Off Roading to Neno Part 2

Nearly 50 million Americans without health insurance. Nearly 0 Africans with health insurance. For all its faults and headaches, the American health system functions pretty efficiently when compared to the health system of Africa. While in Neno and later Mwanza, I visited several health centers to observe the malnutrition program run by the government of Malawi that the Clinton Foundation supports. Each village has a health post which is staffed by a Health Surveillance Assistant. He basically provides simple medications. The HSA is not a doctor. Then there is a community health center that can be compared to an urgent care center in the states. Many are staffed by nurses and a clinical officer and conduct testing for HIV. Finally, there is a district hospital. Malawi, like many African countries, is facing a shortage of nurses and doctors as many leave the country for employment. The pay is far too little to make a living here.

While the malnutrition program is locate in the communities, many have to walk very far, some as 6 hours! I also noticed that there were kids as young as 5 or 6 bringing a very young brother or sister to the clinic. Many of the kids are very sick and it was difficult to sit at the clinics all day. Everything is out in the open-there are no private rooms and often times I feel like I’m in a zoo watching people.

The malnutrition program is known as Community-based Therapeutic Care (CTC) and provides children with a substance known as Chiponde. Chiponde is fortified peanut butter that tastes like sugary sandpaper. However, it has a 90% cure rate for malnutrition and kids like the taste because it is so sweet. Most of the government run health centers provide the Chiponde for free and some private health centers are also providing Chiponde at no cost. Volunteers search for children in the village and because there are no computer records or comprehensive medical files, the volunteers also have to track children. Despite the lack of transport and infrastructure, the CTC program is saving many children’s lives.