Christian Health Association of Malawi (Cham) has launched a new diploma curriculum in public health to respond to the country’s specific health needs and deal with accreditation challenges in that field of study.
Speaking during the launch in Mponela, Dowa on Tuesday, Cham executive director Happy Makala said the new programme, themed Contextualising Public Health Education to Malawian Needs, also seeks to address challenges faced by graduates as some colleges offer the programme using international curriculum that was not accredited by local authorities.
He said the new curriculum is expected to help graduates avoid the difficulties experienced by those who studied the unaccredited international programmes as their qualifications were not recognised by the Medical Council of Malawi.
Said Makala: “When people are enjoying good health, the government spends fewer resources on healthcare, which allows those resources to be allocated elsewhere. This is why we develop programmes that focus on prevention, particularly in public health.”
In his remarks, Ministry of Health deputy director of Preventive Health Services Aaron Ganizani highlighted the importance of quality in healthcare education.
“We don’t want to experiment with people’s lives. We are committed to meeting the standards and ensuring that clients receive the right assistance, without question,” he said.
Several Cham-affiliated institutions, including St. Luke’s College of Health Sciences, St. Joseph College of Health Sciences, Trinity College of Health Sciences, St. John’s Institute of Health and Mulanje Mission College of Health Sciences will be the first to offer this Malawian-tailored public health curriculum.
