Monday is World Polio Day in Moorpark

Monday is Rotary International’s World Polio Day. And it’s Polio Day in Moorpark as well, as proclaimed by the City Council at its Oct. 19 meeting.

Polio eradication is one of Rotary’s main goals. The organization launched programs in 1985, working with the World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF, to immunize the children of the world against the disease.

Rotary Club member Matt Miguelena explained to the council that the work done in the city helped save lives globally.

"Really, what we're doing right here in Moorpark does reach across the planet and help people who just really don't have any other options," he said.

So far, Rotary International has contributed more than a $1 billion —and countless volunteer hours—to help more than two billion children in 122 countries. This has helped lower the occurrence of new polio cases by 99 percent since 1988.

Though the world is seeing less cases than before, the disease is still popping up in new locations, said Barbara Orechoff, president of the morning Rotary Club.

"We have to act now. While we've gone down quite a bit in cases that have developed, I was looking at the statistics; They have 10 in China—and they've never had polio in China before," she told the City Council.

To help raise money and awareness of its polio eradication work, the Rotary Clubs of Moorpark will host their second annual Run So Others Can Walk 5 and 10K race Dec. 4.

The race will begin and end at Cutler’s Oak Run Ranch and wind trhough the adjacent Happy Camp County Park. All proceeds will go to the Rotary International Polio Foundation.

For more information on Rotary’s polio eradication campaign or the race, visit the Moorpark Rotary’s website.