Mother care groups in Traditional Authority Nthunduwala in Kasungu District have expressed concern with lack o f refrigerators to store vaccines in under-five clinics.
They said this on Tuesday during a meeting between chairpersons of mother care groups and councillors that Malawi Health Equity Network (Mhen) organised.
Kalanga Mother Care Group chairperson Maria Yamikani said under-five clinic structures in rural areas do not have refrigerators to store vaccines, which affects the immunisation of under-five children.
She said: “We are doing all we can within our means to construct structures to conduct under-five clinics but since we lack resources, we end up constructing sub-standard structures that are not secure to keep items such as refrigerators.
“As such, vaccines are stored at the health centre which is far and we fail to access them during the rainy season.”
Yamikani appealed to councillors to help construct structures that can be approved to accommodate refrigerators.
On his par t, Mhen assistant projects officer Herbert Chakwawa said the meeting offered mother care groups a platform to engage councillors on how they can help in promoting children’s immunisation.
He said volunteers ensure that many children access immunisation.
Said Chakwawa: “However, they real i se that some challenges can be addressed with the intervention of political leaders such as councillors.
“Therefore, we brought the volunteers and councillors to discuss to find solutions to the challenges.”
He said he was pleased that the councillors pledged to help on the issues.
Kasungu District Council chairperson Mwambilaso Mbedza commended Mehn for the meeting, describing it as a crucial approach in dealing with challenges facing immunisation.
Wi t h suppor t f rom Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, Mehn established mother care groups to facilitate child vaccination campaigns in rural communities
