Academic literature on the topic 'Community action – Malawi – Mchinji District'

The Village Health Registry (VHR) was a community health data collection tool introduced in 1998. It was first introduced in Mwanza district of Malawi with the objectives of collecting community-based data, analysing and taking action in a local setting. The tool was collecting and updating data such as demography, immunization status for children under one year, growth monitoring for children under five, monitoring of all pregnant women, incidence of malaria, acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea cases, water and sanitation and deaths, by visiting households in every village every month.The tool was able to collect all targeted information as required. The data collected by the tool appeared to be more reliable than that obtained through a national information system used by the Ministry of Health (MoH) for the same district and the same year. It was easy for health centres to accurately order supplies based on actual requirements, to follow-up cases during disease outbreaks and to identify deficiencies in immunisation coverage rates.Despite promising results, the VHR registry fell into disuse following the establishment of a national register. The MoH’s Health Information System (HIS) data used projections which normally did not represent the actual situation on the ground while the VHR registry gave real physical data which was representative and verifiable. The potential of the VHR outweighed that of the HIS. Although the HIS had been rolled out nationally, there were shortfalls which MoH could consider rectifying to reach its full potential. In conclusion, the VHR was worth adopting as it would give MoH realistic statistics to be effectively used at all levels.Keywords: Village Health Register, Mwanza district, Ministry of Health, Community Health Workers, Health Information System.

This study investigated the challenges facing a category of community health workers (Health Surveillance Assistants) in rural Malawi district of Nkhatabay following the expansion of their programme funding from the Global Funding to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). The study has noted that HSAs are facing serious accommodation problems due to the lack of involvement of communities in their selection and that many HSAs are recruited from outside their catchment areas. The study has put forward some recommendations to the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders like United Nations Children&rsquo
s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to consider in making the HSAs programme in Nkhatabay district effective. Some of the recommendations made are that supervision of the HSAs by the EHOs and the ECHNs should be intensified and that infrastructure support should be provided to the HSAs for them to be able to deliver the EHP. Infrastructure like buildings and equipment like refrigerators and bicycles should be provided to HSAs and ensure that there is a plan for their maintenance.

The study assesses effectiveness of CDGs on poverty reduction among individual members. This is based on the concept of sustainable development with context, structures and strategies as factors affecting poverty reduction. Quantitative and qualitative research designs were used. These involved 120 participants, 5 FGDs and 5KIIs. Participants were purposively and randomly sampled. Results reveal CDGs as a potential strategy in effective community development benefiting group members for poverty reduction. Such benefits include; social, economic, physical, human or environmental. However, group composition and processes pose challenges for benefits to trickle down to some members. Structural arrangement requiring leaders and other influential people like educated members to be in the forefront of interventions has proved challenging to the approach. This happens when self interests are at play leading to deprivations of some members to access benefits. Monitoring membership diversity focusing on group composition and operations is recommended for groups to effectively reduce poverty.
Development Studies
M.A. (Development Studies)

This study investigates how community radio can meet the agricultural information needs of small-scale farmers. It focuses specifically on the Mchinji Community Radio, and explores the ways in which it can adapt its programming to meet the agricultural information needs of the small-scale farmers of the Mchinji district in Malawi. A literature review discusses the benefits and limitations of using radio as a medium to communicate information to small-scale farmers, and how community radio has been used to meet the agricultural information needs of small-scale farmers in developing countries. An appropriate methodology extracted primary data on the special agricultural information needs and the special features of the information-seeking behaviour of the small-scale farmers in the Mchinji District. Twenty-five small-scale farmers from Gomani 2 Village in Mchinji district were interviewed, and open-ended interviews were conducted with four key staff members of the Mchinji Community Radio. Personal observation provided another source of data, and was used for triangulation purposes. The key findings are that the majority of the small-scale farmers make little use of the latest ICTs, such as mobile phones, television, and the Internet. The most popular sources of agricultural information are the extension officers and the radio. Most of the farmers prefer agricultural information in the local Chichewa language, and only a few contribute their views, skills, and expertise to the radio station. They specifically need information on training, maize production, weather reports, current global agricultural affairs, and cultural programmes that involve agriculture. The study proposes a strategy for the Mchinji Community Radio that combines programming and communication planning, partnerships, sustainability planning, and quality checks. The implementation of this strategy will ensure that Mchinji Community Radio meets the agricultural information needs of the small-scale farmers of Malawi’s Mchinji district.
Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014.
lk2014
Information Science
MA
Unrestricted