VISAKHAPATNAM: "A polio free world is the first priority of Rotary Foundation. By 2008 we expect to reach the status of `No polio' worldwide,'' said K.R. Ravindran, trustee Rotary Foundation in an exclusive chat with The Hindu on Friday.

Mr. Ravindran, who hails from Colombo and had held the post of chairman of National Polio Plus Committee in Sri Lanka, is here to install the new governor of Rotary District 3020 K. Chaya Devi.

According to him, the poliovirus is still present in a couple of countries like India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Bangladesh. "We are working on war footing to eradicate the virus in these countries," he said.

Cease fire

Giving a feel of the Rotary Polio Plus campaign he said, "It acted as a tool of cease fire for a couple of days when the LTTE conflict was at its peak. This showcases the effectiveness and importance of the programme. Sri Lanka was the first country to achieve polio free status in South East Asia a decade ago."

On Rotary Foundation, he said that it is the lifeline of the 100-year-old institution. "Basically the Foundation raises all the money to fund Rotary programmes globally. The Foundation mainly concentrates on educational and humanitarian programmes. Apart from humanitarian programmes like Polio Plus, HIV awareness and rebuilding the lives of people affected by calamities and conflicts, we have a number of educational programmes both at the grass-root level and at the international level .

The Rotary peace scholarship is one such global educational programme. We have over 150 qualified peace ambassadors working for different organisations and in different countries resolving conflicts," he said.

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