42 health workers drilled in growth monitoring

ActionAid, with funding from Rodger Federer Foundation, has trained 42 health surveillance assistants (HASs) in growth monitoring of under-five children.

Speaking on Friday during the closing of a two-day training at Mponela in Dowa, Lilongwe Peri-Urban ActionAid programme coordinator Chimwemwe Gondwe said her organisation is implementing a 10-year programme to enhance access to quality early childhood development (ECD) services to children aged between three and five in 10 districts.

“The training was aimed at enhancing skills of HSAs and motivate them to to collect real data. The 42 HSAs are from five health centres, namely Area 25, Area 18, Chiwamba, Lumbadzi, Mbavi and two hospitals, namely Luke Daeyang and Likuni,” she said.

Likuni Hospital assistant environmental health officer David Kanyerere Chiuma said the training will improve how HSAs have been conducting growth monitoring in their respective hospitals.

“The training has equipped them with knowledge on how best to do growth monitoring which will help them in reducing acute malnutrition,” he said.

One of the participants, Linda Matanga Kanthumba of Luke Daeyang Hospital, hailed ActionAid for the training, saying it will help her to conduct duties without any problems. n