By: Lloyd M’bwana
Maternal and child mortality rates in the central district of Ntchisi are expected to go down further due to new three guardian shelters which World Vision Malawi (WVM) has handed over to government.
The construction of the three guardian shelters at Mndinda, Khuwi and Mzandu health centres comes as a relief to people in the district which has a population of 237,000 with only 12 health facilities and a 200 bed district hospital.
Through a three-year Project for Improving Health Facilities in Ntchisi which was launched in 2013 courtesy of Japanese Government worthy US$1.8 million (equivalent of MK722 million) aims at improving access for health facilities to 28, 170 women of child-bearing age and 16,590 children in the district due to construction of two maternity wards, installation of water system and medical equipment required during labor at Mndinda and Khuwi health centres.
However, the project is expected to phase out in December this year with the completion of construction of one guardian shelter, electricity wiring and connection, installation of incinerator at Kangolowa health centre and solar system installation at Mndinda health centre.
Speaking to The Maravi Post on Tuesday, October 20 after handing over the new health facilities to an event which took place at Khuwi health centre in the district, Fordson Kafweku, WVM Deputy Director expressed gratitude towards successful implementation of the project which will bring joy to many communities in accessing antenatal service with short distances.
“It brings our organization joy noting that the utilization of antenatal services in health units in Kalira, Nthondo and Mpherere Area Programme is continuously improving to the extent that the incidences of home deliveries have been reduced by half.
“When we were launching this project in 2013, reports indicated that only 38.6% antenatal attendees were delivering in health centres. This put the remaining 61.4% of antenatal attendees at a potential risk of maternal deaths. But with these facilities supported by people Japan, maternal and child mortality rates will continue to go down further”, delighted Kafweku.
Echoing on the same, Shuichiro Nishioka, Ambassador of Japan to Malawi pledged more support in the country’s health sector towards attainment of government policies including Health Sector Strategic Plan (2011-2016) directly on improving maternal and child health.
“I’m happy to hear that the project has increased the number of pregnant women delivering their babies at health centres as the number of women who go for prenatal checkup has also gone up. Thus, the guardian shelters have reduced the burden of long travels between home and health centres among pregnant women and their guardians.
“Therefore, I call upon the District Health Officer and Management of the recipient health centres and communities to take a proactive approach in care and maintenance of the facilities and equipment that through prudence, more people in the district will be able to access the quality health services”, urges Ambassador Nishioka.
The Maravi Post later caught up with Dr. Peter Kumpalume, Minister of Health who applauded WVM’s efforts with eminent financial support from Japan to uplift people of Malawi in accessing quality health services saying government tend to construct more health facilities in support of other stakeholders.
“Malawi government pledges its commitment to ensure that the sustainability of this project even after the phasing out we continue implementing other more projects including the construction of 15 health centres across the country to ease the congestion problems that has hit most health facilities and also bring health services closer to the people”, assures Dr Kampalume.
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to helping children, families and communities to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice
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World Vision Malawi started operating in 1982, currently, implementing programmes in 26 districts with 37 Area Programmes (AP) including Ntchisi which has three APs supported by World Vision US, World Vision South Korea and World Vision Hong Kong through five technical area programmes such as Malawi Maternal New-born Child Health (MMNECH), Malawi Household Food Security and Resilience (MHFSR), Malawi Integrated Water Sanitation and Hygiene (MWASH), Malawi Literacy for Empowerment through Action Research and Networking (MLEARN) and Child Protection and Spiritual Nurture of Children.