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from breast cancer,” says Warner Huh, a gynecological
oncologist who leads UAB’s OB-GYN department. The
from the people who make up that society, and from
the institutions that can foment social bonds, like the
1940s saw the widespread adoption of the Pap smear,
local Rotary club. Public health relies on trust and — a
a test developed by a Greek immigrant named George ernments alone can’t heal society; they need buy-in
Papanicolaou that collects cells from the cervix, the word Scarinci favors — credibility. Scarinci could o er
lower end of the uterus, to detect potentially cancer- “evidence-based strategies”; it would be up to the Sri
ous ones. But it wasn’t until around the turn of the Lankans to take that information to their government.
21st century that physicians came to a deeper under- Vaccination campaigns are nothing new to Rotary.
As Scarinci likes to observe, the WHO introduced a
˲வʔڭᗇμࡁ௰ึԸਞ̋ጜᏨfШуԴ̥
standing of the relationship between HPV and cervical ᎕ᐖே݊மѢٙशषf̥ࠅɛࡁϞટ၇
cancer — and then, with the HPV vaccine, the means global immunization program in 1974 that targeted
ϞɓࡈɛԸɰԑəf
to sever that link. “People in the 2000s started making ޥߴʿᐏᎴሯᔼᐕٙ၍༸dவ၇ष̙݊˸ཫ
six childhood vaccine-preventable diseases, including
ᅰɤϋԸd̦̔؍փேίڛזˋ৵ψᔼᐕ
ԣٙfவɰ݊ڛזˋ৵ψ ķķ ɓࡈமѢe
the connection,” Huh says. “If we screened well, with polio. But a decade after that, polio was still paralyz-
a better test, and vaccinated, there’s very little reason ing a thousand children a day worldwide. The tech-
༟๕ʔԑٟٙਜආБவᗳʈЪfμჯኬ̤ٙɓ
nology was there to combat the disease, but govern-
why any woman should develop cervical cancer.” ᄄeٟึτΌၣॎຟٙψ ķķ ቊաνϤࠠ௴
ࡈࠇʊᏍпϓɷɪຬٙזɕɾટաᐖ
In 2018, the World Health Organization launched a ٙࡡΪʘɓf್Ͼd࿁̦̔؍փԸႭd࣬ৰ
ments needed civil society to strengthen access to,
global initiative to eradicate cervical cancer. That same and build trust in, the vaccine. Launched in 1988, the
सጜᏨfѬί੮ᐫֵɨd̦̔؍փΫซৎμᘪ
Global Polio Eradication Initiative included govern-
year, before Scarinci had joined Rotary, she and a col- Бਗٙৎ๕Ԩڢ፺Ьয়dϾ݊ჃίΌଢ̤
፬ٙୋɓҭГफ˫ႧݺਗٙՉʕɓఙfࣛཫ
mental and nongovernmental bodies, chief among
league, oncologist Edward E. Partridge, who belonged ɓ၌ٙԢᚆ̔dμࣛਞၾəɓࡈ͟ЬӼ
to the Rotary Club of Birmingham, began talking with them Rotary International. According to the GPEI,
ߒጜᏨٙɛϞɓ̒ேӚԸfμٙɩ˃࿁μႭj
ҧቃٟᗎпٙᗳЧࠇf
his fellow club members about teaming up with coun- global polio rates have declined 99.9 percent since
֔މޟჿவჿܳնk˼ࡁ͉࣬ʔชጳሳf
ίཀ̘ٙ 75 ϋ༁dᔼኪ࿁ɿ᎕ᐖٙᐝ
terparts in Sri Lanka on their own project. Sri Lanka the project’s beginnings.
is a small island and its people are relatively well- ༆ʿཫܝϞ̶ɽٙᜊʷfڛזˋ৵ɽኪЬӼ
The world today is in a similar position with cervi-
Шୋɚ˂ϘɪdμટՑɓஷཥ༑jՉʕɓ
educated, the two reasoned. “We said, This is an op- cal cancer: The technology is there; the disease can be
ЗԸਞ̋ጜᏨٙɛൢᓙ̈ᐖस ķķ ڋಂ˲
portunity,” Scarinci recalls. “This is a country that can ʱࣧପ߅ӻٙ߅໕ᆯኪശॶh(Warner
eliminated. But Scarinci poses the question that must
eliminate cervical cancer.” She and Partridge sugested fi rst be answered before all that can happen: “How
ҁΌ̙طᐕf̦̔؍փᑕɪओତ̈ɓക߮३j
Huh) Ⴍjίɚۃdவࡈϥɿ
that the country’s Ministry of Health boost childhood do we get these tools in the hands of those that need
ҢႭdλٙdɪdҢͣəf
them the most?”
