The Rotary Club of North Atlanta (RCNA) is partnering with Rotary clubs in Texas, North Carolina, and Addis Ababa on a Global Grant project in Ethiopia (Global Grant GG2240039). The project focuses upon women who have already had one child with spina bifida or anencephaly (serious birth defects known collectively as neural tube defects or NTDs), because these women have a 10X higher risk of having another child with an NTD. The chief cause of these defects is a dietary lack of inexpensive folic acid (also called vitamin B9). Providing these women with supplemental folic acid pills before they become pregnant should greatly reduce their chances of having another baby with an NTD. The project entails identifying and recruiting approximately 1,850 of these women at high risk; supplying them with one-a-day high-dosage vitamin B9 tablets; and then tracking the birth outcomes. The project is initially specified for a year, but the goal is to extend it for an additional four years.
Recently 800,000 vitamin pills (a year's supply) were manufactured in India and shipped to a hospital in Addis for less than $5,000 USD. The accompanying photo shows our Ethiopian partners with the delivered shipment. The pills are being distributed to patients, and the project is now underway.
Ethiopia has a relatively high incidence of NTDs, but spina bifida (caused by folic acid deficiency) is a global problem: an estimated 300,000 babies are affected each year. Many die before or at birth; those who survive often suffer from paralysis and incontinence, and shorter life spans due to complications. Survivors require lifelong special care, which burdens their families and society at large.
There is burgeoning awareness within Rotary of the need to take action for prevention as well as care for spina bifida patients: this past spring, R.I. President Jennifer Jones visited a Spina Bifida clinic in Columbia. The upcoming January issue of Rotary magazine will feature a story about Rotary and NTDs.
Additional details about the project are published on R.I.s "Rotary Showcase" and the "Rotary Grant Center."