Water Aid promotes hygiene in health facilities

Deputy Minister of Health Enock Phale has commended Water Aid Malawi for installing water systems and constructing toilets and washrooms in 10 health centres in Ntchisi.

He expressed the sentiments on Tuesday when he visited some of the facilities the organisation constructed at Kangolwa Health Centre in Traditional Authority Kasakula in the district.

“Water and good sanitation in health facilities is important, especially for pregnant women,” he said.

Water Aid country director Mercy Masoo said they implemented the initiative following a 2018 Nation Publications Limited Mothers’ Fun Run, a safe motherhood initiative, which exposed the challenges in the district’s health facilities.

She said alongside other prominent women such as the former Ombudsman Martha Chizuma, she spent a night in some health centres in the district to appreciate challenges pregnant women were facing.

“We launched District Wide Water Sanitation Project in Ntchisi in 2019 funded by different agencies, including Wimbledon Foundation, Water Aid and the impact has been huge,” said Masoo.

Senor Chief Kasakula thanked Water Aid for the initiative.

A guardian at the facility, Getrude Chamade, said staying at the health centre is no longer a nightmare as it used to be in the past.

“We used to get water from a nearby river, which was not treated with chlorine,” she said.