The Malawi Government, in collaboration with Rotary International, has officially launched Rotary Family Health Days, with a call to communities to utilise the programme to get tested and screened for a range of preventable diseases.
These include HIV/AIDS, TB, Hepatitis B & C, malaria, cancer, mild disabilities, sexually transmitted diseases, and non-communicable diseases.
Deputy Minister of Health, Halima Daud, who launched this year’s programme at Mtandire in Lilongwe, thanked the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) for supporting the programme with $3.5 million to improve healthcare for communities in different countries.
“Government appreciates your efforts and support which you provided freely, without asking for money or any other incentive from the government or the people you are serving,” says Daud.
Visiting Rotary International president, Rotarian Gordon Mclnally, says they want to improve the lives of children and families who lack access to health care and education.
“The family health care will be available closer to where people reside, and people will not have to spend the time and the money and take the effort to travel a long distance to hospitals that are already overcrowded,” says Mclnally.
Free health services, under this initiative, will be offered in public health facilities and designated places in Lilongwe, Kasungu, Dowa, Mzimba, Nkhatabay, Blantyre and Chikwawa from 27 March to May 2024.