Rotary International President, Gordon McInally, announced this weekend that, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and World Vision, Rotary is launching the Rotary Healthy Communities Challenge.
This initiative will provide $30 million to combat malaria, diarrheal diseases, and respiratory infections, which are the leading causes of death among children under five years old, in four Sub-Saharan African countries: Zambia, Nigeria, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“I have some exciting news to share. The success of Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia (PMFZ) led to an opportunity to leverage our strategic partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and World Vision to create a new disease prevention and treatment program which we are calling the Rotary Healthy Communities Challenge, which will be implemented in four countries from 2024 to 2027,” said Rotary International President McInally.
“Through this program, Rotary is helping to strengthen community health care systems to reduce severe disease and death in the participating countries and ensure that the local communities have access to quality healthcare.”
Members of the Malaria Partners International (MPI) team, including Jeffrey J. Pritchard, CFP, Adriana Lanting, James Moore and Jenny Andrews attended the All-Africa Rotary Zone Institute in Lusaka, Zambia where the announcement was made.
They were joined by members of the Malaria Partners Zambia (MPZ) team, Martha Lungu FCCA, AZICA and Eric Liswaniso, who, along with colleagues from World Vision, provided hands-on implementation of the Community Health Worker (CHW) training through Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia.
“I am very happy to see the efforts of so many people who have worked tirelessly on PMFZ, resulting in Rotary expanding its commitment to ending malaria in Africa said Martha Lungu, Executive Director of Malaria Partners Zambia. “This new grant will enable Rotary to serve as one of the key leaders in helping us achieve a malaria-free Zambia, and from there, and malaria-free Africa.”
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