Boys' Brigade Polio Partnership

Wednesday September 25 2024

Jonathan Eales and the Rev Dez Johnston of the Boys' Brigade with Gordon McInally and James Carmichael of Rotary at the launch of the new partnership

As children and young people return to their local Boys’ Brigade groups across the UK, one of the first activities they will be encouraged to get involved with is the ‘End Polio’ campaign.

The organisation has collaborated with Rotary International, which has been part of the efforts to eradicate polio worldwide for more than 35 years, to develop a range of new activities focused on the ‘End Polio Now’ campaign. The partnership is being referred to as ‘Operation Purple Pinky’, with vaccination programmes in many countries seeing children having their finger painted purple to indicate they have received the vaccine and are protected.

The new resources, which have been created for use with all age groups, are designed to help give children and young people an opportunity to learn more about polio and the devastating impact it can have, before working together to support the campaign to eradicate polio.

Polio is a highly infectious disease, most commonly affecting children under the age of five, which attacks the nervous system, leading to paralysis or even death. There is no cure for the virus, which is typically spread through contaminated water, but there is a safe and effective vaccine.

World Polio Day, established by Rotary, is marked on October 24, the birthday of Jonas Salk, who led the team which developed the first polio vaccine.

Gordon McInally from Rotary International said: “Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. It’s concerning to hear how polio has been now confirmed in Gaza.

“Due to the efforts of Rotary and our partners, nearly 19 million people who would otherwise have been paralysed are walking, and more than 1.5 million people are alive who would otherwise have died.

“Operational Purple Pinky will support continued campaigning, health worker training and vaccination programmes that are essential to stop the disease returning and to end polio. Advocacy and fundraising are also really important and it's great to be working together with the BB to raise awareness of this disease among young people across the UK.”

Jonathan Eales, Chief Executive of the Boys’ Brigade, said: “We are pleased to be working with Rotary on this project. As a Christian youth organisation we believe it’s important to create a space for children and young people to learn about the challenges, like polio, faced by some of our global neighbours, but also importantly how we can respond and do something to help. We hope to see as many of our groups as possible getting involved.”

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