Fighting Disease

We believe good health care is everyone’s right. Yet 400 million people in the world can’t afford or don’t have access to basic health care.

Disease results in misery, pain, and poverty for millions of people worldwide. That’s why treating and preventing disease is so important to us. We lead efforts both large and small. We set up temporary clinics, blood donation centers, and training facilities in underserved communities struggling with outbreaks and health care access. We design and build infrastructure that allows doctors, patients, and governments to work together.

Our members combat diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and polio. Prevention is important, which is why we also focus on health education and bringing people routine hearing, vision, and dental care.

Our impact on disease

The Rotary Foundation is changing the world by providing grants for projects and activities around the globe and in your own backyard.

Rotary makes amazing things happen, like:

Providing clean water: Rotary has worked with partners to provide more than 80 percent of Ghana’s people with clean water to fight Guinea worm disease.

Reducing HIV infection: In Liberia, Rotary members are helping women get tested for HIV early in their pregnancies. They used prenatal care to reduce new HIV infections in children by 95 percent over two years.

Ending polio: Rotary members have played a key role in bringing the world to the brink of polio eradication. Their efforts have not only ended polio in 122 countries but also created a system for tackling myriad other health priorities, such as Ebola.