Mothers sceptical of under-five vaccines

Alice Ndhlovu, 26, was skeptical about vaccinating her three-year-old child against various diseases until she underwent immunisation training. 

“To be honest, I used to be so afraid of vaccines and I hated health surveillance assistants [HSAs] because they were so determined to vaccinate every child in my area,” she narrates. 

Ndhlovu, who comes from Musa Mhango Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Chindi in Mzimba South, says women in her village were not comfortable with any type of vaccines.

“They said when injected, a child cries uncontrollably and that there is swelling and development of deformity at a later stage. As such, I did not want my child to go through this ordeal,” she recalls with regret.

Her fears are shared by many mothers across Malawi. This is one of the reasons government in partnership with the Malawi Health Equity Network (Mhen) is advocating for parents of under-five children to take their children to under-five clinics for vaccinations.

The goal is to end all preventable under-five deaths and fight communicable diseases, a target Sustainable Development Goal number three (SDG3) is intending to meet under the goal of ensuring healthy lives and promotion of well-being for all ages by the year 2030.

In order to increase immunisation coverage, Mhen through a K3.7 billion project formed 281 mother care groups (MCGs) in Chitipa, Kasungu, Ntchisi, Dowa, Mchinji, Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzimba North and Mzimba South. Ideally, each group consists of 30 women and one group village head.

After undergoing training under Mtende MCG, which is one of the 31 MCGs in Mzimba South, Ndhlovu had all her misconceptions cleared out.

She explains: “My child was frequently ill. He had constant dysentery, sores on the mouth, tonsils and a whooping cough, but all that was reversed once he was vaccinated.

“As a matter of fact, when  he was injected, he did not cry continuously as alleged by some nor did he develop any swelling or a deformity. My boy is quite healthy now.”

Ndhlovu and her colleagues track immunisation defaulters and convince them to go to the clinic. This role is crucial in Mhen’s health systems and immunisation strengthening project across Malawi.

Many mothers of under-five children would not have changed their mindset on vaccination if it were not for mother care volunteers in their villages.

Chrissy Mhango, a 28-year-old mother of two from Isaac Village in T/A M’Mbelwa in Mzimba South was convinced by Mzoma MCG to have her  younger child vaccinated.

She says her five-year-old firstborn son has been battling a series of diseases since birth.

“My son is someone I can describe as sickly. When he was born, I was scared and suspicious of vaccinating him and I believe that is the source of his sickly conditions.

“He often suffers from cough and various ailments,” says Mhango, wearing a somber face.

As a mother, she believes she has a big duty to help end her firstborn’s frequent bouts with sicknesses.

This is why she has been  taking her second-born child to a health facility for vaccinations.

“Having seen and experienced the consequences of defaulting on vaccinations with my firstborn, I never want to do the same with my second -born daughter,” she says.

Mtende Health Centre senior HSA McOwens Nyirenda says Mtende MCG volunteers have reached out to several villages and convinced more women about the need to immunise their children.

“When they started their work in June last year, there were about 170 children getting vaccinated at Mtende clinic, but right now, the number has steadily increased to 289,” he says.

However, the advocacy effort comes with challenges for several MCGs in Mzimba District as attested by Beauty Theu, a member of Mzoma MCG.

“We walk long distances, sometimes even 15 kilometres, to rally mothers to take their kids to under-five clinics,” she says. 

Kalikumbe Health Centre senior HSA Victor Phiri says lack of HSAs’ houses affects vaccination of under five children and antenatal services at the clinic.

“Health cadres sometimes fail to show up at the clinic due to transport problems. This renders MCGs efforts in vain as mothers return home without being adequately assisted,” he explains.

To help lessen the challenges, Mhen through MCGs has inculcated a self-help spirit among community members to mould bricks and construct clinics and HSA houses in their respective areas.

Mhen project manager for essential services and governance Davie Mwachumu says MCGs advocate for health personnel, clinics, HSAs houses or any health related issue where there is none.

Thus, villagers at Mzoma have constructed a three-bedroom house which is housing HSAs while other mother groups have moulded bricks in readiness for the construction of houses in their respective areas.

Similarly, with the help of Mtende MCG, Mtende community members have constructed three clinics and two houses in their area.

Mhen project manager for essential services and governance Davie Mwachumu says besides increasing immunisation coverage, several community funded projects such as clinics and HSA houses have been constructed through MCG advocacy.

“So far across the country, we have constructed over 50 clinics and over 75 HSA houses,” he says.

Mwachumu says Mhen plans to provide bicycles to MCG volunteers to ease transport problems.