December 6, 2004: Headlines: COS - Togo: COS - Benin: COS - Burkina Faso: Service: Immunization: Polio: Minneapolis Star Tribune: Charlie Cogan lived in Togo as a Peace Corps volunteer and Fulbright scholar, and he met his wife, Nalongue, there. There's a sad connection, too: He raised money for a blood-testing lab in Togo after his brother-in-law, in the absence of a lab, was misdiagnosed and died. Cogan, a member of the Northfield Rotary Club, will lead 16 Rotarians, including nine Minnesotans, on a trip to Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso this week to immunize children against polio

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Togo: Peace Corps Togo : The Peace Corps in Togo: December 6, 2004: Headlines: COS - Togo: COS - Benin: COS - Burkina Faso: Service: Immunization: Polio: Minneapolis Star Tribune: Charlie Cogan lived in Togo as a Peace Corps volunteer and Fulbright scholar, and he met his wife, Nalongue, there. There's a sad connection, too: He raised money for a blood-testing lab in Togo after his brother-in-law, in the absence of a lab, was misdiagnosed and died. Cogan, a member of the Northfield Rotary Club, will lead 16 Rotarians, including nine Minnesotans, on a trip to Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso this week to immunize children against polio

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-36-89.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.36.89) on Friday, December 10, 2004 - 7:42 pm: Edit Post

Charlie Cogan lived in Togo as a Peace Corps volunteer and Fulbright scholar, and he met his wife, Nalongue, there. There's a sad connection, too: He raised money for a blood-testing lab in Togo after his brother-in-law, in the absence of a lab, was misdiagnosed and died. Cogan, a member of the Northfield Rotary Club, will lead 16 Rotarians, including nine Minnesotans, on a trip to Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso this week to immunize children against polio

Charlie Cogan lived in Togo as a Peace Corps volunteer and Fulbright scholar, and he met his wife, Nalongue, there. There's a sad connection, too: He raised money for a blood-testing lab in Togo after his brother-in-law, in the absence of a lab, was misdiagnosed and died. Cogan, a member of the Northfield Rotary Club, will lead 16 Rotarians, including nine Minnesotans, on a trip to Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso this week to immunize children against polio

Charlie Cogan lived in Togo as a Peace Corps volunteer and Fulbright scholar, and he met his wife, Nalongue, there. There's a sad connection, too: He raised money for a blood-testing lab in Togo after his brother-in-law, in the absence of a lab, was misdiagnosed and died. Cogan, a member of the Northfield Rotary Club, will lead 16 Rotarians, including nine Minnesotans, on a trip to Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso this week to immunize children against polio

Northfield Rotarian leads Africa polio effort
Donna Halvorsen, Star Tribune
December 6, 2004 ROTARY1206

Charlie Cogan, who recruits international students for Carleton College in Northfield, has strong ties to the West African nation of Togo. He lived there as a Peace Corps volunteer and Fulbright scholar, and he met his wife, Nalongue, there. There's a sad connection, too: He raised money for a blood-testing lab in Togo after his brother-in-law, in the absence of a lab, was misdiagnosed and died.

So it's not surprising that Cogan, a member of the Northfield Rotary Club, will lead 16 Rotarians, including nine Minnesotans, on a trip to Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso this week to immunize children against polio.

"When you're around these kids for a few hours, it makes you want to protect them just like you'd want to protect your own," Cogan said.

Rotary International has been working to eradicate polio worldwide since the late 1970s. The World Health Organization, UNICEF and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have embraced the cause, with good results.

The number of new polio cases has been cut from 1,000 cases a day to 1,000 a year, sparing millions of children the paralysis of polio, which can be fatal and has no cure. The only protection comes from immunizing children under 5. So far, 2 billion children from 122 countries have been vaccinated through the combined efforts of these organizations.

"It's been a massive, massive effort for many, many years," said Jingle Mahan, who heads the Roseville Rotary Club and the eastern Minnesota Rotary district, and who will be making her first trip to Africa.

Polio remains a threat in Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo because of their proximity to Nigeria, where border cities stopped immunizing children based on what Cogan calls "anti-vaccine propaganda." As of Dec. 1, 699 of the 988 polio cases reported worldwide this year were in Nigeria.

Besides providing volunteers, Rotary International has donated $500 million to the campaign. "Rotary is very large in Africa," Mahan said. "It's Rotary clubs in developing countries that really are making this happen."

In addition to dispensing polio vaccine in oral drops, the volunteers will distribute stethoscopes, school supplies and mosquito nets -- the latter in an effort to prevent malaria -- and assist medical teams giving measles shots.

Donna Halvorsen is at halvorsen@startribune.com.





When this story was posted in December 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Is Gaddi Leaving? Is Gaddi Leaving?
Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors.

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Story Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Togo; COS - Benin; COS - Burkina Faso; Service; Immunization; Polio

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