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Mother care groups in Mchinji District have earned praise for mobilising mothers to get their children immunised against several diseases. Malawi Health Equity Network (Mhen) head of monitoring and evaluation Florence Khonyongwa, whose organisation established the groups in the district, expressed the sentiments on Monday during a media tour to appreciate the progress on immunisation activities. She said the volunteers have helped to scale up vaccination coverage among under-five children by 80 percent. “Vaccines are important as they help boost children’s immunity system. Without vaccination, children are prone to different diseases which affect their well-being and development,” said Khonyongwa. On her part, Kapanje Mother Care Group chairperson Olipa Phiri from Traditional Authority (T/A) Mkanda said her group has been vibrant in ensuring that children get the required vaccine without problems. “We also constructed two houses for nurses and lobbied the community to construct a bridge to ease transportation of vaccines to the area,” she said. Disease control and surveillance assistant Benjamin Chimdzeka from T/A Mavwere said the volunteers spearheaded the construction of his house, which helped him to provide immunisation services on time. He also said the volunteers helped to increase the number of mothers bringing their children for routine immunisation. “Every month our coverage ranges are between 70 and 80 percent, which is a good figure. Hopefully, we will go beyond that with their efforts,” said Chimdzeka. Mhen, in collaboration with the Centre for Research and Development Initiative, is implementing the Health Systems Strengthening Project with support from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation. The organisation established 34 mother care groups in the district in 2018. The volunteers have been instrumental in mobilising communities for vaccination campaigns as well as routine immunisation and facilitating construction of health posts and houses for healthcare workers
