Taipei City Government

Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je traveled to Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on September 18 to attend the End Polio Charity Concert held by Rotary International District 3523. During his speech, Mayor Ko commended Rotary International District 3523 for making considerable contributions to social welfare. He expects to eliminate polio once and for all with everyone’s endeavors.

Mayor Ko commented that Rotary International District 3523 is zealous about social welfare. In July, he attended the district’s liver disease prevention and screening; not long ago, he also attended its anti-drug itinerant exhibition at 44 South Village; today, the district is hosting the End Polio Charity Concert; in November, Rotary International District 3523 will be organizing the Rotary Anti-drugs Run at the Dajia Riverside Park. This goes to demonstrate Rotary International District 3523’s immense passion for public welfare.

According to the mayor, the WHO has designated October 24 every year as World Polio Day. As a matter of fact, Rotary International has formed the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US in 1988, dedicated to eliminating Polio from the face of the planet.

Ko mentioned that a successful example of eliminating a disease via vaccination is smallpox, which can now only be found frozen in the laboratories of many countries along with its DNA. Since smallpox has been eradicated, theoretically it is possible to employ the same technique to vanquish polio. In 1988, there were 350,000 reported cases of polio worldwide, and it was classified as an endemic disease in 125 countries. By 2017, after 3 decades of combating polio, only 16 reported cases emerged in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, the number rose to 65 in 2018 and 2019, potentially caused by the ongoing war.

The mayor explained the importance of eliminating polio by pointing out that for each child diagnosed with polio, there are potentially 200 virus carriers who have not yet exhibited any symptoms. In other words, the morbidity is about one in 200. Most symptoms of polio are similar to that of enterovirus, but the 200 carriers may unwittingly spread the virus to other locations by traveling (such as flying), therefore if polio cases in Afghanistan and Pakistan are not completely eradicated, the virus may hypothetically spread to the rest of the world.

Lastly, Ko wished tonight’s charity concert a success and thanked Rotary International District 3523 for sponsoring the event. After eliminating smallpox, eradicating polio from Earth will be a momentous contribution to humanity.