World Vision Malawi has said infectious diseases as well as malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia continue to threaten lives of children aged below five in Mchinji District
Mchinji World Vision development facilitator for maternal and child health Susan Nkhonde made the remarks on Wednesday at Chinyata Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Mavwere when her organisation conducted awareness campaigns on disease prevention.
She said World Vision was conducting the awareness campaign to impart knowledge on malaria and diarrhoea prevention as well as early signs and symptoms of malaria and treatment.
“We are addressing myths and misconceptions about the Covid-19 vaccine to educate community members on the importance of early health seeking behaviour.
“We are doing this through drama by popular comedians Chindime and Phungwako and musician Skeffa Chimoto,” Nkhonde said.
She said World Vision has also been conducting a door to door campaign with health surveillance assistants (HSAs) on malaria and other diseases to encourage utilisation of mosquito nets at household level.
“We will reach out to communities with integrated package of information to help them adopt positive behaviours pertaining to disease prevention, vaccine acceptance, and hygiene and sanitation,” Nkhonde said.
Mchinji District assistant health promotion officer Damiano Semu said the campaign was important because it will help people of Mavwere to appreciate the importance of health-seeking behaviour.
“Most people do not go to the hospital when they fall sick, instead they buy medicine from pharmacies. As an office, we are discouraging this,” he said.
