As 2017 comes to a close, the impact of the Rotary Global Grant submitted in 2016 by the Ipswich Rotary Club to improve children’s health in the capital city of Lusaka, Zambia, is more evident than ever.Working with the Rotary Club of Nkwazi and the Zambian Ministries of Education and Healthy, Healthy Kids/Brighter Future (HK/BF), the implementing NGO, is delivering health care to children by educating elementary school administrators and teachers to recognize illness in their students and provide them access to government clinics in their communities.
A few of the year’s highlights:
- Replicated the HK/BF model in 9 schools across two new communities, reaching 20,000 additional students
- Concluded a controlled evaluation by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that found the programs significantly improve the health of children served
- 54% reduction in the odds of stunting
- 44% reductions in the odds of acute illness
- 48% increase in vitamin A supplementation and deworming coverage
- Schools reported a decrease in absenteeism and improvement in children's learning
22 clubs from District 7930 contributed to the Global Grant, along with 11 clubs from District 7780, and one club each from Bangor, Maine and Mercer Island, Washington. The number of children served by the program is now over 35,000.
The photo shows the last group of school health workers and administrators from George Township after completing their training on December 22nd. Lonnie Hackett, the 2014 Bowdoin College graduate and the Founder and President of HK/BF, was back in Lusaka for the ceremony, taking a holiday break from his year of study at Oxford University as a Rotary Global Scholar.