John Reed applies the vaccine to a young child

JOHN Reed has had the unforgettable experience of taking part in the continuing push to rid the world of polio.

The opportunity arose for the former president of the Rotary Club of Jersey on 7 February in Chandigarh in the north of India, where John witnessed the amazing logistics involved in the National Immunisation Day for Polio.

Also with him was his wife Doreen, the chairman of the Rotary Club of Jersey’s international Committee Tony Allchurch, who had also been at the 2009 National Immunisation Day event, and Tony’s wife Maggie.

The population in the immediate area where they were based for four days was 30,000 and the aim was to vaccinate the 2,000 children aged up to five needing to be protected in this way from polio.

Also watching this vast undertaking with them were Rotarians from many countries including the United States, Norway, Australia and Finland who, like themselves, were being hosted in the homes of Chandigarh Rotarians.

It was in 1985 that Rotary International made the pledge to eradicate polio worldwide. Working with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and World Health Organisation, the charity has made enormous strides in combating polio. However, the disease still needs to be eradicated in some areas of India, Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

John said that the scenes around the vaccination stations set up around the country were very busy and colourful. ‘Once a child is vaccinated, the little finger is dipped in purple dye so that the organisers can keep track of who has already been given the medication,’ he said.

During the line-up, he played a personal role in the event by being permitted to give a young child the vaccine – two drops of which are dropped onto the tongue.
‘The youngest child we saw vaccinated was just 12 days old,’ he said.

By the time they left the area there were just a handful of children on the list who had not yet been brought to the station. ‘In the days which followed, the outreach team were due to go out and find them so that everyone in the area would be protected from the disease,’ he said.

The toll which polo takes on those not fortunate enough to have been given the vaccine years ago was readily apparent on the streets of India. ‘Polio victims with severe disabilities were a common sight there,’ he said.

The Rotary Club of Jersey donated £16,000 – increased to £48,000 by Chandigarh Rotary Club and Rotary Foundation – which funded 50 operations in Chandigarh to repair congenital heart conditions in children.

Working together, the Rotary Club of Jersey and Rotary de la Manche have raised over £30,000 since the launch of the Polio-Plus campaign in March 2009. Flag days on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 April are being staged in the Island to bring in more funds for this work.