European Polio Union

I am contacting you on behalf of the European Polio Union (EPU) to let you know of our existence and to see whether, as an organisation meeting the needs of people with polio and Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS) in your country, you would be interested in joining.

The EPU is a communication and coordinating association working for people with Post-Polio Syndrome living in Europe.  It was founded in March 2007, so is still a fledging organisation. We currently have 21 member organisations in 18 countries. Our objectives are:

  • To encourage European doctors to develop uniform guidelines to diagnose PPS and to conduct further research in conjunction with patient groups.
  • To help to gather data on the prevalence of polio and PPS in Europe.
  • To collect and share knowledge, experience, and best practices of living with the disease amongst all people with polio and PPS in Europe and signpost information to health and allied professionals and polio organizations within Europe.
  • To encourage relevant bodies and governments in Europe to ensure that polio immunisation levels are sufficiently high to prevent further outbreaks.

The benefits of joining the EPU are:

  • Sharing knowledge, information, and experiences of organisations supporting people with polio and PPS in Europe and collecting data on the prevalence of polio and PPS.
  • Strength in Europe to raise awareness of the needs of Europeans with polio and Post-Polio Syndrome and campaign for recognition, better services and treatment.
  • A chance for member organisations to come together each year at the Annual General Meeting to debate current issues on polio and PPS, decide on the needs of people with polio and PPS in Europe in the future, and how the EPU can ensure these needs are met and to extend the hand of friendship.

I attach a copy of the EPU rules and membership form to be completed and returned with your joining fee (contact details included on the form). If you are a small organisation and cannot afford the full joining fee, please let us know what you feel you could reasonably afford. The EPU is entirely reliant for its income at this moment in time on joining fees and annual membership fees from member organisations.

I  hope that you will feel encouraged to join us and look forward to hearing from you. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information.

Yours sincerely,

David Mitchell

Email: chair.dgmitchell@gmail.com