Rotary Foundation Spends $33.5 Million On Humanitarian Projects In Nigeria
ROTARY Foundation, the charitable arm of Rotary International, says it has expended 33.5 million dollars on humanitarian projects in Nigeria in the past three years.
Mr. Olayinka Babalola, the organisation’s newly selected President-elect, disclosed this during a media conference on Tuesday in Abuja.
Babalola, who will assume office as the global President of Rotary International in July 2026, said Nigeria had benefitted significantly from the foundation.
“On average, Rotary in Nigeria donates between three and five million dollars to the foundation depending on the economy.
“However, in the last three years alone, we have received 33.5 million dollars back in support for humanitarian projects,” he said.
He said the huge donation reflected the organisation’s commitment to supporting Nigerian Rotary clubs in addressing urgent community challenges.
He noted that Rotary’s grants system was designed to support communities across the world in addressing critical needs, adding that its work extended beyond polio eradication.
“Rotary has seven focal areas: maternal and child health; disease prevention and treatment, including polio; water, sanitation and hygiene; community development and economic empowerment; peace and conflict prevention; the environment; and basic education and literacy,” he said
Babalola emphasised Rotary’s commitment to finishing the global fight against polio, describing it as the organisation’s top corporate initiative.
He added that the organisation had also broadened its work to address other health and social needs.
“Years ago, polio was killing and maiming 1,000 children daily in 125 countries. Today, only Afghanistan and Pakistan remain polio-endemic, with fewer than 50 cases recorded globally last year.
“Nigeria has been certified wild polio-free, but routine immunisation coverage remains very low in some states, with rates as low as 13 per cent in parts of the Northwest,” he said.
He warned that such gaps had given rise to variant polio cases, stressing the need for stronger collaboration with government and stakeholders to improve immunisation coverage.
Speaking on plans ahead of his tenure, Babalola said Rotary Presidents globally work within set priorities, but pointed out that local implementation was the responsibility of district governors, who adapt those priorities to meet the needs of their communities.
“Every year we have objectives that guide our work globally. District governors then design their own action plans to support those priorities at the local level, depending on the peculiar needs of their areas.
“So, while I will focus on continuity at the international level, the governors will play a critical role in ensuring that projects touch communities directly in Nigeria,” he said.
He added that he would be working closely with the foundation’s President, Mr. Francesco Arezzo of Italy, and Mr. Larry Lunsford of the United States of America, who has already been selected to succeed him, to sustain continuity and ensure that global and local priorities align.
Babalola, a member of the Rotary Club of Trans Amadi, Rivers State, is the second Nigerian and African to be selected as global President of Rotary International since its establishment in 1905.
He will serve as President for the 2026–2027 Rotary year.
(NAN)
