APRIL – MATERNAL & CHILD HEALTH
In 2017, Romania was leading the top of the EU countries with the highest infant mortality rate: 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, almost double the European average of 3.6. The situation in the Republic of Moldova is even more dramatic: the infant mortality rate is 3 times higher than the average of the European Union countries.
What lies behind these numbers? A phenomenon of dramatic proportions: children who die before turning 1, most often due to causes that could have been prevented or treated. Why does this tragedy happen? The medical system is not properly prepared or equipped to save these children. We already know, or maybe for some of you this is news: Romania has the lowest life expectancy in Europe. Do we want to do something about this? There will always be discussion about this topic. Mothers are the most important people, the ones who create life, the ones who create the world. A mother needs proper medical care during her pregnancy, she needs to be supervised and assisted by qualified people during childbirth, but she also needs proper care postpartum. A third of the infant mortality rate can be prevented, by creating support programs for mothers and children, by properly equipping maternities and newborn sections, with performant medical equipment and with qualified medical personnel.
Mothers give birth to the world. The way in which they are treated, protected, cared for and supported, establishes the wellbeing of their children, therefore of the nation. If mothers are strong and healthy, so will be their families, which means that the entire nation will be strong and healthy. Let us take a look at the prosperous countries that are also the happiest: Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands. These are among the best places to be a mother, or a woman in general. Here is where mothers have their governments’ support, they have maternity leave and consistent allowances, general safety, but also the flexibility of the workplace, high-performance health systems, nurseries of the highest quality and top education systems. These countries have understood well: the future of the nation depends on the mother.
If mothers stopped caring for their children, if they stopped offering their children everything they needed to be able to go to school to learn, there would be no workforce, there would be no tax payers. Global economy would stop. Let us remember how important the first 7 years are in the life of a person. When we endanger mothers, we endanger humankind. When we make mothers the center of our care, we actually take care of our future. This is why Rotary pays great attention to mothers and children.
Rotary provides vulnerable mothers and children with high quality healthcare, so they can live longer and grow stronger. The Rotary Foundation reaches out to vulnerable mothers and children, providing communities with the help and training they need to take control of their own maternal and child healthcare. We are expanding access to quality care so that mothers and children everywhere have the same opportunities for a healthy future. It is estimated that 5.9 million children under the age of five die each year from malnutrition, inadequate medical care and poor sanitation – all of which can be prevented. Why doesn’t humanity trigger a state of emergency for the unseen killers as well: corruption, bureaucracy, intolerance and indifference?
How do we prevent it?
HIV – Rotary offers education, immunization, birth kits and mobile health clinics. In some countries, women are taught how to prevent HIV transmission from mother to baby, how to breastfeed and how to protect themselves and their children from disease.
Mobile prenatal clinics – Haiti has the highest maternal and infant mortality rate in any country in the western hemisphere. Rotary offered a fully-equipped medical Jeep to volunteers and midwives to reach mothers and children in remote areas.
Cancer Screening – Rotarians have provided a mobile cancer screening unit and awareness training around Chennai, India, where there is a high mortality rate for women with breast and cervical cancer due to late diagnosis.
Injury and Death Prevention – Rotary members have launched a five-year, $3 million pilot project to save the lives of mothers and children during home births in Nigeria.
End Polio – Rotary is an international community that brings together leaders who take the step to meet the world’s most challenging challenges, locally and globally. The eradication of polio is one of our longest and most important efforts. Together with our partners, we helped immunize over 2.5 billion children against polio in 122 countries. We have reduced polio cases by 99.9% worldwide and we will not stop until the disease is over. For more than two years, there have been cases of wild polio in only two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, but immunization must continue.
What are we doing in D2241 – Romania and the Republic of Moldova?
- For 20 years now, Rotary D2241 has provided maternity facilities with the medical equipment needed to save children born prematurely, and with problems. All of these actions have led to significant improvements in the health of the mother and the newborn. I want to congratulate all the clubs in the District that have been conducting educational activities for children, the best investment in health, for several years. I refer here to educational programs in schools and kindergartens in both countries, regarding the hygiene of the hands, and of the teeth. I also want to congratulate the clubs that provide medical equipment or renovate sections of hospitals, and invite clubs that do not yet have actions in this area to identify the needs of their community and move on to the facts. All your actions SAVE LIVES! The implication, your dedication saves lives! Your actions have a colossal impact, never forget this.
- Our district has this historic project to collect $100,000 in donations for the END POLIO campaign, so that all children around the world would be vaccinated and protected from this ruthless disease. Congratulations and thank you to all those who understood and donated. I was surprised by the generosity of some genuine Rotarians. We are part of a whole, Rotary, whose mission, for 30 years, is to eradicate the polio virus from across the globe. We act as a whole and intervene where we need to. We show that we are a reliable partner, in solidarity with the huge efforts of the organization and partners such as the Gates Foundation.
- A very special project is “Save the heart of a child” in partnership with the Emergency Clinical Hospital for Children “Grigore Alexandrescu”, which aims to save children with heart conditions. Teams of specialized cardiologists come to Bucharest for regular missions, prepare Romanian medical staff and operate for free, thus giving children a chance at life.
Every life matters, which is why your attachment to Rotary is extremely important. We are lucky and blessed to do volunteering, we all felt this calling, and the statistics above show us that there is still much to be done: the most vulnerable beings need us and our involvement.
I want this letter to motivate you even more to get involved in projects dedicated to the health of mothers and children. You can equip sections of maternity hospitals, children’s hospitals, you can put together information, you can do counseling, you can optimize prevention and treatment of acute diseases. I encourage you to partner with strong non-governmental organizations or even hospital institutions and agree on a phased endowment action strategy. Every city needs your intervention, and the contribution you make to your community will significantly improve the quality of life of newborns and their mothers. Share your actions with your community and show them how you are helping to improve the health of your mothers and children in your city! This will inspire others to join or support your actions with donations.
- All the clubs in Bucharest had a partnership with the organization Dăruiește viață, in December. If you don’t know who the two ladies are, I will only tell you that they raised over 15 million euros from the donations alone. These two ladies have shown that they can do it. “We Make a Hospital” is a phenomenon, a response to the belief that “nothing can be done in Romania”, a challenge for Romanians everywhere to dare to believe in their own strength and in the strength of their community. Overcoming the position of the victim, not waiting to build the country they want. Brick by brick. I invite you to read their story here:
And I invite you all to prepare yourselves with creative and fun actions and charity events, parties and activities full of joy for fundraising in support of saving mothers and children projects. And, of course, share with us the result and impact of your actions and show us how you contribute to improving the health of mothers and children in your community! We want to multiply these gestures, these projects.
The END POLIO NOW project was a good workout. I think the strength of our organization can materialize into even more lives saved. I am confident in the power, strength, determination and dedication of those who decide to go through the deeds. That is why it gives me great honor to announce that in the END COVID NOW district project, we have exceeded $1,000,000 in club projects, and that we are optimistically moving toward $1,500,000.
I congratulate you with respect and admiration for your involvement and results!
Good health!
Marian Neagoe
Rotary D2241 Governor
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