The Rotary Club GOOD NEWSGOOD NEWSGOOD NEWS

Volume 13 Number 11 November 2012

The Rotary Club of Menifee meets Thursdays at 12:10 p.m., Menifee Lakes Country Club, 29875 Menifee Lakes Drive, Menifee, CA 92584 Voted BEST local non-profit by Menifee Chamber of Commerce

Rotary District 5330 ● Home of a Million Acts of Service

Honk if you like car shows.

The Annual Menifee Motor Madness car show headed into town Saturday, October 13. The show featured classic cars, hot rods, and ‘modifieds’.at the Menifee campus of Mt. San Jacinto College. Besides the view-ing, the public enjoyed music, vendor booths, food and drink. Trophies were awarded in various categories. Motor Madness is a regular stop on the car show circuit and entries arrived from throughout the area.

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A Conversation With: Polio Expert Naveen Thacker By PAMPOSH RAINA

India appears to have succeeded in the fight against polio, with no new cases reported in the country since January 2011. The country will be certi-fied "polio-free" in January 2014 by the World Health Organization if no new cases are reported between now and then, and has already been removed from a list of countries with "active transmission of wild poliovirus." Dr.

Naveen Thacker, Standing Committee Member of Inter-national Pediatric Association The difficulty India has had controlling other infectious diseases, like tuberculo-sis and dengue, makes polio's eradication here even more remarkable. In honor of World Polio Day, India Ink interviewed Dr. Naveen Thacker, part of the team that led India's eradication effort. In emailed responses, he explained the reasons for India's success with polio and the difficulties it encountered on the way. Q. What were the two or three most important things that India's policy makers did to eradicate polio in the coun-

try?

A. Firstly and critically, there was strong leadership and political support at every level of government. Crucially, the government set up the India Expert Advisory Group to en-sure that we could identify and address challenges quickly and effectively. For example, being able to identify high-risk children that were missed in a polio vaccination round meant health workers could go back and ensure that each and every child received their polio vaccine. Secondly, the government of India and public-private partnerships to-gether put in almost $1.5 billion to the polio eradication campaign. Combined with the partnership of Rotary Inter-national, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, India was able to deliver vac-cines to those that had previously been unreached. In Bi-har, and Uttar Pradesh, we made history by administering over 900 million doses of oral polio vaccine. Linked to this, utilizing new technological innovations was crucial to In-dia's eradication success. For example, genetic sequenc-ing helped us quickly identify where an outbreak of the virus had originated, so that we could prevent more polio cases. Furthermore, the new bivalent vaccine in 2008 meant children were better protected against polio and it cost less money.

Q. What was your contribution to the overall polio eradi-

cation program in India?

A. I got involved in polio eradication in 1994, when there was a polio outbreak in my home state of Gujarat, where I personally saw 55 cases in less than two months. Initially I was involved in creating awareness of the polio virus and wrote small booklets that I distributed to all pediatricians in India and Rotary clubs of polio-endemic countries. In total, I wrote over 8,000 postcards a year to pediatricians and Rotarians to support Pulse polio [the government vaccina-

tion program] and report cases of acute flaccid paralysis. Stemming from this, I was invited to be a member of the India Expert Advisory Group and have served for more than a decade, contributing to the government's polio pol-icy, with recommendations on behalf of the Indian Acad-emy of Pediatrics. I have also published a number of pa-pers, chapters in books, newspaper articles and delivered more than 100 guest lectures and talks on polio, including a talk at the National Institutes of Health in 2007.

Q. What hurdles were encountered while making people aware of the polio eradication program, especially in rural

India? How were those overcome?

A. It was difficult to convince people to take repeated polio doses and there were some pockets of resistance, particu-larly in western U.P., in minority communities. This resis-tance mainly stemmed from false rumors about the polio vaccine. This was overcome by involving religious leaders, local medical practitioners and huge celebrities like Ami-tabh Bachchan, who together highlighted the necessity for polio eradication. Where the mass marketing campaign did not reach, the door-to-door campaign by 2.3 million volun-teers across the country meant that we reached children in the hardest-to-reach rural communities.

Q. Were people more receptive to the anti-polio drive in

urban India?

A. Yes, the mass-media polio campaign meant we reached the urban population with polio messages much more eas-ily than in rural areas. There were still challenges. For ex-ample, some middle-class communities were reluctant to take repeated doses as they felt their child was fully pro-tected. We got past this challenge by engaging members of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, who were able to con-vince parents of the need to take additional polio drops.

Q. Can the Indian model of success be replicated in countries such as Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan that are struggling to fight the disease? Is it true that Indian

expertise is being sought by some of these countries?

A. Absolutely, many experts said that polio eradication was impossible in India. We've proven that by investing in the polio program, both politically and economically, and em-bracing new technological innovations that we can totally eradicate polio. If the endemic countries follow this exam-ple and develop accountability mechanisms, work around security challenges and ensure community involvement in the polio program, we can eradicate polio everywhere. Our model is being replicated, which is why this year there are fewer cases so far than at any other time in history. With 171 cases this year so far, compared to 467 at this point last year, we're seeing a remarkable reduction in global polio cases. India has received experts from endemic countries and shared best practice with them. Many of the surveillance medical officers from the National Polio Sur-veillance Project [a collaboration between the World Health Organization and the Indian government] are stationed in Nigeria helping with their program. (Continued on Page 4)

Q. Some African countries---Angola, Chad and Democ-ratic Republic of Congo--which were previously declared

The Rotary Club GOOD NEWSGOOD NEWSGOOD NEWS

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District Conference

& Foundation Gala Palm Springs

October 26-28, 2012

The Rotary Club GOOD NEWSGOOD NEWSGOOD NEWS

SAVE THE DATE!

