World Polio Day
PRESS RELEASE
Rotary members in New Zealand will be among thousands worldwide reaching out during the week commencing on World Polio Day, 24th October 2016, to raise awareness, funds and support to end polio – a vaccine preventable disease that still threatens children in parts of the world today. Since Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) nearly 30 years ago, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to 26 confirmed as of 19th September 2016. They are in Pakistan 14, Afghanistan 9 and Nigeria 3. To sustain this progress, and protect all children from polio, experts say a further US $1.5 billion is urgently needed. Without full funding and political commitment, this paralysing disease could return to previously polio-free countries, putting children everywhere at risk. World Polio Day is celebrated each year. Initially it was established by Rotary to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis. Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease with no cure, but can be prevented through immunisation. The vaccine, given multiple times, almost always protects a child for life. The strategy to eradicate polio is therefore based on preventing infection by immunising every child until transmission stops and the world is polio-free. Rotarians throughout the world have been asked to contribute NZ $75 million in the year to 30 June 2017 toward the initiative. The Ministers’ of Health from G7 countries met in Kobe, Japan in September 2016 and their statement included: “The end to polio is also within reach. Financing polio eradication activities to ensure we have the last global case this year, will require commitments from all stakeholders to reach every child, including in challenging operating environments, with the polio vaccine.” Stuart Batty, Rotary’s PolioPlus National Advocacy Advisor for New Zealand urges the New Zealand Government to reconsider its stated position and urges it to support again the GPEI as it did up to 2010. Further information may be found at www.rnzwcs.org...
End
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
-
61.9% Summer
-
36.6% Winter
-
1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
Loading…
