Due to the necessity to minimise our attendance at events in public spaces where possible, we are continuing our Zoom breakfast meetings until a decision is made to return to face-to-face meetings.

If you would like to visit our meeting, please contact us by email on rotaryclubcentralmelbourne@gmail.com or phone 0455-858-996 and request log-in details.

The meeting will commence at 7:40am and conclude no later than 8:45.

Chris Wang OAM: Give Every Child a Future

Give Every Child a Future is a collaborative zone project helping to immunise children throughout the Pacific. Rotary Melbourne initiated the program but it has certainly gone well beyond the club in terms of support.

While there have been improvements in immunisation services, the poorest and hardest to reach children are still being left behind. Diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea remain leading killers of children under five years and high rates of life-threatening cervical cancer continue to devastate Pacific Island families. Poor health systems, limited government resources, environmental challenges and families living in difficult to reach areas mean children are missing out on life-saving vaccines.

The Asian Development Bank announced that it would provide financing to the governments of Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu to introduce the new vaccines. Independently Rotary will fund some regional and other supporting activities in those four countries. It will also fully fund a similar program in the other five Pacific Island countries independently of Asian Development Bank.

Rotary and UNICEF are aiming to vaccinate 100,000 children and girls over three years, but this is just the beginning.

In partnership with UNICEF, Rotary works with local governments to implement immunisation programs that will deliver the vaccines. Strengthening the Pacific’s broader health systems will ensure the sustainable delivery of these vaccines into the future. Generations will continue to benefit from this project.

A truly inspiring Rotary legacy.

Chris Wang has been a member of Rotary Melbourne since 1988, serving as President in 2007-08. He was a founding member of the Australia China Business Council and is Managing Director of CWI International specialist importers, wholesalers & retailers.  Chris is Deputy Chair and Treasurer of Give Every Child a Future.