Nigerian singer/songwriter Tiwa Savage is the
newest face on Rotary’s This Close public
awareness campaign for polio eradication. Savage, described by CNN as Nigeria’s biggest
pop star, will help Rotary achieve its goal of a
polio-free world by raising awareness about the
vaccine-preventable disease.
Last April, in Lagos, the pop star administered
polio vaccine to children during the National
Immunisation Days.
Nigeria regularly conducts
mass immunisation campaigns to vaccinate
every child under the age of five in the country.
The singer’s participation in this programme
comes at a critical juncture. Last year, Nigeria
experienced a polio outbreak that paralysed four
children after passing nearly two years without a
case of the disease. Her involvement in the
campaign will raise important awareness that will
help ensure the outbreak is stopped.
“This is a cause that hits close to home for me,
not only as a mother of a small child, but as a
proud Nigerian, whose country has been battling
this disease for many years,” said Savage, whose
musical career began at 16 as a backup singer
for George Michael.
The Nigerian music star joins other public figures
and celebrities participating in Rotary’s public
awareness campaign, including Bill Gates, co-
Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation;
actress Kristen Bell; Supermodel Isabeli Fontana
and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop
Desmond Tutu.
Others are Jackie Chan; Manny Pacquiao; Psy,
Jack Nicklaus and Jane Goodall among others.
Rotary launched its polio immunization program
PolioPlus in 1985 and in 1988 became a
spearheading partner in the Global Polio
Eradication Initiative with the World Health
Organization (WHO), the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and more
recently the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Rotary’s roles within the initiative are
fundraising, advocacy, raising awareness and
mobilizing volunteers. To date, Rotary has
contributed more than $1.6 billion and countless
volunteer hours to fight polio. Through 2018,
every dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication
will be matched two-to-one by the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation up to $35 million a year. To
date, more than 2.5 billion children have been
immunized against polio, a paralyzing and
sometimes deadly disease.
www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/tiwa-savage-rotary-celebrity-ambassador-polio-eradication/
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