- Says Newborn deaths also down 45% in supported clinics
BY VICTOR BUORO – Rotary International President, Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, says maternal deaths across Nigerian healthcare facilities supported by the organisation have dropped by 77 percent, while newborn mortality rates equally declined by 45 percent.
Babalola said these inspiring improvements were due to sustained collaboration between Rotary, government health authorities, community health workers and international partners under the organisation’s Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria programme.
Delivering his keynote address at the All-Nigeria Rotary Peace Summit in Lagos, Babalola explained that the “Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria” initiative unites Rotary, government health authorities, local community health workers, and international partners to strengthen healthcare delivery and foster community development across the country.
He said the programme, launched in 2022, was designed to improve maternal and child healthcare by strengthening prenatal services and expanding access to essential medical supplies and equipment.
According to him, the cheering news came because Rotary members in Nigeria, working with partners in Germany and federal and state health ministries, had supported expectant mothers across three states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Rotary President said available records indicate community health workers had conducted nearly 60,000 home visits to expectant mothers and their families, while 158 healthcare facilities received contraceptives, medicines and medical equipment, adding: “We have already seen positive outcomes. Maternal deaths were reduced by 77 percent, and newborn deaths were reduced by 45 percent at supported facilities.”
While describing the successes as evidence that improving access to essential social services could contribute significantly to national stability and peace, Babalola said, providing families with access to safe maternal healthcare reduces preventable deaths, strengthens community confidence and eases pressure on government health institutions.
“With each child born safely to a healthy mother, we ease the burden carried by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. We give families a greater sense of safety and security,” he said.
Babalola, who said peace extended beyond the absence of armed conflict to building human opportunity, noted that Rotary International’s “Positive Peace” philosophy focuses on healthcare, education, and justice to address the root conditions that sustain stable societies.
The Rotary boss further said: “To grow Positive Peace from the ground up, Rotary starts from the very foundation of life, as we have done here”, and highlighted Nigeria’s success in eliminating indigenous wild poliovirus transmission, noting that the country had remained free of the deadly virus since 2020.
Also, pointing out that Rotary continues working with the WHO and partners to maintain polio eradication and respond to variant outbreaks, Babalola noted that after Nigeria was declared wild polio-free, Rotary launched a Peace Centre at Makerere University in 2021.
He said the centre equips Peace Fellows to prevent conflict, build peace, and resolve disputes throughout Africa, disclosing that over 75 Rotary Peace Fellows had come from Nigeria over the years, with some participating in the summit.
Babalola, while stressing that Rotary’s commitment to peacebuilding was demonstrated not only through advocacy but also through practical interventions that improve people’s lives, said: “I tell you this not to advertise Rotary. I tell you this because I want you to know that Rotary is already a quiet partner in peacebuilding, not only around the world, but here in our shared home.”
Further highlighting Rotary members’ commitment to bringing people together through service and collective action, Babalola said: “As members of Rotary, we are not soldiers, ambassadors, or diplomats. We bring people together to find common purpose through service to others. We are here for Nigeria, and we are here to stay.”
For the Rotary Chief, governments, development partners, leaders, and citizens must unite in tackling the challenges facing everyday Nigerians, stressing that sustainable development demands people and institutions committed to change and a shared national future.
Maintaining that the goal must be a Nigeria where every citizen enjoys justice, opportunity, and dignity, regardless of background, he challenged members to make peacebuilding their legacy, emphasizing that the impact of their work must endure for generations to come.
In her presentation, Lea Perekrests, Director of Partnerships at the Institute for Economics and Peace, identified two types of peace, noting that true peace extends far beyond the mere absence of violence.
For her, negative peace is simply the absence of violence or the fear of it, while positive Peace builds attitudes, institutions, and structures that sustain peaceful societies, adding that positive peace is what makes peace last.
On his part, The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, canvassed robust partnership between Rotary International and the Police to strengthen liaisons that connect institutions with communities, government with citizens, and security with service.
Represented by AIG Miller Dantawaye, the Police boss said: “Let us translate that principle into action. Let us work together to build communities where justice is accessible, institutions are trusted, citizens are responsible and every individual can live with dignity, security and hope. That is the foundation of lasting peace.
“Let me therefore take the first bold step of appealing to the RI president that we jointly fix a date for the first official Police/Rotary fellowship that will be jointly presided by the IGP and RI President to kickstart the collaboration.”
