The training of Maternal Health Champions started with 60 members of various denominations in 2011 to work as health foot soldiers in the dormitory town of Epworth.
“The essence of these MHCs is to raise awareness, identify health problems pertaining to child welfare, maternal health and gender, and link them with institutions where they can get professional care and services,” said EFZ Programmes Officer, Kudakwashe Kurashwa.
MDGs in the church
Kurashwa said the Millennium Development Goals were considered by the Church to be a tremendous opportunity for Christians to continue to influence policy makers while pursuing the Micah Challenge.
“It was in faith that the coming up of MDGs would help the church to achieve its agenda of improving the lives of the poor and hence the church joined the campaign,” he said.
The Micah Challenge is a global Christian Coalition campaign aimed at raising a prophetic and powerful voice for and with the poor, as inspired by Micah 6:8.
Raising awareness
“To achieve this mandate, EFZ operates through five different commissions namely the ministry development commission, research and development commission, humanitarian, relief and development commission, peace and justice commission and the gender development commission,” said Kurashwa.
Kurashwa said the MHCs were trained by health experts on general health knowledge and adult education to engage fellow community members in raising awareness.
“The MHCs conduct monthly clean-up campaigns at local clinics and hospitals and encourage fellow residents to seek early medical care whenever they fall sick. We also conduct stakeholder meetings where we invite traditional birth attendants, spiritual healers, local authorities and experts in whatever field we are working on to map the way forward,” he said.
Kurashwa said the exercise in Epworth was a three-year programme set to spread to other marginalised communities in the country.
“Currently we are working in Epworth as a first phase but we will eventually spread to other provinces,” he said.
He added that the church and voluntary partners funded all programmes.
New boreholes
Kurashwa said apart from maternal and child welfare programme they had also embarked on water and sanitation development.
“We managed to drill a borehole at the Local Board and Clinic as there were no water supplies and other areas in Epworth to provide safe water to the community.”
One of the MHCs who preferred anonymity said the main challenge they are facing in Epworth was to break the silence that many women were facing when it came to HIV.
“I am HIV positive and in most cases, use my own experiences to encourage other women in the community to seek early health care. Most women are afraid to tell their husbands that they are HIV positive when they are tested while pregnant,” said the MHC.
Maternal mortality
She said due to poverty most pregnant women failed to raise user fees to book early antenatal care and ended up developing complications, resulting in the death of the mother, child or both.
According to Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey of 2011, maternal mortality ratio is 960 deaths per 100,000 live births annually.
The MHC said some Epworth residents had developed a donor dependency syndrome.
“Some people no longer want to work knowing that the donors will give them food and other assistance and we try by all means to encourage them to do something that can give them income,” said the MHC.
Post published in: News