Community Health Workers

 
Community Health Workers

Overview

Community Health Workers (CHW’s) and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA’s) operate out of the  main Nampundwe Clinic. However, the clinic covers 36 villages population of around 15,000 and with transport being a major problem for most people, a mobile clinic is a necessity.

The local community workers are invited to the monthly meetings at Nampundwe Clinic and the CHW’s and TBA’s proved what vital part local community workers have to play in the health of the people and are given training in basic health education.

This enables them to help their local villages by receiving training in basic health education, with the TBA’s being trained ro recognise and refer abnormal pregnancies.

These wonderful people freely give up their time to help the community.

Community Health Workers

Being very keen to learn, the TBA’s and CHW’s requested a workshop, so in August 2007 we arranged a two day event where the CHW’s and the TBA’s chose to sleep on the floor of Nampundwe Rural Health Clinic and we provided them with meals. The two day workshop proved to be one of the highlights of our stay. There was a variety of subjects taught including:  Pregnancy and Birth, Childcare, Immunisations, HIV/AIDS, Smoking, Hygiene, Sanitation, Aromatherapy, Recycling, Temperatures and Blood Pressures. We also performed an HIV play which tackles this subject humorously yet forcefully, and has proved to be such a hit with the locals, they are still talking about it 3 years since we first staged it.

It has become an important strategy for us to help and inform these people in any way we can.
The TBA’s sometimes arrive at huts in the villages only to find that the people had no lamps or torches. One TBA had to drag a woman out of her hut and conduct a delivery in the moonlight as it was the only source of light! So we have bought them all hurricane lamps and have also supplied wind up torches. They all have been supplied delivery sets, baby scales, scissors, sterile and non-sterile gloves, thermometers and some have received blood pressure monitors, mosquito nets and invaluable community healthcare books from www.talcuk.org

As these local health workers are in the ‘front line’ of the primary care, we at Lemon Tree Foundation see the need to support and inform them in their work. Our intention is to help them build on the information we have provided already about the use of essential oils, and utlilise their enthusiasm by sponsoring the supply of aromatherapy for them to treat people once they feel they have been assessed as competent. We will continue to sponsor workshops, and endeavour to help them by giving them the basic equipment they so badly need.