Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) acting country director Verita Buie has urged healthcare workers to focus on research on emerging issues in public health.
She said this in Mzimba on Friday during a certificate presentation ceremony to 18 healthcare workers from Mzimba District Health Office who were involved in field research work on public health emergencies under the Field Epidemiology Training programme that CDC is funding in partnership with Public Health Institute of Malawi.
Buie (R) and Banda (L)
Buie said it is important to invest in research on emerging issues in public health because it helps healthcare workers to detect, track and prevent them.
She said: “The aim of this field research is to empower health service providers and develop their interest in conducting research on different public health emergencies in communities.
“We are more focused on prevention because it is better than cure. This is the reason we have been funding these research programmes since 2016 and this group is our 21st cohort.”
Public Health Institute of Malawi deputy director responsible for research Evelyn Chisa Banda said they will ensure that the findings and recommendations of the research are taken into consideration.
Tiwonge Mwale, a nurse at Mzimba District Hospital, said she did an assessment of malaria surveillance data in under-five children at Chikangawa and Jenda health facilities and Mzimba district hospital between January and February 2024.
She said her assessment found out that malaria still remains a public health threat to under-five children in the district.
