Dr. Ronald Mhango presenting World Vision assessment findings
World Vision assessment of the functionality of village clinics in its program impact areas in 12 districts of the country has recommended the Ministry of Health to strengthen the supply chain system to ensure the continuous availability of drugs in the clinics.
The assessment has called for the need to empower the communities to take responsibility of managing village clinics to ensure that the clinic structures are constructed and managed in compliance with standards.
It has also called on the Ministry of Health and NGO partners to mobilize resources from donors and the private sector to support the construction of village clinics in World Vision impact areas in 12 districts of the country.
Presenting the assessment findings to the District executive committee in Dowa, Dowa District Medical Officer Dr. Ronald Mhango, said the purpose of the assessment was to assess the functionality of the Integrated Community Case Management [ICCM] sites managed by Health Surveillance Assistants [HSAs] in the 18 World Vision program areas in 12 districts including Dowa.
Dr. Mhango said in Dowa, 17 village clinics surrounding Kasangazi and Chisepo were assessed through sampling approach, population survey, and data collection, among others, saying there were a total of 178 village clinics that were assessed in the 12 districts.
He said it is the wish of World Vision to see to it that ICCM HSAs should reside in the catchment area with a good house, adequate drug supply, clinic structure and functional referral system for them to work in a conducive environment.
The District Medical Officer said Dowa district has performed well as compared with other districts of World Vision impact areas saying areas of assessment included water, sanitation facilities, source of water at a village clinic, supervision, village clinic structures, case management [diarrhoea], residence of HSAs operating a village clinic, availability of working equipment, and cough/ fast-breathing.
He said at Chisepo and Kasangazi in Dowa, most ICCM HSAs are residing outside their catchment areas while a few are residing within the catchment area a situation which is different with other districts where all are operating outside their catchment areas.
….’’On case management dirrhoea, the assessment happened when cholera cases were at the peak in the country [December and January] yet many clinics had no ORS or Zinc,’’….said Dr. Mhango.
He said during the assessment, it was revealed that the major findings were HSAs not residing in the catchment area because of accommodation and the unavailability of health services as required might contribute to poor care-seeking practices among care-givers.
Dr. Mhango said the other findings were the referral systems not functional in areas where HSAs do not reside in the catchment area and most [75 percent] clinics visited had poor or no structure.
World Vision conducted an assessment of the functionality of village clinics in its 178 program impact areas of Mulanje, Phalombe, Chiladzulu, Machinga, Ntcheu, Dedza, Lilongwe, Salima, Dowa, Kasungu, Ntchisi and Nkhatabay districts
