Nigeria is said to be in line to receive $9m worth of healthcare improvement support from Rotary International.
The project is expected to impact 3.5m persons in over 700,000 households in targeted states. The amount is said to be part of $5.5bn fund so far disbursed by ‘The Rotary Foundation’.
This is said to be in response to the continued threat of malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases to children under five in Nigeria. Rotary International, working in partnership with the Gates Foundation, is starting the launch in Kebbi State.
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According to a press release by ‘Rotary Healthy Communities Challenge’ (RHCC), signed by Claudia Brunner, one of Rotary International contact persons, the Nigeria programme, guided by the Federal Ministry of Health, will address the specific health needs in Kebbi State and one additional state to be determined at a later stage.
The statement made available to newsmen said over 2,750 community health workers will be trained and deployed to provide essential diagnosis, treatment, and care for malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea, significantly reducing childhood mortality in these regions.
“Rotary is committed to improving health outcomes by empowering communities,” the release quoted Aloysius Dele Balogun, Rotary Country Committee Lead in Nigeria and member of the Rotary Club Agege.
It went ahead: “Through this initiative, we are equipping our community healthcare workers with the tools and training necessary to deliver life-saving services right where they are needed the most.”
Over the next three years, Rotary members, in partnership with PATH, will work closely with government at central and local levels, along with community leaders, to enhance health systems, aiming to reach an estimated 3.5 million people in 700,000 households in the target states.
The programme will also foster community engagement and raise awareness on the importance of early disease treatment, while improving data collection and management practices for accurate health reporting and informed decision-making.
This is all aimed at preventing deaths from malaria and the others, according to Obinna Onyekwena, deputy director, Infectious Diseases Advocacy at the Gates Foundation. “The Gates Foundation is proud to partner with Rotary and PATH on this crucial step towards a healthier future for children in Nigeria.”
The Rotary Healthy Communities Challenge is said to be a multi-country initiative aimed at strengthening community health systems and reducing childhood mortality in sub-Saharan Africa especially Nigeria, Mozambique, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The initiative is said to build on the success of Rotary’s Programmes of Scale ‘Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia,’ which significantly reduced malaria incidence in targeted districts.
Ayebatari Lawson, Team Lead for PATH MACEPA in Nigeria said: “Trained community health workers save lives by detecting and clearing infections early.”
Rotary members throughout the world are said to be develop and implement sustainable, community-driven projects that fight disease, promote peace, provide clean water, support education, help mothers and children, grow local economies and protect the environment.
Over the last 100 years, $5.5 bn has been awarded through ‘The Rotary Foundation’ – Rotary’s charitable arm that helps clubs work together to perform meaningful, impactful service.
