MARCH 2009 —"Govt. hails Family Health International," read the headline of a February article in The Nation, Malawi's national newspaper, which went on to refer to the "leading role" that FHI is taking to improve the lives of orphans and other vulnerable children in the district of Salima, in central Malawi.
FHI's work on a project called Providing Comprehensive Care and Support Services to Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children is funded by The Funders' Collaborative for Children (FCFC), a $10-million, five-year program that targets 18,000 (or 65 percent) of the district's most vulnerable children.
The February article lauded the FCFC-funded donation of 100 bicycles to child protection workers, which will enable them to move more quickly from one place and one child to another and reach more children with the support they need. It noted that FHI Associate Director Milika Mdala handed over the bicycles at Salima Community Centre Hall to District Social Welfare Officer Nixon Chawinga, who is quoted as saying the bicycles "came at the right time, since social workers are facing transport problems."
The FCFC-funded project is a collaboration between FHI and more than 15 local and international partners, including NGOs, community-based organizations, and government agencies. Its approach is governed by a philosophy called "surrounding the child," which aims to ensure each child has access to a range of services that will significantly improve the chances of a healthy transition to adulthood.
The Salima district is a relatively small part of the country, but its citizens, especially the young, are among those suffering the most from the effects of HIV/AIDS. HIV prevalence among those ages 15–49 in Malawi is about 12 percent.
"FCFC is enabling us to do important work in Salima," says FHI Associate Director Maureen Richardson. "We're pleased by what has been achieved since the start of the project. Already, as a result of this partnership, almost 10,000 orphans and other vulnerable children have been registered in primary schools.
"Over 1,500 have been visited at home, and over 4,000 have been immunized and given basic healthcare. Twenty-eight support groups have been established."
Nine objectives
The Providing Comprehensive Care and Support Services to Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children project has nine objectives over the five-year period in Salima:
1.) Increase the accessibility and use of quality comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and support services and to strengthen health services for orphans and other vulnerable children, pregnant women, and people living with HIV.
2.) Enhance positive behavior and attitudes toward children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS by helping to develop and maintain a good support environment and quality education.
3.) Improve the basic health and development of children ages 0 to 6 years
4.) Improve the livelihood of children and their families and people living with HIV/AIDS.
5.) Support the development of child protection systems to protect children and young adults in homes, schools, and in communities.
6.) Increase the human and institutional capacity of service providers and community-based organizations to implement quality health, education, social welfare, and livelihoods programs.
7. Create an enabling environment at national and district levels that fosters long-term sustainability of quality health, education, social welfare, and livelihoods programs.
8. Strengthen the network of referral systems between health services and between all social services.
9. Support the Government of Malawi's information system in Salima to ensure that a comprehensive system is in place to manage, analyze, and use data collected at health facilities, schools, and in the communities in order to inform policies and programs.
More on Family Health International's work in Malawi
PHOTOS: (Top) A child protection worker poses proudly with her new bicycle, gifted by the FCFC program. (Bottom) FHI handed over more than 100 bicycles to increase the number of children that caregivers can reach. (FHI/Malawi)
