Meet the 2022 Healthcare Provider Champions - Malawi
Limbani *, nominator
Why did you nominate your healthcare provider?
As a young person who has used injectable drugs, I was often met with judgemental stares at health facilities because I was seen as harming myself. I used to dread visiting health facilities because it felt as if it was just another opportunity to hear how I was not doing the right things. However, when I met Jennifer, it was different. She was interested in hearing my story and said something to me that still rings in my head today: “It’s okay not to be okay, and when not okay, it’s also okay to talk to someone about it.” This is what keeps me going back to the health facility.
Jennifer Matewere, nurse
I am “doing the right thing” because…
As a healthcare provider, my role is to provide healthcare to everyone coming through the doors of our facility. My role is to be a friend, a caregiver and a health provider. By being a caregiver only, I risk missing important information. For example, a client’s behaviour pattern may indicate how they take their drugs and view medication. If we are unable to see this during the consultation, we may provide medication that the individual will not take. Being a friend to my clients will help me better understand them, offer better counselling and ensure that they receive services they will adhere to because we have created a rapport.
What was the turning point?
I have seen families walk into facilities and lose their loved ones due to negligence. I have seen my own family members tell me about how they were treated by healthcare providers. I have seen stories of people not adhering to medication or avoiding the hospital because they felt ashamed and afraid of what healthcare providers would do or say. That is why I decided I would be a healthcare provider who will be different and welcoming to all.
* To protect the identity of the nominator, a pseudonym is used.
Tanaka Chirombo, nominator
Why did you nominate your healthcare provider?
Mervis was one of the first people to introduce the teen club model in Mzuzu, Malawi, in 2008. Before the teen club got funding, she used her own resources to ensure that this model was running until implementing partners, such as the Elizabeth Glaser Aids Pediatric Fund, took over sponsoring the model. She has mentored many young people living with HIV in Mzuzu and also does career coaching. Mervis is not only my healthcare provider; she is my hero.
Mervis Ngoga, nurse and front-line healthcare worker
I am “doing the right thing” because…
I believe no young person should die because of HIV or AIDS, especially at a time when medication is readily available. I believe that with the correct guidance and counselling and by taking medication correctly, anyone can live positively with HIV. As a nurse at Mapale Health Centre, seeing young people dying because of HIV when they could have survived breaks my heart. I told myself that I would not let it happen under my watch.
What was the turning point?
The introduction of teen clubs gave me an opportunity to interact closely and freely with young people living with HIV. I was able to pay close attention to individual cases, whereas, at the health facility, we are usually overwhelmed with clients and have limited time to interact. Teen clubs allow me to interact at a more meaningful level with my young clients.
Foster Mafiala, nominator
Why did you nominate your healthcare provider?
I nominated Chikondi because of his enthusiasm and impact as Youth Friendly Health Services (YFHS) Coordinator in Machinga. He has revamped the YFHS programme and young people are more active than ever to go and access the services. I understand the great need for stigma-free services in a district that has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the country. Knowing that young people found a friend in a healthcare provider is comforting and a relief.
Chikondi Milanzi, Youth Friendly Health Services Coordinator
I am “doing the right thing” because…
When I began working in Machinga, the alarming number of teenage pregnancies, STIs and HIV acquisitions among young people shocked me. Despite the government championing youth-friendly services, it still looked like we were lagging in Machinga.
What was the turning point?
I realized that most young people were not coming to health facilities because they were afraid to approach us as healthcare workers. They were afraid we would judge them for getting pregnant or contracting an STI. They were afraid we would tell their parents about their HIV status. That is when I decided to befriend them and look at them as my own children.
Cedrick Chewale, nominator
Why did you nominate your healthcare provider?
It is heart-warming to see someone with Charles’ experience and age mingling with a group of people most people his age would not. I am impressed with the work he is doing in helping people living with HIV by supplying them with ART and counselling and supporting some young people living with HIV through teen clubs and home visit support. Seeing him do home visits after working hours is proof that, for Charles, work does not end when he knocks off; it never ends.
Charles Makuluni, healthy surveillance assistance
I am “doing the right thing” because…
It is hard enough living with HIV in a country where people are still stigmatized and discriminated against based on their status. I decided that it costs me nothing to be open and friendly with people, so I do home visits and conduct teen clubs with young people.
What was the turning point?
The turning point was seeing all the people who pass through the corridors of our facilities and never return. I decided that something must be wrong if all these people are defaulting because we must not be doing something right.