Development Media International has called for concerted efforts to raise awareness on initiatives to improve child and maternal health.
On Monday, the non-governmental organisation (NGO) met Karonga District Technical Working Group (TWG) to introduce a project to promote maternal, newborn and community health.
The NGO’s research manager Steven Kumwenda said the project seeks to promote positive health behaviour among mothers of under-five children.
He said: “Through this project, we want to reduce under five mortality rate which is at 48 deaths per 1 000 live births.
“We also want to scale up antenatal care visits which are at 24 percent and use of insecticide-treated nets during pregnancy which is also low.”
Kumwenda has since called on stakeholders in the district to join the campaign to improve and save lives of pregnant women and under-five children by encouraging expectant mothers to patronise antenatal clinics.
Karonga District Health Office medical officer MacDonald Kwaitana commended the NGO for the project.
He said: “Being a lakeshore district where free nets are mostly used for fishing and gardening, we expect the project to change the behaviour that promotes misuse of mosquito nets.
“Again, we expect that the campaign will also encourage men to start accompanying their wives to antenatal clinics to learn how to take care of expectant women and under-five children.”
The project will run from October 2025 to September 2027 with radio programmes encouraging women to go for antennal clinics starting on April 1 2026.
