PM Modi also invited rotary members to support India’s efforts to eliminate TB in the nation by 2025
Rotary International inaugurated its 113th annual international convention in Houston on June 4, 2022.
In his address to Rotary’s convention, PM Modi said, “I’m glad that Rotary International is actively working on providing clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. Rotarians are successful in their own field yet have not restricted themselves to working towards making our planet better, a true mix of success and service.”
PM Modi also invited rotary members to support India’s efforts to eliminate TB in the nation by 2025 by leveraging the lasting global health legacy infrastructure established through Rotary’s polio eradication effort. Rotary is recognised for reducing polio cases by 99.9 per cent, together with its partners and governments across the world, as part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). The health infrastructure created for polio elimination has also been effectively utilised to protect millions of people from other diseases such as COVID-19.
Speaking at the occasion, Shekhar Mehta, President, Rotary said, “The biggest gift we are given is to change a life – to make a difference in the circle of life through power and magic to serve others. It is ingrained in our values and central to our ongoing mission of Service Above Self. In the last one year, having visited more than hundreds of Rotary clubs across continents, I am proud of the work Rotary is doing to end polio, empower girls through skill development and education, protect the environmental, fight disease, promote peace, provide clean water, support education, save mothers and children and grow local economies.”
Rotary International also conferred the Rotary Award of Honour to Nobel Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi.
“I thank the 1.4 million members of Rotary International for recognising the need for a free and safe childhood for all children. It is only with the support and commitment of all aspects of society that we will finally end child labour and ensure every child has the opportunity to live to their fullest potential. This award acknowledges the challenge that hundreds of millions of marginalised children continue to face and the responsibility we all have to change their paths toward a brighter future,” Satyarthi said.