The City of Dauphin held a regular council meeting Monday at City Hall.
Mayor Christian Laughland says that the City has officially proclaimed October 24th as World Polio Day.
"Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbours, friends, leaders and problem solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change in communities across the globe... In 1985, Rotary launched PolioPlus and, in 1988, helped to establish the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which today includes the World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to immunize the children of the world against polio," he adds.
According to Mayor Laughland, polio cases have dropped by 99.9% since 1988 and the world stands on the threshold of eradicating the disease due to Rotary's contribution of $1.9 billion and many volunteer hours to protect more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries.
Laughland went on to say that the WHO declared the African region free of wild poliovirus on August 25th, 2022.
Furthermore, the City of Dauphin has also proclaimed November 2022 as Radon Awareness Month.
"Radon... is an invisible, odourless, and tasteless radioactive gas released naturally during the breakdown of uranium in soil and rock... [When] radon gas decays, it forms its radioactive elements that are carcinogenic if inhaled," Mayor Laughland adds.
According to Christian Laughland, radon exposure is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers in Canada with an estimated 3,800 deaths related to radon each year.
He encourages residents to protect themselves by testing their homes and taking action to reduce high levels.
The council meeting can be watched in its entirety on YouTube.
