DG Bernie's
Message
OCTOBER 16 - WORLD FOOD
DAY
President Bill
Boyd listed Health and Hunger as one of his four emphases for this
Rotary Year and this serious situation has to be addressed otherwise we
may be caught looking the wrong way. I have downloaded the following
excerpts from RI and added parts where necessary to relate it to our own
District situation.
Health and hunger issues
affect the entire world. Preventable or manageable diseases like
HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis result in the deaths of over 6
million people each year. Women and children are the most vulnerable
groups. As a result of poor access to quality family and maternal
healthcare over 300 million women suffer complications due to pregnancy,
529,000 women die during childbirth, and over 6.6 million children never
see their fifth birthdays.
Only this week, Kirsty
Sword Gusmao, First Lady of Timor Leste, spoke at a breakfast organised
by the Rotary Club of Kew in support of the Alola Foundation and funds
were raised to provide maternity packs for women in Timor Leste in an
effort to support maternal and child health and to arrest the death rate
in this fledgling country where population increase is vital.
Many health issues and
diseases are related to hunger. Every year over 852 million people are
malnourished - making them more susceptible to disease. Hunger and
malnourishment are often exacerbated by parasites and waterborne
diseases spread by unclean drinking water. Over 1.1 billion people lack
access to safe drinking water and over 2.6 billion people do not have
access to even the most basic sanitation facilities. Consequently,
hunger kills more than 25,000 people every day.
We will encourage service
projects that specifically address the health and nutrition issues of
mothers, infants, children, and the elderly. We will pay special
attention to health and hunger issues like basic nutrition, preventable
or treatable diseases, mental health, and hygiene and sanitation.
Programs that address natural disasters, famines, and other complex
emergencies that threaten health and cause hunger worldwide are very
welcome.
The drought in Victoria is
already causing family problems and there are now regular calls on the
Foodbank established in key centres throughout country Victoria. Hunger
does not start outside our borders.
When you are seeking
projects, the issues of health and hunger should be strongly considered
and water projects are a priority when it comes to solving most of these
issues.
Lead The Way
by addressing the big issues.
Bernie Walshe
District
Governor
