Partners in Health has urged healthcare workers from Chilumba Rural Hospital in Traditional Authority Wasambo in Karonga District to raise awareness on non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Speaking on Tuesday during a training for healthcare workers in the district, the organisation’s NCD regional (Central and North) clinical mentor Felix Kaliza said healthcare workers are supposed to be agents of change by telling people about NCDs and how to prevent them.
He said healthcare workers ought to be dedicated in their duties to assist clients while raising awareness on the dangers of NCDs in the community they work in.
Said Kaliza: “Partners in Health is equipping healthcare workers with skills to provide quality care and treatment for people with NCDs.
“So, it is important for healthcare workers to know how to diagnose NCD conditions to ably advise clients on how to treat them.”
On his part, Karonga District Hospital NCD coordinator Luckson Chiphiko commended the organisation for supporting the training through Pen Plus project, saying the district has high NCD cases.
“We decided to share new methods of diagnosing NCDs with the healthcare workers so that when they encounter advanced NCD cases they should be able to deal with such challenges,” he said.
Chiphiko said the district has at least 6 000 NCD cases.
Malawi Epidemiology Interventions and Research Unit clinician Amon Maliro said the training was an eye-opener to healthcare workers.
“At Chilumba Rural Hospital where I work, we have at least 1 300 NCD cases that require our services. So, this training has brought in new ideas on how to manage these conditions. We have also been challenged to be agents of change,” he said.
With support from Unicef, Partners in Health is implementing a Pen Plus Project in the district