vaccination and revise its screening guidelines, using ᎕ᐖʿɿᐖٙɾˢϥԪᐖٙᒔࠅ
not just Pap smears but also tests for HPV infection. εf1940 ϋ˾dˋˤכ˪Ꮸݟᜊᄿع౷
It was because of Sri Lanka that Scarinci — who,
But they didn’t communicate this directly. “I think as a young person in Brazil, had been a member of
˂ܝd̦̔؍փίμЗЬӼٙ
Rotaract — ended up joining the Rotary Club of Bir-
a lot of governments will resent the United States’ As a Rotaractor in ʿdவ݊ɓЗΤ̣ఐطhˋ̵֮д௶ (George
፬ʮ܃༁dʥίซഹԟЗ˓ᑑɪϞ
infl uence,” Scarinci says. Instead, she emphasizes a Brazil, Scarinci, a polio mingham. Still, despite her success in the South Asian
Papanicolaou) ٙҎᖳ͏೯ٙᏨݟdீཀ
survivor, administers
holistic approach to public health. Doctors and gov- the polio vaccine in 1985. country, something was bothering her. In 2019 she
০ˆ༦ٙɾfμႭdɽεᅰɿ
ɿ᎕ɿٙɨ၌મණٙߤԸᏨᆑί
approached Philippe Lathrop, her club’s president at
the time. “I said, I feel like an imposter,” she recalls.
ٙᐖߤfШۍٜՑ 21 ˰ߏڋdᔼ͛࿁ɛᗳ
“Here we are working in Sri Lanka, patting ourselves
Ԫ߉षݭၾɿ᎕ᐖʘගٙᗫஹʑϞһଉٙଣ
on the back, when we have a problem right here.”
OK, he said, what do you want to do? Remembering
༆dᎇܝdɛᗳԪ߉षݭޥߴ̈ତdϓމʲᓙ
the exchange, Scarinci laughs. She didn’t actually have
வɓஹഐٙ˙جfႭjՑə 2000 ϋ˾d
a plan. “But give me time,” she told him. “I’ll come up
with something.” That something would become the
ɛࡁකଣ༆Ցவࡈᗫஹfν؈ҢࡁҪጜᏨ
whole state of Alabama, starting in Chambers County.
ਂλdҪᏨਂһၚᆽdԨ݄͂ޥߴdО
ɾ˷ӚϞଣ͟ึઃɪɿ᎕ᐖf
ural poverty isn’t merely a subject of academic
2018 ϋd˰ޢሊ͛ଡ଼ᔌ઼ਗəɓධऊৰ
interest for Scarinci. She was born in 1962 in
Cambará, a small Brazilian town about 200
ɿ᎕ᐖٙΌଢࡇᙄfΝϋd֠͊̋ɝҧቃ
PHOTOGRAPH: COURTESY OF ISABEL SCARINCI PHOTOGRAPH: COURTESY OF ISABEL SCARINCI class,” her father an accountant and her mother a
Rmiles west of São Paulo. Her parents grew
̦ٙ̔؍փၾΝԫ໕ᆯኪฌᅃശh֮तԢփ
up “dirt poor,” she says. By the time Scarinci and
her siblings were born, the family was “low middle
(Edward E. Partridge) ķķ ˼݊ЬӼҧቃٟٟ
ࡰ ķķ කၾ˼ٙҧቃٟʾীሞၾԢᚆ̔
math teacher. Her family has told Scarinci that she
takes after her mother, who was strong-willed and
ٙҧቃٟΥЪԫ֝dપਗ˼ࡁІʉٙࠇfவ
service-oriented. “That woman,” Scarinci says. “She
ՇࡈɛપซdԢᚆ̔݊ɓࡈʃࢥdɛ͏
knew how to do things.”
࿁աཀԄλԃf̦̔؍փΫኳ༸jҢࡁ
When she was 8 months old, Scarinci contracted
polio. She had received the fi rst vaccine dose of a
Ⴍdவ݊ɓࡈዚึfவ݊ɓࡈ̙˸࣬ৰɿ᎕
two-part series but was under the weather when the
ᐖٙfμձ֮तԢփܔᙄ༈ٙሊ͛
time came to get a second dose. Don’t worry about
it, the doctor told her mother; it can wait another
Դ͜ˋˤכ˪dᒔࠅආБɛᗳԪ߉षݭชݑ
NOVEMBER 2024 ROTARY 39
Ꮸf
Ш˼ࡁԨٜ͊ટෂ༺வᅵٙৃࢹf̦̔؍
փႭjҢႩމܘεִ݁ึ࿁ߕٙᅂᚤɢช
̦̔؍փ ķķ ɓΤʃՅ௦ຌस࠻π٫ ķķ ίˋГ̋ɝҧ
9/30/24 12:05
nov24-D-Scarinci.indd 39 ੶ʷՅഁޥߴટ၇ଟԨࡌࠈՉጜᏨܸیdʔස
ڡٟಂගd 1985 ϋп݄͂ʃՅ௦ຌޥߴf Ցˀชf՟Ͼ˾ʘdμ੶ሜٙ݊ɓ၇Όࠦ
臺灣扶輪 2024.11 29
