By Hellen Luwayo Balaka
For long, Mercy Macholowe, a Health Surveillance Assistant (HSA) at Kwitanda in Balaka, walked long distances to reach households. Today, that daily struggle is now a thing of the past following the donation of 29 bicycles to HSAs at the facility, aimed at improving access to health services in hard-to-reach communities.
“With this bicycle, I will be able to work faster and reach more people on time,” said Macholowe.
Speaking during the handover from Amref Health Africa in partnership with World Bicycle Relief, Director of Health and Sanitation Services at Balak District Hospital, Dr Chimwemwe Thambo, said the bicycles will ease transport challenges that have long affected HSAs, allowing them to reach households more efficiently and provide timely primary health care services.
Amref Health Africa Country Director, Hester Mkwinda Nyasulu, said the organisation values the contribution of HSAs as frontline workers and acknowledged that mobility constraints have affected the effectiveness of primary health care delivery.
He added that the donation is part of a wider programme under which Amref Health Africa plans to distribute 100 bicycles across five districts in Malawi to improve health service delivery at the community level.
Nyasulu further said the organisation is supporting the Balaka District Health Office in areas such as maternal and child health, immunisation, reduction of teenage pregnancies, and prevention of child marriages, adding that plans are underway to roll out a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project in the district.
