L–R: District Governor Elect, Sikiru Adetona; Past District Governor, Joshua Hassan; Rotary International, President-elect for 2026/2027, Olayinka Hakeem Babalola and District Governor 9127, Joy Nky Okoro, during the press conference by the President-elect of the Rotary International in Abuja, yesterday.
From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Rotary International has earmarked $9.8 billion to combat malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia in Kebbi and Akwa Ibom States.
The club also donated $2 billion to fight maternal mortality, and malnutrition in Gombe and Nassarawa states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Its President-elect for 2026-2027 Rotary year, Yinka Babalola, at a press briefing yesterday, in Abuja, said the club would continue to meet the needs of vulnerable communities.
He said: “And we are spending another $9.8 billion to take care of malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia and we have that project going on as I speak. Some of you may have heard about it in Kebbi and Akwa Ibom states; something we started early this year, and the malaria part of it is coming from the lessons we learned from the $4 million project we did in Zambia. It helped to reduce death.
“The action plan has four priorities to expand our reach, increase our impact, enhance our participants’ engagement, and increase our ability to adapt. Those are the four priorities.”
He stressed that eradication of polio remains a top priority for the club, as it would continue to fight the disease to ensure that Nigeria becomes polio free. Also, he charged Nigerians to join the club, as it would draw the presence of the club to address some environmental challenges.
