Malawi shines at global forum
Malawi was the centre of attention at the 2018 Partners’ Forum in New Delhi, India on Wednesday following a feature on the Chipatala Cha Pa Foni (CCPF) initiative in a publication which was launched at the forum.
Appearing in The BMJ December 2018 specialsupplement proposed by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health(PMNCH) and hosted by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the case study hasbeen featured alongside 11 others to show how countries globally are makingmulti-sector collaborations for health and sustainable development work.
Speaking during a plenary on Multisectoral Collaboration: From Rhetoric to Reality, Ministry of Health (MoH) director of reproductive health services Fannie Kachale said the CCPF, referred to as Health Centre by Phone in English, started in Balaka District in 2011 but has since spread to all the 28 districts in Malawi on Airtel network.
“At first, the initiative focused on pregnancy, antenatal and postnatal advice, and advice for callers to seek healthcare at the clinic or hospital when appropriate. But now it has extended to water, sanitation and hygiene and nutrition, in line with MoH guidelines.
“Also, youth services were introduced within the initiative and this, in a way, led to the increase of access to sexual and reproductive health information for young people who are usually shy to access the same information at health facilities for fear of parents and guardians,” she said.
In an interview after her speech, Kachale said initially, MoH started the initiative with one partner, Village Reach but other partners such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAid), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), Airtel and Dream, among others, have since joined in to scale up the initiative.
Village Reach country director Carla Blauvelt said collective resourcing and adaptability of CCPF and Malawi communities acceptability of the initiative have led to its success. She said her organisation will hand over the initiative to government next year.
The 2018 Partners’ Forum is being co-hosted by the PMNCH and the Government of India. It has brought together 1 200 participants from 85 countries across the globe to measure progress in the implementation of programmes for the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents. n
