Pakistan is aided by Rotarians

Polio eradication workers and resources have been mobilized to support flood-relief efforts for millions of displaced people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, Pakistan, many of whom are living in camps with poor sanitation. The country's extensive polio eradication infrastructure is being used to help assess needs and monitor water-borne and epidemic diseases. Polio epidemiologists and surveillance officers in the worst-affected areas are equipped with vehicles, radios, satellite phones, vital medicines, and potable-water tanks. "There is a very real risk of a substantial expansion of transmission in the second half of 2010," reported the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Kashif Aziz and Baldev Kumar Maheshwari, both doctors in the Rotary Club of Samaro, Sind, and other Rotarians ran a medical camp at Pir Patho, treating more than 2,300 patients. Rotarians also distributed 200 bags of food, 2,000 items of clothing, and 300 pairs of shoes at the camp.