Dec 6 Official Governor’s Visit (Evening meeting with our partners)

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Invite a potential Rotarian to lunch! New member proposal

forms are available. The form outlines how to propose a new

member. Ask Don Lunday for information. Take one home

with you and just do it!

When was the last time YOU proposed someone for member-

ship in Rotary? Your fellow Rotarians are counting on you

to seek out energetic, qualified business and professional

leaders—men and women, young and more mature—to pro-

pose for membership. We need to make it clear to prospective

members the commitments required to be good Rotarians,

namely, attendance and participation. You owe it to your

club and your community to do it today.

Rotary Four-Way Test Of the things we think, say or do …

Is it the TRUTH?

Is it FAIR to all concerned?

Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Jeremy and I are proud to introduce our sweet baby

boy, ROWAN IAN TAYLOR.

Born: Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Time: 11:30 am

Weight: 8 lbs, 3 oz

Length: 19.5 inches

Thank you for indulging a new mother’s need to

show off her baby! - Ivette Taylor

polio-free have again reported an outbreak of polio. What should be done to ensure that India doesn't fall into that

trap, too?

A. That's a good question, and we've seen suspected cases recently in India that thankfully didn't turn out to be polio. To remain polio-free we must ensure the maintenance of our highly sensitive surveillance system, so that we can detect outbreaks early, and we must also sustain high levels of

polio immunization through routine immunization. Further-more, like China did in 2010 when polio came into their country from polio-endemic Pakistan, we need to ensure that we can rapidly respond to any polio importation. Glob-ally, we've made amazing progress, but 99 percent reduc-tion in polio cases isn't good enough. We need to finish the job. (This interview has been lightly edited.)

A Conversation With: Polio Expert Naveen Thacker (Continued from Page 2)

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Membership

BLAZE, STU—619-301-5211

Restaurateur

BOL, RUTH — 234-4319

Pediatric Dentist

CALLAWAY, DR. LINDA — 672-1851

School Superintendent

CARPENTER, TOM ESQ.— 654-7417

Attorney at Law

CASTILLEJOS, MIKE — 672-1971

Bank Manager

CENA, CHUCK — 679-5869

Investment Advisor

CROSBY, CAL “CROZ” — 246-2202

Realtor

DAVID, PAUL — 246-3530

Health Club Trainer/Owner

DENVER, JOHN — 672-1731

Real Estate Broker

DENVER, LINDA — 672-1731

Retired Educator

GREENBERG, DR. JONATHAN—943-6369 x126

School Superintendent

HANDWERKER, JUDY — 672-9860

Fiduciary

JACKSON, ROSEANN—679-1128

Florist

LUNDAY, DON — 676-2640

Hospice Chaplain

MARCONI, DAN — 301-5333

Real Estate Sales and Investments

MARTIN, DENNIS — 926-4665

Tax Preparation

OJOMO, CHRISTIAN—949-870-8028

Administrator

PADILLA, GREGORY—602-317-0338

Hospital Administrator

PRATHER, DAWN —756-4888

Charity Management

ROARK, ROBERT “BOB” — 800-824-6561

Insurance Agency Owner

ROSILEZ, DR. ANTHONY— 926-9244

School Superintendent

SMOLINSKI, JOE — 672-0777

Mortuary Management

SULLIVAN, CAROL “RED” — 672-1523

Clinical Research

TAYLOR, IVETTE — 679-2222

Financial Advisor

WILHITE, CHARLIE — 816-0420

Law Enforcement

WOLONS, DOROTHY— 672-1991

Chamber of Commerce CEO

YUZER, TOM — 679-8541

University Fund Raising

Honorary Members BAUSTIAN, CAROLYN — 301-6071

SOTERO, MARJORIE — 679-8211 WESTFALL, LINDA — 830-6380

WILLIAMS, REAGAN WILSON, JIM—301-5604

WRIGHT, PAUL—679-3429

All area code 951 unless otherwise indicated.

2012-2013 Leadership President—Carol “Red” Sullivan President Elect—Linda Denver

Vice President—Ruth Bol Secretary—Judy Handwerker Treasurer—Mike Castillejos

Immediate Past President—Paul David Membership—Don Lunday Foundation—Tom Yuzer

Club Administration—Linda Denver Sergeant at Arms—Chuck Cena District Governor—Jean Easum

Assistant Governor—Don Lunday Newsletter—Jan Lunday

November Wedding Anniversaries

11/05 Greg & Loardes Padilla

11/16 Tom & Vicki Carpenter

11/17 Paul & Christine David

11/02 Judy Handwerker 11/02 Greg Padilla 11/10 Loardes Padilla 11/21 Joyce Crosby

November Birthdays

November Rotary Anniversaries

11/03 Ivette Taylor

11/08 Cal Crosby

11/17 Roseann Jackson

11/17 Anthony Rosilez

Literacy Project

Our Rotaract Club at Mt. San Jacinto College is collecting reading books

for children aged Kindergarten through 8th Grade through November to

award to a school of the club’s choice in Menifee. Please look through the

books that your kids or grandkids have outgrown, or gather them from your

friends, and bring them to Rotary meetings. I will collect them and deliver

them to President Shayla. This is a great literacy project that has fallen

into our laps. Thanks for your help. Linda Denver