Rotary Family Health Days bring free service to communities
South Africans will receive free access to health screenings, counselling services, measles inoculations and polio screening during the Rotary Family Health Days (RFHD).
The RFHD initiative aims to increase access to family healthcare services and will run over a three day period from April 2 to 4, at 145 sites across the country. RFHD will also provide families with HIV/Aids testing and counselling.
Also available will be screening of Tuberculosis (TB), diabetes, hypertension and other Non-Communicable Diseases.
The initiative has enabled access to over 65 000 people in South Africa since its inception in 2013.
“As part of the Department of Health’s mission to improve the health status of South African citizens through the prevention of illnesses and the promotion of healthy lifestyles, we are proud to be a part of this initiative,” says Health minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi.
“We aim to consistently improve the healthcare delivery systems in this country and we feel that RFHD is the perfect vehicle to assist us in this effort.”
Speaking about the 225 Rotary Clubs and their representatives at the recent launch, Marion Bunch, CEO of RFHA, says: “This is a great example of how people and organisations from different sectors of the community can come together to make a difference in the health of South Africans.
“The 4 000 Rotarians in South Africa mobilise the communities into action, and they select, build and volunteer at all the sites during the three day campaign.”
The RFHD initiative is a unique collaboration between government, the private sector and civil society to facilitate healthier and happier families.
The RFHA, acting as civil society, facilitates the partnerships and coordinate the programme rollout.
Coca-Cola is the primary sponsoring partner and provides RFHA with mobilisation and media support.
Commenting on the private sector’s role in the partnership, Therese Gearhart, president of The Coca-Cola Company Southern Africa Business Unit and board member of The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation says: “We believe in strong partnerships across civil society, government and business. This particular partnership makes sense to us and enables us to work towards achieving a common vision of a South Africa that has healthy and thriving communities.
“The Rotary Family Health Days initiative further compliments our partnership with Africare on the PEPFAR funded Injongo Yethu project in the Eastern Cape that works with the provincial government to provide continued HIV care, treatment and support services.”
This pan-African health campaign will also be rolled out in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa during the month of April 2014, with the aim of providing free healthcare to over 350 000 citizens across the continent
