World Vision, Chitipa DHO run mobile clinic

World Vision Malawi in conjunction with Chitipa District Health Office (DHO) on Friday concluded a four-day outreach clinic service in Senior Chief Wenya that reached out to 151 children.

The specialists treated children with eye, ear, mental, neurological and orthopaedic conditions.

In an interview, Chitipa District Hospital head of medical rehabilitation department Anne Mayeso-Bhikha said the initiative sought to reach out to children and parents in hard-to-reach areas who did not know that the services exist in health facilities.

She said: “If you look at Wenya, it is s about 89 kilometres from the district hospital, making it hard for clients with these conditions to access medical attention.

“Again, lack of knowledge about the existence of these services was another factor that necessitated this mobile clinic.”

Dorica Mtambo of Mintchala Village, who came with her seven-year-old daughter for an ear problem, commended World Vision Malawi for facilitating the mobile clinic.

World Vision Malawi district manager for Chitipa and Karonga, Hendrix Kalanje, said the organisation works to help vulnerable girls and boys, including children with disabilities.

He said: “In view of this, we conducted the Most Vulnerable Children and Disability mapping survey in which we discovered that 2 132 children are the most vulnerable, including 278 children with different forms of disabilities.

“To identify specialised interventions for these children with disabilities, we collaborated with Chitipa District Hospital and conducted a disability screening exercise on 154 children which discovered that 121 children had curable disabling conditions that needed some treatment.”

Kalanje commended Chitipa District Hospital for taking the service to the community.

“We also took advantage of the screening exercise to civic educate the community about disability issues to foster inclusive attitudes, practices and reduction of stigma,” he said.