Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Rotary Clubs under Districts 9213 and 9214 are going to offer three days of free health services countrywide this month.
This initiative is part of the organization’s Family Health Days, a program that supports communities to access free health services targeting the disadvantaged, hard to reach and less privileged in the country.
During the health days, a number of services including child immunization, COVID-19 vaccination, HIV/AIDS counseling and testing, condom distribution and cancer screening are offered.
This year, the focus will be put on child and maternal health which is believed to be in dire need. According to the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, 336 mothers out of every 100,000 live births die while 43 infants out of every 1,000 live births die within the first 20 days after birth.
Peter Zake, the board chairman of the Rotary Family Health Days says they hope Rotary will be able to improve the situation in the country through the campaign.
“We need to make sure that mothers and children are healthy for they are the backbone of any community and this year we want all our clubs to make a difference by not just contributing money but attaching themselves to a health centre to monitor and make sure that the interventions are being utilized and the free services are being enjoyed by those that need them,” he said.
As part of the services this year, mothers will receive free antenatal and vaccination services from particular health centres during the duration of the campaign.
The campaign will officially be launched on April 29,2022 and will run until May 1,2022. It will be led by the Rotary Clubs of Kasangati, Mukono and Kampala-Wandegeya.
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