On the Plus Side
“Rotary and its PolioPlus partners are delivering much more than vaccines.”
Photography by KHAULA JAMIL
+ HEALTHCARE
“A 2013 article in Time magazine described Gadap Town as a "black hole" for government services. The settlement on the outskirts of the Pakistani megacity of Karachi was home to 400,000 people at that time but had only one basic health clinic and no sanitation or water treatment.
But in the decade since, Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative have done much in Gadap to address not only polio, which remains a challenge, but other health needs. ‘Where you have a polio case or measles case, it’s kind of a litmus test for the failure of a health system,’ says Melissa Corkum, UNICEF’s polio team lead in Pakistan.
The GPEI partnership, working with Pakistan’s government, has established numerous centers that integrate polio vaccination with other health services. It’s been part of Rotary’s polio eradication strategy from the beginning to address other pressing community needs — the "plus" in the PolioPlus program’s name - as a way to establish trust and credibility. One of those pluses in Gadap is screening for malnutrition and providing therapeutic food, an important intervention in a country where more than a third of children under 5 are stunted. ‘You’re providing something that is attractive and important for them as parents,’ Corkum explains. And once they’re at the facility, healthcare workers can provide immunizations for polio and other diseases.”
+ CLEAN WATER
“Polio and other diseases are transmitted through contaminated water, so safe drinking water is a priority for both residents and the polio eradication program. Since 2013, the Pakistan PolioPlus Committee has facilitated the construction of about 60 water filtration plants across the country. The plants are funded through a variety of channels, including four global grants from The Rotary Foundation since 2021. Rotarians from Japan have become especially involved, funding a dozen water filtration plants and visiting Pakistan nearly monthly.
Asher Ali, the project manager for the Pakistan PolioPlus Committee, says that Rotary has been active in the Gadap community of Khadim Solangi Goth since the early 2010s and installed a water filtration plant there several years ago. ‘The whole community was refusing vaccinations at some point in time,’ says Ali, a member of the Rotary Club of Karachi. ‘Not now. Now they are very supportive because we have established our credibility.’ In addition to supplying filtered water, Rotarians provide training to community members on hygiene and handwashing, and on the operation of the plants. ‘This bonds us with the community,’ he says.”
Read the rest of this article and more about the “Plus” in Polio Plus - HERE