Dorica Mtenje
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The USAID Malawi Momentum Tikweze Umoyo project has handed over various medical supplies to five district worth MK354 million.
The beneficiary districts including Chitipa, Karonga, Nkhotakota, Kasungu and Salima.
Speaking in Salima during the symbolic handover, USAID Momentum Tikweze Umoyo program, Chief of Party, Marriam Mangochi said medical suppliers are part of the support that the project is providing to the districts to help in coordinating and managing cholera response activities.
Mangochi said the donation is part of the efforts by the project to assist the Government of Malawi in managing the Cholera outbreak which was declared a national emergency in December 2022.
“This cholera outbreak is an emergency that needs urgent action from all of us. That’s why as a project we are providing these resources to support coordination of the cholera response activities especially in the five districts of Chitipa, Karonga, Nkhotakota, Kasungu and Salima where we are implementing the USAID Momentum Tikweze Umoyo project whose aim is to reduce maternal, newborn, and child morbidity and mortality,” said Mangochi
Mangochi disclosed that the donated materials including chlorine, cannulas, personal protection equipment (PPEs), and Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) saying have already been dispatched to the other districts apart from the medical supplies.
She added that the organisation intends to do to support the Government of Malawi in addressing the human resource for health (HRH) gap currently experienced in the severely impacted districts.
“We have already started working with the district councils in these five districts to recruit temporary staff to support case management at treatment camps as well as supporting other interventions to ease the cholera burden in the districts,” said Mangochi.
Commenting on the donation, Salima District Environmental Health Officer Reuben Chikadza said the support from the Momentum Tikweze Umoyo project will go a long way in containing and managing the disease in the district.
Chikadza said as a district they are struggling to mobilize resources to implement planned activities for Cholera response and we are grateful to USAID through the Momentum Tikweze Umoyo project for this timely support.
He said the support will help them in scaling up surveillance and reporting of cases especially with the additional staff that the project is planning to bring to us.
The donated Cholera supplies to Salima including chlorine, face masks, cannulas, disposable aprons, Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS), hand sanitizers, alcohol swabs, hand washing soap, gloves, and giving sets.
The USAID Momentum Tikweze Umoyo project is a five-year, US$28 million USAID-funded project in Malawi aimed at reducing maternal, newborn, and child morbidity and mortality.
The project is designed to address major challenges facing the health sector in Malawi, particularly poor health outcomes in the five districts of Chitipa, Karonga, Kasungu, Nkhotakota, and Salima
The project is made possible with the support of the American people through USAID and is being implemented by Amref Health Africa in Malawi in collaboration with a consortium of six partners namely: WaterAid, YouthWave, Family Health Services, Emmanuel International, FPAM and D-Tree.
