Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
By taking part, I am standing in the place of the many crippled young children in Nigeria who cannot run, jog or walk because of the debilitating disease, Polio.
Every penny you donate will go towards encouraging the uptake of the Polio vaccine by young children under the age of 5 in Nigeria and prevent the ongoing spread of this disabiling virus.
**Venue: Albany Park, Hertford Road, Enfield, EN3 5PA
**Date: 12th June 2010
**Meeting time: 10.30am
**Entry fee is £15
**Meeting time: 10.30am
**Entry fee is £15
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
What is Polio
Polio is a contagious acute viral illness which is transmitted via the faecal - oral route.
The virus can affect a person in various ways from causing no problems at all to causing total paralysis to eventual death from failure of breathing muscles.
World Polio Status
Since the development of vaccines in the 1950s, polio has fast become a disease of the past for many countries worldwide.
By the end of 2003 World Health Organisation declared 3 of its 6 regions polio free; the Americas (1994), the Western Pacific (2000) and the European region (2002).
The other 3 regions; the Eastern Mediterranean, the Southeast Asia Region and the African Region have not yet been declared polio free for various reasons. To be certified polio free, amongst several criteria, all countries within each region must demonstrate absence of wild polio transmission for 3 consecutive years.
This requires immunisation of all children under the age of 5, containment and appropriate management of those who already have the disease and concrete surveillance systems in place to monitor and deal with any emergency outbreaks.
The commencement of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative since 1988 has resulted in a decrease of polio cases by about 99%.
This is a significant number of children who are now walking instead of being paralysed.
Polio is still very much alive today
However, there has been resistance in certain countries which have posed some difficulties in completely eradicating the disease.
As a result of these difficulties several countries are still reporting new cases of infection to date with 4 countries at the forefront; Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Of these, Nigeria accounted for 80 % of all the new cases in 2004 - 2005, re - infecting 8 previously polio free countries by 2008.
The race to end Polio globally is an ongoing one that CA is now 1 of the many groups who are working to achieve it.
Polio is not a curable disease but a preventable one thanks to the development of vaccines and the continuing contribution of money and man power to achieve distribution of these vaccines.
Visit http://www.polioeradication.org/ for up to date information on the polio situation worldwide.
CA Polio Eradication Initiative (CAPEI)
CAPEI is the first international outreach project birthed in March 2009 embarked upon by CA Commission. It aims to employ several strategies to aid towards polio eradication primarily in Nigeria over a limited period.
CA Commission hopes to be able to utilise transferrable skills and knowledge gained through CAPEI in the area of ongoing health education in Nigeria and the rest of the world.
The Vision for CAPEI
To do our part in the global efforts to eradicate polio
By: Educating, Encouraging and Empowering
• Increasing global awareness of the prevalence of polio in endemic countries including Nigeria
• Educating the local communities particularly in the Northern States of Nigeria about Polio and their need for adequate immunisation
• Encouraging both local and international participation in the efforts of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) through financial donation and active participation
• Empowering Nigeria to achieve the strategies set out by the GPEI in order for Africa to be deemed a polio free WHO region
• Educating, Encouraging and Empowering Nigerian individuals to be responsible for the immunisation and subsequent health of their children