KEIGHLEY Rotary Club president Janet Pickles has been to India to help with the country's polio vaccination programme.

The club is heavily involved with the Rotary Polio Plus initiative, launched almost 30 years ago to rid the world of the disease.

Since 1985 the organisation's charity foundation has contributed $850 million dollars to the venture and polio is now endemic in only three countries – Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"More than two billion children have been vaccinated under the programme and 209 countries are free of polio," said a Keighley club spokesman.

"India was declared polio free in 2012 and whilst there have been localised outbreaks in areas of the world such as Syria and the Horn of Africa, they were linked to civil war and those occurrences have been limited and tackled.

"Twenty million pounds has been donated to Polio Plus by Rotarians in Great Britain and Ireland including those in Keighley, who each year as part of their subscriptions give to the foundation."

Visit endpolio.org for further information about Polio Plus.

Keighley Rotary Club is also continuing to support its organisation's Peace Fellows programme

Every year Rotary chooses people from across the world to receive academic fellowships to study at one of its peace centres, including Bradford University.

Local Rotarians host fellows while they are at Bradford, offering support and assistance.

"Of the recently arrived class Keighley Rotarians are hosts to two fellows – from the USA and Colombia," said the club spokesman.

"We have also sponsored a candidate for a peace fellowship, who will be taking up a place at the University of Queensland."

Fellows approaching the end of their studies locally will speak about their experiences in a seminar at Bradford University on October 25. Visit rotarypeacebradford.org.uk for further information.