Rotary Club of Abuja Metro Seeks N30m for Maternal, Infant Health

Linus Aleke in Abuja

The Rotary Club of Abuja Metro said it is seeking N30 million to tackle maternal and infant health, disease prevention, support the environment, empower and develop hard-to-reach communities within its area of responsibility in the country in the 2025/2026 calendar year.

The Club stated this in Abuja during a colourful Fund-Raising, Award, and Installation Ceremony of its 16th President, Rotarian Fredrick Odika.

The Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2018 revealed that the maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 512 deaths per 100,000 live births, one of the highest globally (NPC & ICF, 2019).

“Meanwhile, under-five mortality stood at 132 deaths per 1,000 live births, reflecting severe gaps in child survival interventions (FMoHSW, NPC, & ICF, 2024). The more recent NDHS 2023–24 Key Indicators Report shows that under-five mortality has declined to 102 per 1,000 live births, signalling modest improvements but still far above the SDG target of 25 per 1,000 (FMoHSW, NPC, & ICF, 2024),” the data further revealed.

But speaking at the colourful Fund-Raising ceremony in Abuja yesterday, the Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, pledged to support the newly installed president in achieving the noble objectives of improving maternal and child health and other priority areas within the calendar year.

He tasked the new president to focus more attention on the Rotary priority areas, which include maternal and child health, polio immunisation, and support for the environment, among others.

The Minister described the new president as a visionary and hardworking civil servant who is giving his best to the service of his fatherland, urging him not to derail from the humanitarian services Rotary is known for worldwide. He also urged him to always seek support from the ministry when the need arises.

In his address of welcome, the Chairman of the Planning Committee, Engr. Elvis Obaseki, said the club has continued to positively impact the lives of the downtrodden in Abuja communities over the past 15 years.

The Managing Director of Independent Television (ITV) and Radio, said that the Rotary Club of Abuja Metro built a Disease Control Unit worth over N40 million at the Bwari General Hospital in the FCT during the period under review.

He noted that aside from the club’s investments in disease prevention in the FCT, Abuja Metro also constructed a primary school and clinic in another community in the FCT and has since handed them over to the government for management.

In his remarks, the 16th President of the Rotary Club of Abuja Metro, 2025/2026 Calendar Year, Rotarian Frederick Odika, promised to embark on an aggressive membership drive.

Earlier, in a chat with THISDAY, Odika stated that the calendar year commences on July 1, 2025.

Speaking on the rationale for the fundraising, the President said, “We hope to raise about N30 million, that is our projection vis-à-vis the projects that we want to implement. We have maternal and child health, disease prevention, support for the environment, economic and community empowerment, as well as rural development. We also need to address the public image of Rotary International. Many people don’t have a good grasp of what Rotary is all about, so one of the projects is about publicising the activities of Rotary worldwide, and that is why we want to raise this money and implement these projects, which are all about humanitarian services and making sure we meet the needs of our people.”

He stressed that the government cannot address everything, therefore the gaps and shortcomings are to be covered by Rotary and other humanitarian agencies and individuals.

Explaining the reason for focusing on maternal and child health as one of the priority areas for Rotary, Odika said, “If we don’t take proper care of the mothers and the pregnant women, they will give birth to children who are not good enough to drive progress in society. Women and the children who are our future have to be taken proper care of, so that when we exit this world, these children can continue from where we stopped.

“While we recognise the resurgence in renal cases and HIV/AIDS, our focus areas are maternal and child health, as well as polio. If children are not properly vaccinated, it may lead to deformities that are a burden to society. We are now spending scarce resources on disabled people because their health and wellbeing were not prioritised in the past.”

He, however, said that Rotary has special grants that are set aside to address cases like renal disease, HIV/AIDS, among others.

He explained, “Basically, the money we are raising today is to support women and children. The government is trying, but we know that there are challenges, so Rotary exists to address these challenges, and that is why we are here to complement the government in what they are doing. N30 million will be enough to run my activities over the next year because it rolls over. By next year, the new president to whom I will be handing over will take it up from there, and we will raise funds again to continue. It is not a one-off project.”