EAM unhappy with project implementation

The Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) has expressed discontent with the way its sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) project was run in Rumphi District.

EAM Health Commission national coordinator Howard Kasiya said this last week in Bolero where the organisation made a final presentation of the project which started in 2014 in six traditional authorities.

He said the project has taken long to run because, at first, they faced resistance from religious groups who said SRHR has nothing to do with religion.

“Although we managed to build a good relationship with both religious and community groups, it was not easy to convince them.

“Also, in most of the areas where we were implementing the project, there are no structures for service delivery and that cost us,” said Kasiya.

Rumphi District Hospital SRHR coordinator Tiyankhulenji Nyasulu shared the sentiments made by Kasiya, saying there has been a spike in teenage pregnancies in the past years due to the said factors.

She said although EAM has done its part, a lot of effort is required from stakeholders to end teenage pregnancies.

“Religious and traditional leaders have a huge role to play in ending child marriages which come as a result of unplanned pregnancies,” said Nyasulu.