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CMDS Canada partners with Lifeline Malawi with the work they are doing in Malawi.
HistoryMalawi is located in the southern part of Africa. It has a mostly rural population struggling to overcome classic problems of poverty, famine and drought. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 75% of its population living on less than $2 a day. Water-born diseases are rampant due to the lack of clean water. In the Ngodzi rural community southeast of Lilongwe, Lifeline Malawi, a Canadian humanitarian organization, established its first medical outreach. Outreach In 1998, Dr. Brooks initially worked with a small staff to provide a medical presence in the community. The health conditions and medical needs of the local Yao tribes were desperate. Through donations, the Ngodzi property has now been developed into a mission house and a medical complex, the Lifeline Ngodzi Health Complex (LNHC), offering full-time, primarily out-patient, medical and health-related services to the Ngodzi and the surrounding communities. In 2005, Lifeline Malawi became an approved Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) centre for HIV. The construction of another 800 sq. meter Centre of Excellence has been undertaken and is expected to handle 4,000 patients per month. To better serve the Ngodzi and Dowa/Kasungu districts, the weekly outreach clinics will be expanded into more neighbouring villages. The result of these mobile clinics will increase the combined patient load to over 8,000 per month. Planned Expansion Maternal mortality is high in Malawi and the Government has recently set goals which include improving maternal health, reducing maternal mortality and increasing the number of births attended by skilled healthcare staff. In order to reach these goals they have asked Lifeline Malawi for their participation. Lifeline Malawi is planning to introduce three phases of maternal services over the next 2 to 5 years. - Phase 1: Family planning, ARV treatment for women not pregnant.
- Phase 2: Antenatal, PMTCT
- hase 3: Construction of a Maternity ward and Mother’s Lodge.
With the introduction of maternity services LNHC would become a health centre with overnight stay capacity. They could have a significant impact on maternal, foetal and neonatal mortality in the area, by offering even basic obstetrical services. For more information on this project, please contact the CMDS National Office at office@cmdscanada.org.
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