As part of his visit to clubs in Nigeria, Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta and his wife Rashi, will be visiting Rotary District 9141and commission projects in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Rotary District 9141 covers Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Edo states. There are 120 Rotary clubs in this district made up of about 3000 Rotarians
President Shekhar, his wife Rashi and other Rotary leaders will be received at the Port Harcourt International Airport on, Friday September 3rd, 2021, by District 9141 Governor Andy Uwejeyan, his wife, District leaders and club presidents.
While in Port Harcourt President Shekhar will inspect and commission three projects and plant three commemorative trees.
The projects to be commissioned include
- Pad a girl: A project to address period poverty and menstrual hygiene. About 650 girls from low income households would be taught menstrual hygiene and trained to produce reusable sanitary pads
Unlike fellow African countries like Kenya and Uganda, which already have
policies of free pads distribution to schoolgirls and Rwanda, which has
removed taxes from all sanitary hygiene products to ensure low costs, Nigeria
has done none of these thus increasing period poverty. One of the ways out of the period poverty crises especially for schoolgirls from
low-income homes is the use of reusable sanitary pads beginning from Spetember 2nd , 2021 at the Obumutn Chiri Community Hall, Borokiri sandfield, Rivers State. - Cervical cancer screening and vaccination of girls: Cancers affecting
the female reproductive system is a public health concern globally. With rising
life expectancy, it is envisaged that the prevalence of this health concern will
increase. Among the various sub parts, cancer affecting the cervix, which is
the entrance to uterus, had contributed, to the global burden of gynecological
cancers.
World Statistics indicate that 530,000 new cases of cervical
cancer per year with 275,000 maternal deaths are recorded annually; 85% of
these deaths are in underdeveloped countries. This translates to,
a woman dying every two minutes from cervical cancer. In Nigeria, statistics indicate that
about 36.59 million females aged between 15 years and older are at risk of
cervical cancer with about 9922 women diagnosed with this disease and
8,030 dying from it annually. Cervical cancer occurrence had been linked to
Human Papillomavirus infection persistence over a period of 10 -20 years, it is the most common sexually transmissible infection globally with a lifetime risk of acquisition of between 50-75% in every female.
In 2020, over 1,000,000 women were diagnosed with this disease and over 500,000 women died from the disease. A recognizable precancerous phase had been identified during which interventions can be done to halt the progression of disease.
The aim of this project is to identify girls in the ages 9-12 years and offer immunization against the HPV virus that cause cervical cancer with extended immunization for 13-26 years.
- A global grant Project is a significant one for every Rotary Club. The Rotary Club of Port Harcourt Central in partnership with the Rotary Club of Wahroonga, Australia is providing 50,000 liters of water to Tonipirima ama, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Founded in Chicago, USA on February 23, 1905 – Rotary is a global network of volunteers who share a passion for enhancing communities and improving lives around the world. Rotary clubs will celebrate this anniversary by participating in an array of service projects that address community needs at home and abroad – from fighting disease and providing clean water to supporting education, growing local economies and promoting peace.
Rotary’s top priority is the global eradication of polio – a paralyzing yet vaccine-preventable disease that is now 99.9 percent eliminated from the world.
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteers dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and regions. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. For more information, visit Rotary.org.
Further enquires are directed to the following contact,
Ibim Semenitari ibim@ibimsemenitari.com; Kelechi Ekezie, kelechi_ekezie@yahoo.com
ROTARY DISTRICT 9141
