Rotary Foundation Minute

At least seven million children under the age of five die each year due to malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation.  To help reduce this rate, Rotarians provide immunizations and antibiotics to babies, improve access to essential medical services, and support trained health care providers for mothers and their children.  According to the World Bank, 310 women die in Uganda for every 100,000 live births, compared with just 21 in the United States and 12 in the United Kingdom.  Infants fare even worse.  In Uganda, 45 out of 1,000 infants never reach the age of one, compared with six in the US and just four in the UK.  Tanzania's infant and maternal mortality rates are also disturbing.   Add in the HIV/AIDS crisis, poverty and inadequate - or nonexistent - clinics and it's clear that programs like these are needed more than ever in East Africa.