By Folasade Akpan
ABUJA (NAN, CONVERSEER) – The Rotary Foundation is targeting malaria, diarrhoea, and pneumonia, Africa’s leading killers of children, through its Rotary Healthy Community Challenge.
Mr Holger Knaack, Chairman of the Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees, said this in Abuja during a medical outreach, explaining that teams would move from community to community to tackle those diseases.
He added that the foundation also focused on maternal and child health through its Together for Healthy Families initiative, ensuring safe childbirth for mothers and babies.
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Knaack reaffirmed Rotary’s commitment to global polio eradication, noting that even though Africa had been free of wild poliovirus for five years, vaccination must continue until the disease is eliminated worldwide.
Ms Ijeoma Okoro, Rotary Trustee, said the Foundation’s interventions had reduced maternal and child mortality by more 2than 8 per cent, with current projects in Ekiti, Nasarawa, FCT, and Gombe, set to expand to 10 states in 2026.
She stressed the importance of community engagement, collaboration with traditional rulers, and media advocacy to increase awareness, reduce vaccine hesitancy, and ensure the sustainability of public health interventions.
