A CAMPAIGN to help eradiate polio worldwide has had a welcome boost thanks to a donation from Appleby.
The legal services provider donated £1,440 to the Rotary Club of Douglas who are involved in Rotary International's global Thanks for Life campaign.
This donation matches the investment already made by the Rotary Club of Douglas which has produced purple bands that are being sold across the Island to raise funds and awareness for the cause.
John Rimmer, partner at Appleby Isle of Man, said: "The partners and staff of Appleby Isle of Man are happy to support the Thanks for Life campaign with this donation.
"The Rotary Club of Douglas has been active in talking to students from a range of Island schools, highlighting the impact of this eradicable disease on communities in developing countries.
"We felt that a donation to cover the costs of buying the purple 'End Polio Now' bands would be a meaningful contribution to their work, allowing any funds raised, to be profit for the campaign.
"There are collection boxes in our office and staff have been purchasing the bands – so there is a little more money still to come from Appleby."
Polio is an infectious and incurable viral disease that can leave sufferers severely disabled. It is endemic in four countries – Afghanistan, Nigeria, India and Pakistan. However polio is eradicable and vaccinations provided by the Global Polio Eradication Initative have reduced the global incidences of the disease by 99 percent since 1985.
The money donated by Appleby will go directly towards funding immunisation drives for children under five in the high risk countries, as well as tracking the disease, containing outbreaks and improving public health infrastructure.
Kevin Kneen, Thanks for Life coordinator at the Rotary Club of Douglas, said: "Appleby's donation is vital to our campaign. At 20p per vaccination, for every pound we can save five children from this crippling and sometimes deadly disease. So with Appleby's help we will be able to protect over seven thousand children.
"We are at the threshold of eradicating the disease completely and it is generous donations like these that bring us one step closer."
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