Malawi Mother Care Groups Boost Child Vaccination, Face Resource Challenges
MHEN reports having 281 Mother Care Groups across Malawi, all working voluntarily to improve immunization services and support health campaigns.
LILONGWE, Malawi — Mother Care Groups in Malawi's Lilongwe district are reporting significant increases in child vaccination rates and maternal health improvements, despite facing resource constraints, writes Moses Chilumpha.
The Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN) and Lilongwe District Health Office recently monitored four Mother Care Groups — Kawalika, Mtandire, Msiliza, and Namikango — following refresher training in June 2024.
In Kawalika village, group member Faidesi Chirambo said, "We have increased the turnup of children for vaccination from a range of 20-50 in 2019 when we started the group to 100-150 currently."
The groups have also focused on reducing maternal mortality.
"Previously there were high rates of maternal and expectant mothers' deaths, but now we can happily say that due to our existence in the community and the training we got, we have been following these expectant mothers within the villages, advising them on the importance of delivering at the hospital," explained Loveness Smart, another Kawalika group member.
Mtandire and Msiliza groups reported an increase from 1,000 to 4,500 children receiving under-five services. However, they struggle with group cohesion and lack a permanent village clinic.
Namikango group successfully lobbied for a new village clinic.
"The clinic is even assisting people from the neighbouring villages in Dedza," said Mphatso Lester, the group's secretary.
McLean Nkhoma, District Extended Program on Immunization coordinator, noted, "There is a changed behaviour of villagers to start patronizing vaccination sessions to an extent that vaccine coverage has increased from 79 to 95 percent."
Despite these successes, the groups face challenges including lack of transportation, inadequate supervision, and insufficient refresher training.
MHEN project supervisor Kombesi Gomile praised the groups' efforts: "We are happy to see how the mother care groups are using the defaulter tracing skills as observed that there is an increase in children attending immunization services."
MHEN reports having 281 Mother Care Groups across Malawi, all working voluntarily to improve immunization services and support health campaigns.