Mr. Shekar Mehta, Rotary International President, has congratulated the Government of Ghana, for showing immense zeal and commitment towards the fight against poliomyelitis.
Mr. Mehta, who is on a two-day working visit to Ghana, said this in Accra, when he unveiled a billboard showcasing educative material on the prevention of the polio virus.
He said currently no new case of the disease had been recorded in the country.
Mr. Mehta noted that whilst 350,000 children used to be affected by the disease worldwide on a yearly basis, only two cases had been recorded this year, following the efforts of the Rotary Club.
Mr. Mehta said with the requisite support and cooperation from all stakeholders, poliomyelitis would be completely eradicated from the world.
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Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director General, Ghana Health Service, commended the Rotary club, for its immense support towards eradicating poliomyelitis from the country.
He said the success of Ghana at eradicating the disease in the country, had been greatly influenced by the efforts of the Rotary club.
Dr. Kuma-Aboagye said he looked forward to more collaboration between the Rotary club and the Ghana Health Service, to further improve upon the health delivery system in the country.
The visit of Mr. Mehta and his wife Rashi, also a Rotarian, is part of his West African tour to familiarise himself with some of the many social interventions that the Rotary foundation, through several local and international clubs, are participating in, in Ghana.
The Rotary International President, also toured the Soronko-Rotary Girls Coding project at the Soronko Academy in Accra.
The project, an initiative of Rotary, seeks to improve the economic lives and future of young women, through a coding and digital skills development program.
The Rotary International President is expected to meet with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and also hold an inter-city meeting with Rotarians as part of his visit.
Mr. Mehta belongs to the Rotary Club of Calcutta-Mahanagar, in West Bengal, India.
The Rotary foundation since 2018, has contributed over five million dollars, towards social intervention programmes in Ghana.
Through the efforts of Rotary International, Africa was declared free of the polio virus on August 25, 2020 by the World Health Organisation, while only two polio cases exist in the whole world today.
