Karonga activates health standard operating procedures
Karonga District Council has activated the standard operation procedures (SOPs) it adopted in 2017 for use in the district’s health sector.
The council vice chairperson Ngasalayumo Mwangonde has since described the move as a right step towards enhancing transparency and accountability.
“The signing is good development to duty-bearers for there will be a sense of responsibility and importantly, community members will play a watchdog role,” said Mwangonde.
On his part, Karonga district director of health and social services Phineas Mfune said the signing of the document was an opportunity for people to access quality health services and give feedback for improvement.
“It is duty-bearers’ responsibility to provide information so that community members are able to follow how resources are used to avoid conflicts that come due to lack of information,” he said.
Karonga Diocese Justice and Peace project officer Obert Mkandawire, whose organisation formulated the SOPs, hailed the outgoing district commissioner Emmanuel Bulukutu for giving consent to the document two years after it was born.
“Access to information on the district’s health sector budget, service improvement plans, drug availability is vital for the citizens,” he said.
The health governance project is being funded by Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (Osisa) in six traditional authorities in Karonga and Chitipa districts.
