Zambia: Jesus Cares Ministries has launched a maternal and child health project in Kasama. The aim of the initiative is to introduce improvement in maternal and child health in the district. Many communities of the district have limited access to maternal and child health resources.
The community has been calling on government stakeholders to rectify the situation. According to them, the Jesus Cares Ministries will help significantly in bridging the gap of maternal care
Right health facilities out of the total 50 in the district will be part of the program to help improve maternal and child health. Jesus Cares Ministries Executive Director Margaret Katai delivered a brief address at the launch event.
She revealed that the project will run for one year and that it will be supported by the American Red cross. “Last year Jesus Cares Ministries worked with the American red cross in Kabwe and we saw the progression and an improvement in child health care in the district.
“We hope to see a huge improvement even in Kasama too, we want to ensure that there are no maternal deaths.” She asserted.
“By the end of the program we want to see antenatal care improvement and mainly mothers who are pregnant to start attending antenatal care and be able to deliver from health facilities and not from homes,” she said.
The organisation has taken a community-based approach adding that they are working with community volunteers to spread the news.
“We train community volunteers on time targeting, counselling and also growth monitoring so that they go out in communities to teach mothers who do not want to go to health facilities to conduct growth monitoring programs,” she revealed.
Further, Kasama District Maternal Health Coordinator Margaret Lupiya said that initiatives are key in improving the health of mothers and children in communities.
Lupiya has appreciated Jesus Cares ministries for the launch of a maternal and child health care program in Kasama. She said the district has been lagging behind in this regard and that efforts aimed at supports government’s efforts are welcome.
“As a district we have had difficulties in meeting targets in the provisions of child health care, for example full immunization under one year has not even reached 90 percent and for doze one, we are in between 50 and 55, Worse for mothers coming before thirteen weeks before giving birth is very low as a district and we are between 39 percent to 40 percent,
“Your coming as Jesus Cares Ministries in the area of maternal and child health will help us a lot and by using the strategies which you have put in place we will see an improvement,” she said.