Where We Work | Malawi
Improving health access for
18 million Malawians.
Our Work in Malawi
VillageReach has worked in Malawi since 2008, collaborating with the Ministry of Health (MoH), the private sector and other partners to develop and implement high-impact sustainable solutions and programs, including Chipatala cha pa Foni (Health Center by Phone), the Kwitanda Community Health Program, and OpenLMIS.
Our work improves health care delivery by building tech-enabled pathways to primary health care and making health products available to people when and where they are needed.
Resources
Leveraging community health workers as vaccinators: a case study exploring the role of Malawi’s Health Surveillance Assistants in delivering routine immunization services
From idea to systems solution: enhancing access to primary care in Malawi
Let’s Talk About Vaccines – Key Findings From Malawi
Lessons learned in the transportation of healthcare products by drones
Technical Note: Leveraging Community Health Workers to Vaccinate in Malawi
UAV Project: The Use of Drones in Transporting Vaccines From the Factory to the Patient
Bate-Papo Vacina!
Leveraging the Integrated Medical Drone Delivery System for COVID-19 Response in Malawi
Social Listening To Strengthen Vaccine Programs: Leveraging A National Health Hotline In Malawi
Leveraging Private Sector Capacity for Stronger and more Sustainable Public Health Systems
Let’s Talk About Vaccines Study Overview
Using private sector firms for outsourced transportation in public health systems
Malawi Overview
CCPF Toolkit
Drones for Health: Boosting Access to Lifesaving Products
Watch & Learn
A Health Center in Every Malawian’s Home (7:49)
This video tells the story of Taurai, a young woman and CCPF youth champion, and Gloria, who is a mother and volunteer. Both of them have had their own positive and unique experiences with CCPF and are now committed to promoting the national hotline in their communities. The video also includes MoHP’s perspective on CCPF as told by Dr. Nedson Fosiko, Deputy Director of Clinical Services.
Webinar with Malawi Ministry of Health (1:00:04)
Malawi by the Numbers
19.7M estimated population
80% employed in agriculture
450 facilities received PPE in 2020-21
540% more calls to CCPF in 2020-21
Our Malawi team is led by Country Director Alinafe Kasiya
We are committed to our strong collaboration with the Ministry of Health and other partners in Malawi to ensure that every Malawian, even in the remotest parts of the country, has access to quality health care and information. Our emphasis is on developing and implementing solutions in supply chain and digital health that are impactful, sustainable and scalable.”
Reaching Hawa
Impact Story
On the other end of the line was Wellington, a Chipatala cha pa Foni (Health Center by Phone) hotline worker trained to triage callers over the phone and make referrals to additional services and support. After the call, Wellington and his team did some quick research and discovered that an annual fistula repair clinic was being held in the area within weeks. Soon after, Hawa was in a recovery room at Bwaila Maternity Hospital in Lilongwe, smiling. She is surrounded by others like her who have just undergone a simple, but life-changing surgery.
A Mother’s Journey
Impact Story
Chipatala cha pa Foni is a very good service, a lot of people are being helped and they don’t have to travel to the hospital anymore.”
When Patuma called Chipatala cha pa Foni (Health Center by Phone), a hotline worker advised her of several techniques to alleviate Pricilla’s nose bleeds, such as a cold compress on the forehead, staying out of the sun, and good nutrition. After several weeks, Patuma called the hotline again – this time to thank them for helping her daughter, noting a marked improvement in Pricilla’s condition.
Drones – Aiding Health Service Delivery and Cholera Intervention in Southern Malawi
Impact Story
Patients were not being treated on time in the absence of laboratory results as they waited for them from the district health office, but this has now changed.”
Drones—remotely piloted aircrafts—are helping to save lives across many countries in the world, and Malawi is no exception. Drones help improve access to vaccines, lab samples and medical products in low-resource environments and hard-to-reach areas, thereby helping to prevent deaths from curable diseases like cholera.
Father of two Lonjezo Nkhungwa, a laboratory manager at the Trinity Hospital in Nsanje, which is one of the hardest to reach health facilities in the country, attests to these benefits.
