The Rotary Foundation has reaffirmed its commitment to helping Nigeria sustain its polio-free status and reduce maternal and child mortality, praising Nigerian Rotarians and health workers for their vital role in protecting global health.
Speaking at a Community Dialogue and Joint Partners Health Outreach in Gwarinpa Village, Abuja, the Chairman of the Rotary Foundation Board, Holger Knaack, said that although Africa was certified polio-free five years ago, vaccination must continue until the disease is fully eradicated worldwide.
“Rotary’s goal is to eradicate polio completely. As long as there are cases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, we must continue vaccinating children,” Knaack stated.
“Even though Africa has been free of wild poliovirus for five years, our children are not safe until every child everywhere is protected.”
Knaack noted that Nigeria remains central to Rotary’s global health mission, with three major projects currently underway the Polio Eradication Campaign, the “Together for Healthy Families” initiative targeting maternal and child mortality, and the Rotary Healthy Community Challenge, which combats malaria, diarrhoea, and pneumonia leading causes of death among children.
He also praised Nigerian philanthropist Sir Emeka Offor for donating $5 million to Rotary’s maternal and child health programmes, calling the gesture “outstanding” and impactful.
“What happens here in Nigeria shows donors in Europe and the U.S. that their contributions are making a real difference,” Knaack said. “It is an investment in global health.”
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Dr. Ijeoma Pearl Okoro, Trustee of the Rotary Foundation, revealed that Rotary’s maternal and child health project has already reduced mortality by 28% in just three years across Ekiti, Nasarawa, Gombe, and the FCT.
“Our goal is that no mother or child should die during childbirth,” she said. “We will expand to 10 states next year, thanks to the support from the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation.”
Dr. Okoro added that Rotary’s interventions begin before conception and continue until a child reaches age five, emphasizing that community cooperation and collaboration with traditional rulers and local health workers have been key to success.
“Polio anywhere is polio everywhere,” she warned. “We must not relax until the virus is wiped off the face of the earth.”
The Village Head of Gwarinpa Village, Alhaji Umar Bayaro, pledged his community’s continued support for Rotary’s interventions.
“We will continue to sustain the progress made here,” he said. “Taking the polio vaccine is essential, and as leaders, we will keep encouraging our people to participate.”
For over three decades, Rotary International has partnered with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the global effort to eradicate polio one of the largest public health campaigns in human history.
