In under four years, the uptake of vaccines for children around Chilomoni has increased to 95 percent from 75 percent. Malawian healthcare authorities credit this increase in vaccine uptake to the involvement of mother-care groups.
The Mother care groups take the initiative to educate and sensitize new parents about the importance of getting vaccines. A small percentage of parents who do not get their children vaccinated either believe that vaccinations are an infringement on their human rights or do not have access to the vaccines.
In both these scenarios, the role played by the mother care groups can not be understated. The groups spread awareness about the importance of vaccination for the health and benefit of the people.
The mother-care groups established in 2018 by Malawi Health Equity have been instrumental in increasing the uptake of vaccines for children.
Herbert Chakwawa, Assistant Projects Officer for MHEN, applauded the mother care groups for their role in the betterment of the children. He said that the women were trained in advocacy and accountability, which are key elements for community awareness campaigns in their respective areas.
He further said that the groups are tasked with the duty of advocating for the immunisation of under-five children in their respective communities. Immunization starts from birth, and the children receive several vaccines at different times in their lives for the next five years.
The vaccinations help in building the immunity of the children against preventable deseases, such as polio, mumps, Measles and more. The risk of any children contracting said illness during their lifetime can be reduced drastically through vaccination.
The Malawi Health Equity has been carrying out the campaign with funding from the Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunization-GAVI.
The people of Malawi applaud the group for its work in ensuring that the children receive critical vaccines. They also appreciated the parent organization, MHEN, for its initiative.