President of Rotary International, has urged Nigerians to prioritise peace, patience, and community engagement as pathways to overcoming insecurity and achieving sustainable development, including public health goals such as polio eradication.
In an interview with Arise News on Wednesday, during his first visit to Nigeria to mark International Rotary Day, Arezzo said Rotary remains committed to long-term global health initiatives across the continent.
“The eradication of polio was a campaign that Rotary International began many, many years ago. We began alone in 1979, but in 1985 we involved other partners and so we created the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with UNICEF, with WHO, with Gates Foundation, with GAVI, with other partners.
“And polio, which was endemic all around the world, now is endemic only in two countries in the world, only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“Africa was declared polio free in 2020, five years ago. And that was possible because we worked as a team. Rotary International, our partners, Global Polio Eradication Initiative, and the local governments that supported us in a very, very active way. And we are so grateful to all of them.”
Arezzo emphasised that lasting change requires collaboration across communities and governments, especially for projects that span beyond political tenures. “In Nigeria, we have a very active Rotary. We have six districts and a big number of clubs. Nigeria for Rotary International is the most important country in Africa, as membership, as fundraising, as everything. And we have also very big projects here in Africa. For example, we have a project for the reduction of the number of deaths during the birth of a child. And we reduced the mortality of mothers by more than 30 percent, and the mortality of the children by more than 40 percent. The communities were involved, and the local administration, the politics were involved also. And they work together. And it was a great success.”
The Rotary president also framed health initiatives like polio eradication as part of a broader mission to promote peace and human dignity. “The main goal of Rotary is peace. We work for peace. But in our vision, peace doesn’t mean only absence of war. Peace means freedom, means dignity, human dignity. It means to have a job, to maintain the family. But to have a job, you have to be healthy. And you have to be also instructed. You have to be trained. You have to go to school. So to work because the children can attend a school, and to obtain better schools, and to work for healthy people, that is working for peace. In that way, we work for peace. Eradication of polio is a great step toward peace.”
Reflecting on his experiences in Nigeria, Arezzo praised the country’s vibrancy and resilience. “It is my first time in Nigeria. And I have to say that usually my visits in the country are two or three days. I remained six days in Nigeria. And it is too short. Arriving in Nigeria is an experience. You have to feel it. It is a wonderful feeling. It is an explosion of dance, of music, of drums, of colours. It is wonderful.”
On the ongoing challenges in the fight against polio, Arezzo noted misinformation and limited access in remote areas as key hurdles. “We have problems, of course. The problem very often is the misinformation. People in the very remote villages, in the remote part of the state, here in the north, for example, or in Pakistan, they don’t have newspaper or television. They have a phone, an iPhone, probably. And they read what is on the web. And on the web you find not the good information. But despite it, it is so difficult. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, when the USA decided to go to the moon, he said, we don’t go to the moon because it is easy. But despite it, it is difficult. And we decided to eradicate polio, not because it is easy, but despite it, it is so difficult.”
Arezzo’s visit reinforces Rotary International’s commitment to long-term partnerships, community engagement, and the holistic promotion of health, education, and peace as cornerstones for sustainable development across Nigeria and Africa.
Boluwatife Enome
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