Post-Polio Network History

A SHORT HISTORY
Post-Polio Network (NSW) Inc

Poliomyelitis was known in Australia as early as 1895. Through the 1930s almost 7,000 cases were notified, and in the ten years to 1954 almost 17,000 cases. Our population in those years was significantly less than it is now. Without vaccines we would expect many more cases today.

In 1987 a number of Australians attended the Fourth International Polio and Independent Living Conference in St Louis USA at which some 800 people were present. Many of these people were polio survivors and a high percentage reported noticing recent signs of one or more of undue muscle fatigue, muscle and joint pain, respiratory and muscle weakness. The similarity of difficulties was too common to be imaginary and is now known as Post-Polio Syndrome.

Tens of thousands of Americans and thousands of Australians have reported similar symptoms. Many of these people are still experiencing difficulty having their symptoms taken seriously, even though the medical profession is now much more aware.

In 1988 Professor Irving Zola, a member of the International Polio Network and himself a polio survivor, accepted an invitation to be keynote speaker at Australia's first post-polio seminar which was held in Sydney.

The seminar elected a working committee of polio survivors to establish the Network with the aims of:

Establishing support groups for polio survivors
Providing information on polio and its late effects
Encouraging research into the late effects of polio

The Network was officially established in 1989. Full membership is open to all people who have had polio. Associate membership is available to all other people or organisations who are interested in the Network and its objects.

The Network now has almost thirty support groups and around 1000 members throughout Australia as well as several overseas countries. Information is exchanged with post-polio networks within Australia and internationally. In 2005 the Network celebrates 16 years of service to polio survivors.

Local and international speakers address quarterly Seminars which are held in different parts of metropolitan Sydney and country New South Wales.

The Network's quarterly newsletter Network News is the main organ of communication with members. The newsletter informs members of the current research on the late effects of polio, publishes a wide range of articles from local and international sources, reports about information seminars, offers self-help tips, and exchanges news and views of Support Groups and individual members.

The Network's quarterly Information Bulletin fills another role. This publication was introduced in 1993 in recognition of the fact that many members, including those living in metropolitan Sydney and in country New South Wales, have lived predominantly in mainstream society and lack any links with traditional disability service providers. The Information Bulletin fills a gap by providing specific information on services and programs which are available to people with disabilities.

In November 1996, in its most ambitious endeavour to date, the Network hosted New South Wales' first international post-polio conference, Living with the Late Effects of Polio. A major aim of the conference was to create awareness and understanding amongst polio survivors, family members, carers, health professionals, policy makers, and society in general, of the needs of those living with polio, as expressed by the polio survivors themselves. For many people in New South Wales it was their first exposure to the current research on the late effects of polio, and their first chance to gather with polio survivors to learn from their experiences.

The Network supports the Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services' Immunise Australia program, has proudly endorsed its Understanding Childhood Immunisation booklet, and is a signatory to the Australian Childhood Immunisation Charter. In 1997, Post-Polio Awareness Week, which is held 1-7 November each year, focused on immunisation and gave the message to the community that no matter what Network members have achieved in life, polio and the disabilities it causes have had a profound effect on them. Had immunisation been available when they were children, their lives would have been quite different.

Network members also promote immunisation at a grass-roots level by being involved with local immunisation programs and demonstrating to young parents, many of whom have had no contact with polio or the disabilities caused by the disease.

The Network is a voluntary self-help organisation governed by a Management Committee composed mainly of polio survivors. It is incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act and is an authority holder under the Charitable Fundraising Act. The Network is recognised by the Australian Taxation Office as a public benevolent institution, and gifts to the Network are therefore tax deductible.

The Network can be contacted by writing to PO Box 888, Kensington, NSW 1465, or by telephoning (02) 9663 2402.Contact may also be made via our Office at PO Box 2799, North Parramatta, NSW 1750, telephone(02) 9890 0946.

The most recent update to this page was on 31 October 2005