{"id":9626,"date":"2010-06-07T16:48:11","date_gmt":"2010-06-07T20:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierraexpressmedia.com\/?p=9626"},"modified":"2010-06-07T16:48:11","modified_gmt":"2010-06-07T20:48:11","slug":"bill-gates-signs-football-in-nigeria-to-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/?p=9626","title":{"rendered":"Bill Gates signs football in Nigeria to support"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rotary clubs in Nigeria and across the continent unite\u00c2\u00a0as ball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 4-month journey comes to a close in Egypt<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

ABUJA, Nigeria (June 7, 2010)<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, gave the Kick Polio Out of Africa (KPOA) campaign a boost today by signing the football which is traveling from Cape Town to Egypt ahead of the 2010 World Cup. During the ball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s epic journey through 22 polio-affected and high-risk countries, Rotary clubs throughout Africa are mobilizing the public for massive immunizations and raising awareness for polio eradication. Gates lauded Rotary\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s efforts to help kick polio out the continent — and eventually out of the world.<\/p>\n

Gates also commended Nigeria for making significant gains in the fight against polio and urged them to finish the job. He joins Nigerian officials in bringing attention to the current immunization rounds throughout Africa targeting more than 100 million children under the age of five.<\/p>\n

Since Rotary and its partners began their fight against polio in 1988, the incidence of the disease has been reduced by 99 percent.\u00c2\u00a0 In Africa, only Nigeria remains polio-endemic, but the disease still affects children in many other high-risk countries, emphasizing the importance of protecting all African children from polio. According to the World Health Organization, only three cases of polio were reported in Nigeria through 25 May this year, compared with 276 cases reported during the same time period in 2009.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nigeria\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recent progress against polio is an achievement that all Nigerians should be proud of,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Gates. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thanks to political and traditional leaders, dedicated health workers, and loving parents who want to protect their children, Nigeria is on a path toward eliminating polio.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

After traveling for almost four months across the continent, the football is close to reaching it final destination in Alexandria, Egypt.\u00c2\u00a0 The grand campaign finale will be held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, on 12 June, under the auspices of First Lady Suzanne Mubarak.\u00c2\u00a0 African Cup of the Nation champions will kick the ball — symbolically kicking polio out the continent and into the Mediterranean Sea.\u00c2\u00a0 Also attending the event will be film star and polio goodwill ambassador Hany Salama, polio-infected children, government officials, and dignitaries.<\/p>\n

Says Bibliotheca Alexandrina Director Dr. Ismael Serageldin, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Polio still exists, but polio can be eradicated. We cannot let forgetfulness or disinterest keep so many unfortunate victims in misery.\u00c2\u00a0 We are so close.\u00c2\u00a0 Let us all together give the final push.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

On 23 February, Rotary launched its \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kick Polio out of Africa\u00e2\u20ac\u009d awareness campaign in Cape Town, one of the host cities to the 2010 World Cup, with the symbolic kicking of a ball signed by Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Afflicted with polio as a child, Tutu joined the campaign as goodwill ambassador. From Egypt, the ball will travel to Montr\u00c3\u00a9al, Canada, to be presented at the Rotary International Convention later this month. The ball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s journey is being underwritten by DHL Express.<\/p>\n

In support of the campaign, Rotary launched a virtual ball inviting football fans and supporters around the world to sign the ball.\u00c2\u00a0 With a few simple clicks of a mouse, one can sign the online ball at www.kickpoliooutofafrica.org<\/a> and join the global movement of solidarity to save all children from this crippling and sometimes fatal disease. The signatures will be formally presented to the spearheading partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative after the 2010 World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We are calling on the continent’s football players to bring their enormous influence to this campaign. Only unified efforts which galvanise whole societies towards these goals will succeed in kicking this virus, that looks so much like a football, out of Africa and eventually, out of the world,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d declared former South African President Nelson Mandela, in his 1996 address at the Organization for African Unity Summit as he formally kicked off the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kick Polio out of Africa\u00e2\u20ac\u009d campaign. \u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153As the volunteer arm and private-sector partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Rotary has contributed $388 million for polio eradication efforts in Africa,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says June Webber, Rotary\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s South African campaign organizer. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153As we celebrate the first World Cup on African soil and the 20th<\/sup> anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela from prison, Rotarians and our global partners are determined to provide Madiba (Mandela\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Xhosa title) with a lasting legacy.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Nigerian national team captain Nwankwo Kanu joined the campaign announcing that he has two goals for 2010:\u00c2\u00a0 Kanu wants Nigeria to shine at the upcoming World Cup and also wants to eradicate polio from Africa.<\/p>\n

Polio eradication has been Rotary\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s top priority for more than two decades. The international humanitarian service organization has contributed more than US$900 million toward a polio-free world, and is a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, along with the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF.<\/p>\n

Rotary recently pledged to raise US$200 million to match $355 million in challenge grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. All of the resulting $555 million will be spent in support of eradication activities.<\/p>\n

Great progress has been made, and the incidence of polio infection has plunged from about 350,000 cases in 1988 to fewer than 2,000 in 2009. More than two billion children have been immunized in 122 countries, preventing five million cases of paralysis and 250,000 paediatric deaths.<\/p>\n

The football\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s journey can be followed on http:\/\/kickpoliooutofafrica.wordpress.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To sign and kick the virtual ball, go to www.kickpoliooutofafrica.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For video and still photos, go to: www.thenewsmarket.com\/rotaryinternational<\/a><\/p>\n

By\u00c2\u00a0: Rotary International<\/em><\/p>\n

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Rotary clubs in Nigeria and across the continent unite\u00c2\u00a0as ball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 4-month journey comes to a close in Egypt ABUJA, Nigeria (June 7, 2010) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Bill […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":75801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[751,1],"tags":[3439,3440,3441,3442,3443,3444],"class_list":["post-9626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-news","category-uncategorized","tag-bill-melinda-gates-foundation","tag-bill-gates","tag-kick-polio-out-of-africa","tag-kpoa","tag-melinda-gates","tag-rotary-international"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}