Nigeria's Federal Minister of Health sends his Goodwill Message

Hon'ble Minister of Health, Prof. C.O.Onyebuchi Chukwu in his goodwill message to the India-Nigeria Polio Surgeries Medicare team, writes :

"The Federal Government identifies with the lofty ideals of the Mission in proiding succor to polio victims and thereby promoting the global polio eradication initiative. We at the Federal Ministry of Health and our partners remain committed to the objective of eradicating polio from Nigeria in 2015 and mitigating its health effects. We continue to appreciate the partnership with Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation in all our healthcare initiatives.

"I look forward to a successful outcome of the mision and succor to our unfortunate brothers and sisters who are affected by the polio scourge."

Indeed all of us who are part of this medicare mission look forward to be there at Abuja with our Nigerian brethren and make our humble contribution to make a difference in the lives of some of the people.  It may not be enough, but nevertheless, it would matter to all those whose lives would change...thanks to the expertise of our team of Doctors.  

Health Minister sends his message for India-Nigeria Polio Surgeries Team

Hon'ble Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, has sent his message of good wishes for the team of India-Nigeria Polio Surgeries Medicare Mission.

"The biggest challenge today," he writes, "is to end polio from the world to protect future generations from this scourge. The participation of people and communities is critical to the success of massive international and domestic efforts that are underway in different parts of the world."

He further adds, "I would like to take this opportunity to convey my wholehearted support and best wishes for the success of this mission since such humanitarian efforts go a long way in winning the trust of people and communities besides of course providing succour and relief to those in need."

Polio Surges in Nigeria

Here's a report from Voice of America that underlines the need to step up the efforts to eradicate polio in Nigeria.

Photo Courtesy: VOA/H.Murdoch

"Polio is again on the rise in Nigeria and doctors said the entire region should be on alert. An alarming number of new cases have been found in the north, where authorities are already dealing with the unrest caused by the militant group Boko Haram. Health officials warn that even a few cases of polio can lead to a devastating outbreak.  More

As we get ready to reach out to Abuja, the work for the  team of doctors from India who are now getting ready to fly from Mumbai on 1st of December for the 10-days India-Nigeria Polio Surgeries medicare mission, becomes more challenging and yet timely.  

Behind success of any public campaign is a champion.

Rotary International honoured Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan few months back for the Nigerian government's commitment to eradicate polio from the country.

Media from Polio-Endemic Countries Shares Concern

Worldwide the health authorities are worried about the setback to the immunisation efforts in the polio-endemic countries.

Here are some of the global media headlines:

WHO alerts on woresening health crisis in Nigeria
The Guardian, Nigeria

Rotary seeks polio support to end polio scourge
Nigeria 70

Polio Receding worldwide, but challenges remain.
Booster Shots



This Close – New 2012 from Rotary International on Vimeo.

We care for every child

We care for every child on this planet earth. Rotary started with this mission way back in 1979 when polio immunisation efforts were taken up by Rotary in Philippines.  Now with collective efforts of WHO, UNICEF, CDCC and Rotary, with the governments of almost every country around the world, we have got rid of polio...almost.  "But almost is not enough," reiterates Past Rotary International President Rajendra K. Saboo.  "We have to make sure that every child on this planet earth is protected against polio," he adds.

The India-Nigeria Polio Surgeries mission is to reach out to the parents in Nigeria so that they keep their child safe from the scourge of polio.  There are numerous polio-afflicted people in Nigeria. The polio-corrective surgery would help a few of them.  But every parent can ensure that polio does not afflict the future generation.

India-Nigeria Polio Surgeries Medicare Mission

Indian doctors to conduct 400 polio corrective surgeries in Nigeria

A team of 24 doctors and volunteers would fly out of Mumbai for a 10 days medical mission to conduct polio corrective surgeries in Abuja, Nigeria.

The team of Rotarian doctors comprising orthopedic surgeon, pathologist, anesthesiologists along with a team of volunteers would fly on 2^nd December morning from Mumbai to Abuja for the medical mission which is being conducted jointly by the Indian and Nigerian Rotarians assisted by The Rotary Foundation.

This India-Nigeria Polio Surgeries medical mission is dedicated to combat polio, generate awareness, and help the polio-affected population through corrective surgeries, informed former world president of Rotary International, Rajendra K. Saboo, who conceived the inter-continental medical missions in 1998 when he took a team of Indian doctors to Uganda.

The biggest challenge today is to end polio from the world and protect our children, he added.  Nigeria is one of the three remaining endemic countries in the world along with Pakistan and Afghanistan, and so long as there is even one country in the world affected by polio, it would continue to endanger the lives of the children everywhere, he said.

This polio corrective surgery project is different; since it is for the first time a single speciality surgical team is going to Africa.

“Certain sections of the population in Nigeria, which is still a polio endemic country, are resisting immunization efforts due to several misconceptions, and we hope that an initiative like polio corrective surgeries would help us send a strong message to the people and create an atmosphere of faith in this world-wide efforts to immunize children against polio,” Mr Saboo informed.

Similar situation in India was tackled in UP and Bihar through Rotary’s efforts to conduct similar camp in which nearly 4,000 children and adults underwent polio-corrective surgeries, he added.

The team of Rotarian doctors includes 12 ortho-surgeons, five anesthesiologists, one pathologist, one general surgeon, and five volunteers from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Himachal, Haryana, Maharashtra, Kerala and Uttrakhand.

“India as a country was always looked upon as a nation that would be looking for help from the outside help but with a whole lot of talent and expertise available in the medical field, the medical mission provided us the opportunity to reach across the borders with medical care for the people in need,” Rajendra K. Saboo says.

The doctors from India would be taking along specialized surgical equipment, medical supplies and would also train the local doctors in the procedures as well as making of prosthetic limbs,

Earlier multi-specialty medical missions went to Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Swaziland, Cambodia, Madagascar, Lesotho, Congo, Rwanda, etc. besides major medical camps have been organised by the team of doctors in the interiors of Madhya Pradesh.

Rotary International is a volunteer organization of business, professional, and community leaders who provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. There are approximately 1.2 million Rotary club members belonging to 33,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Learn more at www.rotary.org.