>Web site. <BR><BR>Source: Rotary International
News <BR>Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary<BR></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>