By Brighton Chimsinde 

Mchinji, June 21, Mana: Centre for Research and Development Initiative (CERADI) in Mchinji district has embarked on a refresher training for 12 Mother Care Groups (MCGs), those that are situated in hard to reach areas with financial support amounting to over K 20 million from GAVE through its umbrella board, Malawi Equity Health Network (MEHN).

One of the Senior Officers from CERADI, Lisungu Chiumia was speaking Thursday when she was closing one of the two day-long refresher training which was organized for Tadala MCG of Senior Group Village Head (SGVH) Tsamphale, Senior Chief Mlonyeni in the district.

She said the training was initiated with an intention to remind the grouping on the topics like MCGs roles, maternal and antenatal, group management, advocacy on health related issues among others.

MEHN’s Health System Immunization Strengthening Project Officer, Kumbesi Gomile said that the intention behind the support and trainings were to revamp and strengthen the groups for them to improve uptake of medical immunization among women and children and other health services in the remote and hard to reach areas. 

“We have supported them with finances for the training and now we are asking them to push the next gear in their efforts. 

“To ensure sustainability of the MCGs, the committee members need to cement cordial working relationships with community leaders and other stakeholders working in their community,” Gomile said.

Senior Health Surveillance Officer of Mchinji District Hospital, Johans Chirwa and Senior Group Village Head Tsamphale thanked CERADI and MEHN for the timely support which would go a long way in reviving the MCGs.

They called on the Tadala MCG Committee members to be united and utilize what they have learnt during the training in their endeavors for it to bear fruits to the community.

Chirwa said Tadala MCG was earmarked to benefit from the training because of low uptake of immunization among mothers and children due to poor road network and inadequate ratio of the health surveillance assistants to the community population.

Considering that the area is neighboring with Mozambique and Zambia nationals, he advised the MCG members that they should request families from the countries to produce their women and children health passport book when they seek to reside in the community or access health services.   

“Villages under SGVH Tsamphale are at a distance of over 17 kilometres from the District Hospital which is nearest to them and during a rainy season become impassable. The community has one Health Surveillance Assistant (HAS) who is serving close to 3,000 targeted populations which is contrary to the standard ratio which says one HSA to 1,000 people,” he said. 

By Vincent Khonje

Mchinji, June 21, Mana: Deputy Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy, Susanne Meltl has expressed satisfaction with the progress Social Cash Transfer (SCT) programme known as ‘Mtukula Pakhomo’ which has helped local communities.

A delegation from KFW and German Embassy on Thursday visited Mchinji district to appreciate the progress of the programme.

She said that, “Social protection is dear to our hearts as it is uplifting poor households. We are very happy to be part of the support of this programme in the country.”

Meltl said she was happy with what the beneficiaries are doing with the money they receive.

“I am impressed because the cash transfers have improved the living standards of the people in terms of nutrition and food security, and also education for the children,” she said.

Director of Administration in the Ministry of Gender, Ben M’bwana pointed out that the programme was crucial role in enhancing households’ resilience.

“The SCT programme has been important in helping households deal with shocks. Different disasters have affected the country and households have been able to deal with the impact because of the money transfers they receive,” he said, citing examples of disasters like tropical cyclones.

One of the beneficiaries from Ntonya Village in Traditional Authority (TA) Mavwere, Grace Lufeyo said that the programme has improved her life by roofing her house with iron sheets, yielding enough maize for food and has goats, all these coming from the cash transfers she gets.

In Mchinji, 10, 372 households are expected to receive their first transfers through manual payment for six months from October 2023 to July 2024.

A Final manual payment for April to July 2024 will be made before the district transitions to electronic payment.

The SCT programme aims to uplift ultra-poor and labour-constrained households through direct unconditional financial assistance, and in Mchinji and other seven districts the programme receives support from KFW,

By Robert Nayeja

Nsanje, June 20, Mana: Deputy Director responsible for Quality Assurance in Eastern Region in the Ministry of Lands, Blessings Mpanga has said the development of district physical plan would help to protect government land.  

He was speaking on Thursday during a District Executive Committee meeting in Nsanje to make consultation in line with the development of the district physical plan which was being developed with expertise from the Ministry of Lands.

“Nsanje is a planning area as such the physical planning will help to guide where various developments should take place as such minimizing land disputes between public institutions and the community,” Mpanga added.

He said the consultative process was necessary to get input from all concerned stakeholders so that the document should be finalized before being approved by authorities.

“The meeting was aimed at getting views from council members, technocrats, non-governmental organisations and the communities through area development committees,” the Deputy Director added.

Mpanga advised Nsanje District Council to step up efforts in protecting public land.

“During data collection, we have also noted that some land earmarked for developments and Matandwe Forest Reserve has been encroached. We will work with relevant authorities to deal with the problem,” he added.

Nsanje District Council Chief Administration Officer, Rotina Mlombwa said the meeting was very important as it would help the council in its planning of development activities.

She said the meeting was informative to council officials on physical planning.

By Robert Nayeja

Nsanje, June 20, Mana: Khuluvi Arts and Cultural Grouping Executive Member, Erick Trinta has assured communities in the Lower Shire districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje and the nation at large that this year’s Khuluvi Cultural Festival will take place from June 27 to June 30, 2024.

He said this during a Media briefing on Thursday at Nyamithambo Arts Centre at Nsanje Boma.

Trinta said this year’s event would be celebrated under the theme: ‘Time to shine and empower our people.’

He said the theme would be used to drum up support to complement government efforts to preserve the endangered fish species like Makakana and Mwanamfeluka endemic to Shire River.

“We have been implementing various interventions every year. So, this year our main focus is to preserve fish in our Shire River so that it should not be depleted, on the other hand, exploring other means to empower the communities,” the Executive member added.

Trinta said preparations for the event which would take place at Nsanje Prison Ground were at an advanced stage.

“We will have the event for three days from 27 up to 30 June,” he added.

One of the coordinators for the event, John Maganizo promised to make the event to be colourful.

“We have invited all Lower Shire giants including Chinafuna M’bale Stars and Stanley Nyandoro. We will have Utche and other traditional dances to celebrate Sena culture,” he added.

This is the third time the cultural grouping will be hosting the celebrations in the district.

By Lisa Lamya

Blantyre, June 20, Mana: World Health Organization (WHO) Africa region has released new groundbreaking guidance to help strengthen efforts to address the growing threat of sickle cell disease in the continent.

In a statement, Director of Universal Health Coverage/Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases Programme at WHO Africa, Dr Benido Impouma said that, “This guidance for countries will serve as a valuable new addition to their toolkit.

“Specifically, because the guidance is tailored to the African reality, where a multi-faceted approach is key.”

The Statement stated that despite notable advances in sickle cell treatment globally, including newborn screening, hydroxyurea therapy, gene therapy, improved management strategies and expanded immunization programmes that have reduced mortality rates in higher-income countries, significant challenges remain in ensuring equitable access to these treatments in low and middle-income countries, particularly in the African region.

Statistics from the WHO indicate that an estimated 240,000 children on the continent are born with sickle cell disease annually and that up to 80 percent of whom will die from severe infections or acute chest syndrome before age five, the highest sickle cell disease-related childhood death rate worldwide.

WHO Africa has been at the forefront in the fight against sickle cell disease since 2010, focusing its efforts on, among other things, disease interventions and their scale-up and access to innovative treatment technologies and medicines.