July 2021 Newsletteer
Pakistan is one of two countries where wild poliovirus remains endemic making it essential that the entire country supports the successful implementation of every polio campaign. Women play a critical role, often working at polio’s frontline.
Health interventions and immunization activities are most effective when delivered by women. During each nationwide polio vaccination campaign in Pakistan, women make up around 62 percent of the 280, 000+ frontline workforce vaccinating millions of children across the country.
With each campaign depending on the dedication of staff to reach all children, given their trusted roles and responsibilities in communities, female polio frontline workers are playing a key role in eradicating polio.
Breaking barriers to immunization
After three years as a monitor of campaign activities, Zubaida Bibi has progressed from being a polio team member to a team leader in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the country’s north, one of the most affected areas in Pakistan.
Breaking the gender-related barriers to immunization, Zubaida travels extensively including hard-to-reach areas. Not even the winter season, when the roads and tracks are covered with snow, deters Zubaida.
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I would like to officially announce that Interact’s theme for this year is “United We Serve”. COVID has taken a toll on us all. Last year, most of our Interact Clubs were unable to participate in service projects. Our council was stripped of the opportunity to meet each other in person with our annual retreat and conferences. However, this didn’t stop us from getting the work done. Our clubs found ways to adapt and persevere through these hardships. This year, I would like to focus on reconnecting our clubs.
Forming connections with each other is important to successfully work as a team. PDG Ashton Bialek-Kling did an amazing job of helping our clubs adapt to such a huge change. I would like to continue his work and provide our clubs with stronger connections with our Assistant Governors, Rotary Clubs, and surrounding Interact Clubs. When we’re working together and united as one team we can make a greater impact on our community.
- Commitment – for Hamilton High School to be committed, be supportive, deliver value and be engaged with each student’s well-being.
- Excellence – for Hamilton High School to build trust, provide quality programs and provide sustainable capacity.
- Integrity – for Hamilton High School to provide student tracking, transparency and accountability.
- Collaboration – for Hamilton High School to work jointly with Chandler School District, students, families and community partners.
Our speaker for the day was Dr. Andrew Atiemo an Interventional Cardiologist from Northern Arizona Healthcare in Flagstaff. He spoke to us via Zoom with technical assistance by Susan on the topic of Cardio-vascular Prevention and the COVID- 19 Pandemic.
Dr. Atiemo earned his medical degree from Harvard. He then trained in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and completed his cardiology train ing at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biological sciences at University of Maryland, in Baltimore.
His presentation was shock full of information, far too much to include in this newsletter. The editor has attempted to include some key details that may be useful to members in preventing cardiovascular disease.
According to reports from Johns Hopkins, as of 5/29/21 there have been 169,781,239 cases of COVID-19 with 3,529,742 deaths worldwide while the US reports 33,251,71 cases with 594,304 deaths, giving the US the unenviable position of being #1 in the world. Arizona reports 879,909 with 17,609 cases as of the end of May.
Dr. Artiemo shared a case study that highlighted various cardiovascular complications of COVIDI-19 along with risk factors for severe COVID-19 infections which include advanced age, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, pre-existing cardiovascular disease and race with a devastating impact particularly on African Americans.
We learned that there are both good and bad consequences associated with quarantine and isolation. While these measures are efficient in reducing the spread of infection, they are also associated with increased anxiety, anger and stress which lead to a more unhealthy life style, having a negative impact on overall health, including cardiovascular health.
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