The Rotary Action Group for Family Health & AIDS Prevention (RFHA) has launched its signature program, Rotary Family Health Days (RFHD), now in its 12th year, to provide free preventive community healthcare services across Africa and India in partnership with local clubs and health systems. The nonprofit aims to bridge the gap for millions of people who still struggle to access basic healthcare worldwide, offering free health screenings, disease prevention and treatment education, lifesaving immunizations, and referrals for follow-on essential care. Last year alone, RFHA delivered an estimated 665,000 health services to approximately 250,000 people on the African continent. The program’s new partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will help fight communicable and non-communicable diseases and will run RFHDs in 10 new countries in Africa in a 2-year pilot program. RFHD has also supported healthcare inclusivity by providing access to care for people with disabilities, celebrating International Day of People with Disabilities with the first-ever RFHD launch in Mozambique.
RFHDs have three key areas of focus: immunization of children against polio, malaria screening and treatment, and HIV testing and counseling, including other vaccinations like Hepatitis B & C and diabetes and glucose level screening. Programs in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will also address gender inequalities and integrate health programs. Rotary International’s polio-eradication program in Nigeria, Dr. Tunji Funsho, has expressed support for RFHD’s health services and awareness campaigns that encourage caregivers to get their children immunized, not just for polio but for other vaccine-preventable diseases as well.
RFHD is on track to support over 500,000 people in over nine countries this year alone. Amid the progress made in TB and HIV/AIDS prevention, the global pandemic has set healthcare accessibility back in time, and RFHA’s services have become more vital than ever. Anyone interested in being part of this change can get in touch with the RFHA website or the CEO, Sue Paget, at spaget@rfha.org.
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