NGO for youth friendly health services in Karonga
Kachila Youth Initiative, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has asked Karonga District Health Office (DHO) to introduce youth-friendly health services at some health facilities in the district.
The request follows the NGO’s assessment conducted in January this year which established that the district’s 21 health facilities do not have policy documents and information, education and communication (IEC) messages to encourage the youth to access youth-friendly health services.
The assessment also established that many health facilities do not have stand-alone structures for the youth to access the service deemed to help reduce sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies among the youth.
Speaking on Thursday at Lwegza Health Centre and Chilumba Rural Hospital in Senior Chief Wasambo in the district during a meeting with Karonga DHO and the community, Kachila Youth Initiative project manager Thomas Mbowe said they conducted the assessment in three health facilities, namely Nyungwe, Lwegza and Chilumba.
He said: “However, we also visited all health facilities, including Karonga District Hospital.
“So, we organised the meeting to bring duty-bearers and rights holders to discuss the issues and see how best to address them.”
While commending the NGO, Karonga district medical officer Innocent Mhango said his office in partnership with Momentum Tikweze Umoyo project conducted a training on youth-friendly health services involving healthcare workers from various health facilities.
He said: “It is true that we do not have IEC messages in our health facilities because currently, they are not in stock and we appeal to stakeholders for the same.
“As for policy documents, we will share the electronic copies while waiting for the hard copies.”
Mhango also said his office is working with the district council to construct stand-alone youth-friendly structures.
