(SAVANNAH, GA, USA) Dr. Miriam U. Rittmeyer, a Rotarian from the Skidaway Island
Club in Savannah, GA, and CEO and co-founder of Phalarope, will
speak at “World Polio Day 2022 and Beyond” at the World Health Organization (WHO)
Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on October 21 and 22, 2022.
This event is a joint venture with Rotary International
and WHO.
Dr. Rittmeyer will speak about the Manchichi program, a replication of a successful
intervention developed by Phalarope in 20 communities of rural Guatemala. The program is an
intense 12-month training where traditional midwives are taught to identify risk factors
and conditions during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum thus, certain
conditions can be prevented or managed promptly. Both programs are funded by Rotary
Foundation and Rotary Clubs in Georgia, Guatemala, and Panama.
For more info visit: https://rotarymch.ch
About Rotary International
Rotary International Convention is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends,
leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to
create lasting change across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. It
works
to promote peace; fight disease; provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene;
save mothers and children; and support education.
About Phalarope
Phalarope, a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization, focuses on designing, managing,
and evaluating Healthcare & Community Development of evidence-based programs,
health policies, and practices.
About Miriam U. Rittmeyer
Dr. Rittmeyer is a native of Guatemala, with a medical degree (MD) from Francisco
Marroquin University Medical School; a Master’s in Public Health and a fellowship in
Maternal and Child Health from the Johns Hopkins University; and a PhD in Nutritional
Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina. She worked as a consultant for the
Rollings School of Public Health, Emory University. From 2005 to 2014, Dr. Rittmeyer
served as Executive Director of Community Health Mission, a medical non-profit that
provided medical and public health services to uninsured adults in Chatham County
Savannah. Among some of her academic honors, Dr. Rittmeyer received the 1988-1991
Postdoctoral Fellowship from PAHO and a 1994 Postdoctoral National Research
Scientist Award from the National Institute of Health (NIH). In 2010 and 2017, Dr.
Rittmeyer received the Georgia Medical Society Health Care Heroes award.
