By Eva Kagona, Executive Director, Malaria Partners Uganda
Rallying Rotary Clubs in all our events and activities has popularized Malaria Partners Uganda and malaria programs across the Rotary fraternity in Uganda for D9213 and D9214.
We realized that Rotary Clubs struggle to raise funds to implement activities around the 7 focus areas (promoting peace; fighting disease; providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene; improving maternal and child health; supporting education; growing local economies; and protecting the environment). Disease prevention makes no meaning in Uganda if malaria, the leading cause of sickness and death, is not addressed.
Our main focus is not only to engage Rotarians in malaria elimination programs but also raise the resource envelope to fund malaria activities. This is being achieved with the continued collaboration and support to Rotary Clubs to implement all MPU activities. MPU has, through the Rotary Club's collaborations, engaged with District and Community leadership to get malaria programs close to the masses from other angles.
The signature MPU Child to Family (C2F) school initiative, where school children are at the fore front in the fight against malaria continues to take shape and bear fruits. 4 Rotary clubs with 8 schools have been added onto the 4 from 2024. The Champion body is growing bigger and stronger across schools and Rotary Clubs; and Malaria Clubs have started taking shape across schools where the initiative is established.
Pictured Above: Commemorations; World Malaria Day (April 2025) and World Mosquito Day (August 2025) have been successful in partnership with the Rotary Club. Rotarians and their partners- the Educationists and Health Practitioners have engaged in radio talk shows to emphasize the burden of malaria on education and economic status of community members.
Pictured Above: Commemorations events have been hosted by school; Awoja and Kamuda Primary Schools in Soroti; Arua Hill and Arua Primary schools in Arua district. Over 120 learners have been enrolled as champions in the fight against malaria through the Child to Family (C2F) school initiative.
Pictured Above: Stakeholder (VHTs, Religious and Community leaders, Educationists) have been engaged to lay strategies to eliminate the mosquito the malaria causing vector and therein eliminate malaria. Among the strategies were to have religious and community leaders make mention about the burden of malaria and ensure smart homes-free from breeding grounds for mosquitoes; and also promote a test and treat culture to ensure early detection and management of malaria, and desist from self-medication.
Presentations have been given to different Rotary and Rotaract Clubs to encourage Clubs to apply for the Community Impact Grants (CIGs) to increase on the financial resource envelope to engage in malaria elimination projects. A tune of USD 60,000 through the CIGs program has been secured this Rotary Year that commenced July 2025 across 6 clubs.
- The Rotaract Club of Kampala Muyenga Breeze (D9214)
- The Rotaract Club of Kampala North in collaboration with RC Kampala North
- RC Kampala Springs, and Rotaract Club of Bwebajja (D2913 and D9214)
- The Rotary Club of Garuga (D9214)
- The Rotary Club of Kabarole (D9213)
- The Rotary Club of Bwerenga in collaboration with the Rotaract Club of Bwerenga, Rotary Club of Kigo (D9214) and the Rotaract Club of Jinja (D9213)
Mid-September, through MPU and D9214 virtually hosted the Deputy Director of Malaria Partners International, Elizabeth Barnhart (pictured below), who spoke to over 50 Malaria Club Officers about Community Impact Grants, this engagement has boosted the application process and we are hopeful that more of these grants will bridge the gap for malaria intervention activities within the two Rotary Districts in Uganda after the reduced USAID funds.
