Rotary gets $500,000 to tackle VVF in five states

The District Governor, Pharm Mike Omotosho, who made this known during a one-day Certificate Course in Development Journalism for health correspondents in Abuja recently said that the grant is also geared towards reducing maternal and child mortality in the country.Omotosho explained that Rotary had initially conducted a pilot of the VVF project in two states […]

The District Governor, Pharm Mike Omotosho, who made this known during a one-day Certificate Course in Development Journalism for health correspondents in Abuja recently said that the grant is also geared towards reducing maternal and child mortality in the country.
Omotosho explained that Rotary had initially conducted a pilot of the VVF project in two states namely Kano and Kaduna states with $5000.
He said only five health facilities were picked in the pilot states and the success of the pilot project would be documented for use in the extended campaign.
He Said: “And due to the success of the project itself, we’ve got a grant of $500,000 to expand it into five states, that is, adding three additional states. The three states are Ondo, Enugu and the FCT.
“In these states, we are into every health facility in these five states. We will document all the best practices we will be able to gather from the pilot and then use them to make the health system better; so that we track down mortality rate and improve maternal and child health,” he stated.
VVF is an abnormal fistulous tract extending between the bladder and the vagina that allows the continuous involuntary discharge of urine into the vaginal vault. About 100,000 cases of the VVF are said to be occurring in the West African region yearly.
Omotosho also noted that with the donation of less than a dollar by individuals, polio and other killer diseases in the country would be defeated.
His words: “It is just awareness. Once people get to know that with just a 60 cent, they can prevent a child from being crippled, they can prevent a person from dying from malaria, then people will contribute, people will ensure that nobody dies of treatable, preventable disease like malaria.”
The district, which covers about 80 percent of the nation’s landmass, has engaged in various humanitarian projects across the country.