Malawi, World Vision strategise Malaria grant
Health authorities in Malawi, officials from World Vision and Global Fund have begun a five day Malaria start up workshop in Lilongwe to come up with a conclusive implementation strategy to enhance community empowerment.
Global Fund has entrusted World Vision with the responsibility of implementing the Malaria Project in partnership with Malawi Government through Integrated Management of Children Illness Unit.
The project will among other things see senior health surveillance assistants conduct 35 393 monitoring visits to ensure that officers are well supported and programme related bottlenecks swiftly addressed.
This coincides with news that Malawians suffer from a disproportionate burden of infectious diseases, particularly malaria.
It is also said that the most chronic challenge Malawi experiences in efficiently and effectively documenting community health services has been supervision.
Therefore, the project is in line with The SDGs#3 (Good health and Well-being) aimed at championing healthy lives and well-being for all people of all ages.
Speaking during the World Vision Start Up workshop for the Malaria Grant Project Malawi’s chief of health services Dr Charles Mwansambo hinted that every Malawian resident lives in a region of high malaria transmission, defined as greater than one case per 1 000 residents.
“The Community empowerment of Malaria Control Programme under the Global fund New financing model further gives an opportunity to strengthen and scale up the ICCM services in the country. Through the Malaria grant Malawi will be able to cover an additional 780,000 under five children,” he said.
He added that significant strides have been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the common killers associated with child and maternal mortality.
“The Malaria grant under the Global Fund is being implemented by world Vision Malawi in partnership with the government of Malawi through Integrated Management of Children Illness unit with funding from the Global fund,” he said.
World Vision Malawi deputy national director Fordson Kafweku alluded that a survey conducted by World Vision Malawi in 2015 indicates malaria prevalence rate at 40% from 46 % registered in 2014.
A similar trend is observed at country level where Malaria parasite prevalence has reduced from 43% in 2010 to 33% in 2014, according to Malaria Indicator Survey, 2014.
“Despite this progress experts say, it cannot be ignored that Malaria remains to be one of the major killer diseases in Africa and Malawi hence World Vision and Malawi Government efforts to fight the disease,” said Kafweku.
In her remarks, Ann Claxton director of resource development for World Vision International for sustainable health department said as an organization, they are geared at ensuring that they deal with disease jointly with the authorities.
She said they the project would be carried out in the country’s 28 districts.
“The Global fund has allocated US$298 million towards HIV and AIDS and TB grants, and US$34 Million towards Malaria grant.
The government of Malawi has also committed US$30 million of its domestic resources for the procurement of health products and to strengthen health systems,” she said.
Commentators say the inclusion of Civil Society Organisations like Action Aid and World Vision represents a new paradigm towards the right direction to reduce the burden of illness and deaths among children and pregnant women in hard to reach areas.
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hope that money will be accounted for wisely by the health officials in Malawi. That ending up in pockets of the corrupt.
that’s the great way of reaching out to the community. But such programmes should also be implemented in other African countries like Uganda since its also has a high rate of malaria each year.