Town Hall ceremony to celebrate global fight against polio

A special ceremony will take place later this week at Dukinfield Town Hall to mark World Polio Day and celebrate the global progress made towards eradicating the disease.

At 12 noon on Friday, October 24, the Civic Mayor of Tameside, Cllr Shibley Alam, will join members of the Dukinfield and Stalybridge Rotary Club on the steps of the town hall to honour Rotary International’s decades-long fight against polio.

Rotary International has been at the forefront of the global eradication campaign since 1979, working in partnership with the World Health Organisation and other agencies to immunise more than 2.5 billion children worldwide. Their efforts have led to a 99.9% reduction in cases. In 1988, polio affected an estimated 350,000 people across 125 countries. Today, only 25 cases have been recorded globally this year, all confined to the same strain in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Ian Cochrane, the club’s Foundation Lead and District Governor Elect, expressed pride in the club’s ongoing contribution to the cause.

“Dukinfield and Stalybridge Rotary Club is very proud of its continued support for the End Polio Now campaign. We are one of the largest donors amongst Rotary Clubs in the Northwest and recently received a certificate of appreciation for our financial support of the End Polio Now: Countdown to History campaign. Together, we will fulfil our promise to the children of the world to eradicate polio.”

As part of their fundraising efforts, the club will also host a Curry Night at Candolim Restaurant in Stalybridge on Thursday, October 30, with all proceeds going to the End Polio Now campaign.

Rotary members say the goal of a polio-free world is now within reach and will stand as a “lasting gift to future generations” a powerful example of what can be achieved through global cooperation and local community action.