Health leaders around the world today will acknowledge an important achievement in the fight against polio as India marks one year since the last recorded case of wild poliovirus in the country.
This success is the result of the Government of India’s hard work and great partnerships with Rotary International, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WHO and UNICEF as well as millions of volunteers, health workers and community leaders.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/49366-gates-foundation-commends-india-on-one-year-polio-free
On this year’s World Polio Day (October 24, 2011), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a global community of partners are calling for increased commitment and greater accountability from political leaders to end polio, and for supporters around the world to lend their voices to the fight.
“We have an extraordinary opportunity to eradicate polio but we need greater global commitment, leadership, and funding,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation. “We work with exceptional partners like Rotary, FC Barcelona and the Global Poverty Project to help keep polio a priority.”
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/gatesfoundation/49365/
Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, called on government leaders to increase their investments in vaccines and to hold themselves accountable for extending the benefits of vaccines to every child.
In a keynote address at the 64th World Health Assembly, an annual gathering of health ministers and global health leaders, Gates laid out his vision for the impact that broadening access to vaccines can have on the world. “Strong immunization systems will put an end to polio and help us reach all children with five to six new vaccines,” Gates said. “We can save four million lives by 2015, and 10 million lives by 2020.”
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/gatesfoundation/49363/
An international survey conducted by GSK and released for World Meningitis Day shows gaps in the knowledge parents feel they have about meningococcal disease and its potential consequences. Almost 7 in 10 parents said they don’t know enough about the different strains of meningococcal disease and the potential damage they can cause. On average, more than half of parents were either unsure or unaware that there are different types of bacteria that cause the disease.
The survey of 5,000 parents in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy and Portugal also shows that out of a list of 14 vaccine-preventable diseases, meningococcal disease is considered by many parents to pose a top three health risk to their children. Fifty-seven percent listed meningococcal disease among the top three health conditions they considered of greatest risk to children followed by Hepatitis B at 34 percent, pneumococcal disease at 27 percent, polio at 25 percent, tetanus at 20 percent and pertussis at 17 percent.
A sudden, potentially life-threatening illness, meningococcal disease kills on average one person every eight minutes worldwide. It typically manifests as bacterial meningitis – an infection of the membrane around the brain and spine; or bacteraemia – a bloodstream infection. The disease progresses rapidly and it can lead to death within 24-48 hours of the first symptoms; globally up to 1 in 10 of those infected may die and in the US about 10-15 percent of people will die.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7814851-gsk-survey-world-meningitis-day/
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) will commemorate its 140th anniversary today with activities at Lilly locations worldwide, including a ceremony to unveil a statue dedicated to founder Colonel Eli Lilly at global headquarters in Indianapolis.
Over 14 decades, the organization has contributed more than 100 medicines and significant medical advances, such as the first commercially available insulin, manufacturing and global distribution of the Salk polio vaccine and mental health breakthroughs such as anti-depressant Prozac® (fluoxetine). Today Lilly continues to progress its most robust pipeline in history with dozens of potential new medicines in mid- to late-stage development for cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disease, pain and Alzheimer’s disease.
“As Lilly celebrates 140 years, we’re keeping the vision of our founder alive – from our dedication in the lab to our impact in the community,” said John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., Lilly chairman, president and chief executive officer, who began his career at Lilly as a chemist in 1979. “Colonel Eli Lilly started this company to put science to work fighting disease and encouraged his successors to ‘take what you find here and make it better and better.’ That vision pushes us daily to honor Colonel Lilly’s legacy and continue in our quest to discover new medicines to help make life better.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7809951-eli-lilly-and-company-140th-anniversary/
British-born actress Archie Panjabi, best known to millions of TV viewers as the sultry, enigmatic investigator Kalinda Sharma on the hit CBS series, “The Good Wife,” has teamed up with the humanitarian organization Rotary International to protect children everywhere by eradicating the paralyzing disease polio.
And her involvement extends beyond simply lending her name and celebrity to a cause – she has witnessed the devastation caused by polio.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/61751-rotary-international-and-archie-panjabi-this-close-to-ending-polio-psa
