NCD Alliance lobby for more funding towards NCDs
Malawi Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance (NCD Alliance) says the country requires more funding allocations to work on bridging the gap of knowledge and awareness on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) among the citizens in the country.
During media orientation meeting on Knowledge, Altitude and Practice (KAP) survey which they had it has been discovered that there is less allocation of funding towards NCDs multi-sectoral engagements which is leading to low level of knowledge and awareness for more people to take part in combating the diseases.
Chairperson for the Alliance, Maud Mwakasungula, said they had KAP survey dwelling on care services in health facilities in order to find out if people really know about the health care services they can access on NCDs.
“What we are saying is that do people in the communities understand that when they go to the hospital they can have their sugar measured, they can have their blood pressure measured, do they know that they can ask for services from the laboratory, these are the areas we need to improve,” she said.
On the findings, she said that there is need for more awareness on the NCD services mostly for people in the urban areas as most of them are not too sure of what they can be able to access on NCD services unlike people in the rural areas where it has been discovered that they are reluctant to no more information on the care services whenever there is awareness meetings.
“On our recommendations looking at care services we need to look into how much can we push forward that government should be providing to just minimal things like a BP machine and gluco-meter so that people should have care services at large,” Mwakasungula highlighted.
On his part Dr. Henry Ndindi who undertake the survey said they were looking at knowledge of population on the risk factors towards NCDs specifically targeting diabetes, hypertension, epilepsy as well as asthma on their knowledge of available services at health facilities like likuni mission hospital and Kabudula.
“We noted that regarding risk factors, people have some information but they get this information through informal communication amongst themselves and probably there is need for more senstization on that,” Ndindi said.
He therefore recommends that there is need for much senstization on risk factor on NCDs and where people can get services and that people should get screening for earlier prevention of the condition.
