The Rotary Clubs of Red Deer are looking to end polio worldwide by raising money and awareness at their event on World Polio Day. Polio is an incurable disease that is preventable by vaccine; it threatens children around the world in underdeveloped countries that don’t have easy access to a vaccine.

Johan Steenwyk of Steenwyk Custom Shoes and Orthotics, is an advocate of the vaccine, and a specialty footwear manufacturer based out of Red Deer and deals with people with polio and similar diseases all the time.

He says although new cases of polio aren’t present anymore in Canada it is still a big problem in other countries.  

“The vaccination happens in the early stages especially in the third world, we don’t see new cases anymore in North America and Europe but there are three countries where its ugly head still pops up and that is Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

Poliovirus is spread person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can attack the nervous system and in some instances lead to paralysis.

A release says there is no cure, but there is a vaccine that Rotary Clubs and partners use to immunize more than 2.5 billion children around the world.

“Sometimes countries like Afghanistan and Nigeria, it’s not safe to go in there to do the vaccinations and that’s why sometimes it’s hard to go and get there but it’s still one of the biggest things that Rotary supports to try to help eradicate Polio.”

Doors will open at 6:30 pm on Wednesday the 24th. Admission is free for the event that is being held at the Welikoklad Event Centre.