By Chikondi Manjawira
LIWONDE-(MaraviPost)-Policymakers and decision-makers in health can deliver quality standards that are accessible to every citizen.
This can be achieved if the media disseminates messages about strengthening health systems in Malawi through writing evidence-based stories, Amref Health Africa in Malawi has said.
Briefing the media during a two-day workshop in Liwonde on Thursday, the organisation’s Health Systems Advocacy Manager Benedict Chinsakaso underscored the significance of the media in ensuring increased numbers and retention of human resource for health (HRH) in Malawi.
Chinsakaso observed that reporting on sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) issues, both of which are being affected due to rapid population growth which he said is the cause of some of the problems Malawi is facing.
“This three-year project [which commenced in 2017] will see the media reporting issues on HRH and SRHR issues positively and accurately. We believe the media can check the authorities in the implementation of different policies the country comes up with and also find out why other policies are designed and end up being dumped,” Chinsakaso said.
He said Amref Health Africa decided to brief journalists on the Health Systems Advocacy project for them to know what it is Malawi is doing as a country to ensure that the country’s health system is up-to-date and responsive to the needs of its citizen.
He added that the project is focusing on two blocks of the health system which are human resource for health and family planning commodities.
“We needed to involve the media to contribute towards strengthening health system such as improving the number of health personnel as well as improve the quality of health service delivery and make sure that all the family planning methods are available everywhere in the country,” he said.
Chinsakaso was hopeful Amref’s partnership with the media would strengthen the latter’s capacity in reporting on health issues.
In his remarks, Amade Alide, executive director for Patient and Community Welfare Foundation in Malawi, which is a member of Human Resource for Health Coalition, described service delivery in Malawian hospitals as poor.
“It is very worrisome to see Malawians accessing poor quality health services either due to human resource for health migration, very few people being trained as health personnel or the rapid population growth which result in inappropriate doctor/nurse-patient ratio in the country, which is way below the World Health Organisation standards.
“I am hopeful that Amref, with the help of media, would help move things forward and we will definitely make a change because we as a coalition have already witnessed some projects implementation by the Ministry of Health as a result of our different advocacy projects,” Alide said.
SRHR Alliance National Programme Technical Committee member Jimmy Kachale was also hopeful that Amref would help in making a difference in as far as population control is concerned.
Amref Health Africa operates in 35 African with over 130 health programmes. The Health Systems Advocacy project, which is being implemented in five other African countries, started in Malawi in 2017 and it is expected to end in 2020.
With €1.1 million funding from the Dutch government, the project is being implemented in Ntchisi, Mangochi and Chitipa.