National charity invites icon to be ambassador

His profile has highlighted the plight of children living with polio and I am inviting him to become an ambassador for those living with post polio syndrome, (PPS), in the UK today.

David used funding from a series of football matches he arranged to help vaccinate children in the Ali Addeh refugee camp in Djibouti and last year, he vaccinated four children against polio in the Philippine city of Tacloban.

This kind of personal intervention can make all the difference as our ambassadors and patrons have shown over the years and we would be delighted to welcome David as a member of the team.

It’s great to see a figure like David Beckham helping to eradicate polio on a worldwide basis.

Polio is preventable and we know from bitter experience that it can ultimately lead to PPS, a neurological condition affecting 80 per cent of those who have had polio, for which there is no cure.

We are working hard to raise awareness of polio’s forgotten footnote, which affects the same number of people as Parkinson’s and David would be a superb advocate for the 120,000 people in the UK living with the unwelcome legacy of polio.

The sooner we can eradicate polio the sooner we eradicate PPS and we commend the efforts of the former England captain and all involved in the fight against the disease.

I hope we can join forces with David to tackle both the causes of polio and the long- term legacy it leaves with those who survive.

No matter if you are a member or not, The British Polio Fellowship is here to offer advice and support to all those in the UK still living with polio and PPS.

Call us free on 0800 0431935, email [email protected] or visit www.britishpolio.org.uk

Ted Hill MBE

CEO, The British Polio Fellowship