Today we first drove to Tambaima to visit a Community Health Clinic (CHC). We met with 4 CHWs who have been working since 2012 and a peer supervisor who has been a part of the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) program for 10 years. The CHWs stated that they have a lot of love and passion for the work that they do, and said that over the years they have learned that “health is wealth.” One of the challenges they face is changing the mindset of their community members. Most of them do not go to the clinic to treat their illnesses, or rely on traditional medicine. The CHWs are trying to change this by educating them on modern medicine and the importance of disease screening.
They also gave us some insight on how their CHW training works. For learning how to test for malaria, they first have a lecture on background information. The teacher then gives a demonstration. After, the CHWs all role play with each other, performing the tests on each other.
Pictured: the CHWs we interviewed
After speaking with the CHWs and peer supervisor, we met with the nurse in charge. She was a little reluctant to talk to us, and give us little insight. She said they constantly are delivering babies at this clinic (about 20 births per month). Because of this, there is often a lack of delivery supplies. They have to use their cell phone light as lighting in the delivery room. She also told us that STIs are a lot more common than UTIs.
Pictured: This is where they do the screening for patients.
After visiting Tambaima clinic, we drove to Masongbo CHC. When we arrived, a nurse immediately took our temperature and made us wash our hands before entering. This is the first clinic that has made us do this. We first spoke to a nurse in charge who told us how there are no medical residents here, most of the staff are volunteers, therefore it is hard to assist patient needs on a regular basis.
Pictured: a nurse and the nurse in charge (the one interviewed)
She said this clinic also delivers a lot of babies on a monthly basis. The most common birth complications are preeclampsia and PPH. The most common diseases are malaria and STIs, specifically HIV. She suggested that our refresher training has to be very well structured and clear that if CHWs do not perform their job properly, they will lose their position.
Later we talked to two CHWs who have been working since 2016. The challenges they face are the lack of education about diseases that their community members have, denial of medication from community members and transportation. They stated that community members are used to free healthcare so they will likely not pay for screening. They hopefully will pay when sensitized to the issue, or through community outreach programs.
pictured: a nurse and the two CHWs