Outbreak breaker

Almost 30 years ago, a Rotarian asked Siniki Fandebnet if he’d like to be part of a new Rotaract club in Chad. He joined immediately. “Rotary International’s humanitarian goals were a perfect match for my aspirations as a medical student,” he says. 

Growing up in Chad, Fandebnet was no stranger to polio. “I had friends with polio, some of whom were disabled for life,” he recalls. But Rotary helped him understand the power of a collective commitment against the disease. As a Rotaractor, he participated in polio immunization campaigns, explaining the benefits of vaccination to parents who had heard conspiracy theories or thought their religion prohibited it. The work convinced him to specialize in orthopedic surgery and devote his thesis to the fight against polio in Chad. His final medical training topic was the importance of national immunization days. 

After medical school, Fandebnet joined a Rotary club and continued his work with people disabled by polio through free medical caravans. As a professor of surgery, he also travels to other countries to operate on children to improve their mobility and train health professionals to treat people affected by polio. 

In September, Fandebnet was appointed Chad’s polio incident manager. In this role, he coordinates the work of experts in Africa’s Lake Chad basin as their countries pool efforts to stamp out poliovirus outbreaks and end the disease. 

“Rotarians in Chad remain fully engaged in the fight against polio through action, supervision, and advocacy,” he says. “Their dedication embodies Rotary International’s core values of service, integrity, and humanity.”