The health centre is now open 5 days a week and also runs an emergency out of hours service. In addition to drop in general clinics there are also more specialised clinics, such as antenatal care, family planning and the under 5's clinic. There is also now a small treatment room for minor procedures and wound dressings, 2 beds for patients who need to stay overnight and a drug stores room stocked with basic medicines. During the first 3 months of opening its doors, over 800 patients were seen with a wide variety of medical problems many of who would have suffered unnecessarily if these essential medical services had not been so accessible. The health centre is currently staffed by one qualified doctor from the UK, who is volunteering through Phunzira, and one Malawian medical assistant.

»     By recruiting volunteer health professionals

»     Ensuring treatment for common and emergency medical presentations is available

»      Conducting research in the local area into community health needs

»     Targeting specific and relevant health issues e.g. HIV, malaria

»     Health advocacy

»     Raising funds and acquiring donated medical equipment

"The Health Boat"

Ruarwe village is situated on the northern lakeshore and surrounded by steep rocky hills. The topography of the land dictates that overland transportation is basically impossible, except for by foot, which makes Ruarwe rather inaccessible. Fortunately the lake provides both a natural and practical means of transport. Unfortunately, however, there is little in the way of a regular or reliable service and most people living in rural areas cannot afford to travel by boat. This issue of inaccessibility to secondary health care services for investigations and treatment, that cannot be conducted at the health centre, is a great challenge and one that we must tackle.

Phunzira’s is now raising funds for a ‘health boat’, which would enable both patients and health providers to move in and around the northern region of Malawi with much greater ease. The aims of the boat are:

»     To transport patients requiring investigations and treatment to and from hospital

»     To run mobile health clinics and education programmes to surrounding villages in the area

»     To transport equipment, medicines and other health related goods

»     To assist with income generation by the local community (to be put back into community health initiatives) so that the boat and other such projects may be self-sustainable.

The boat itself will be sourced and built locally (to as great extent as possible) and will be of similar design to many local boats i.e. a wooden boat with an outboard motor. It will be able to carry up to 40 passengers and have a wooden roof for protection during the rainy season. We are raising funds not only to build the boat but also for essential on-going maintenance and fuel and are looking for regular sponsorship as well as one-off donations. Unfortunately, due to the world fuel crisis petrol in the area is extremely expensive and this does elevate our costs. We are aiming to raise £5000 for this unique and exciting project. If you would like to donate to this project specifically please click on the button below

HIV and AIDS

While HIV and AIDS is shown to be the leading cause of mortality and disability in Malawi, the number of people living with HIV in Ruarwe is falsely low. Data collected at Ruarwe health centre earlier in 2011 showed that 75% of male patients and 60% of female patients aged between 15-49 had never been tested. The result is that most people will progress to AIDS, becoming sick or even dying, before being diagnosed. This also means that a large number of people who are unaware of their status are transmitting the disease either through sexual contact or mother to child transmission. The devastating impact of AIDS on individuals and communities is evident from the high burden of disease, large numbers of orphans and loss of income.

HIV is a complex issue with many cultural and socio-economic factors shaping the epidemic. There is currently no forum for discussion and it is seen as a taboo subject to many. Gender inequalities mean that women and children are even more vulnerable in such an environment. Lack of education and understanding only serves to create higher levels of fear and stigmatism further ostricising people affected by HIV. This, combined with poor access to health services, provides little incentive for people to get tested.

A holistic approach must be adopted to addressing all these issues together. There is a group in Ruarwe who have formed their own organisation called People Living With HIV & AIDS (PLWHA) with the aim of supporting each other and raising awareness in the community. Phunzira is already working with this group and together their aims are:

»     To make VCT (Voluntary Counselling and Testing) services easily accessible

»     To improve access to treatment and other health services e.g. nutritional support, home based care

»     To raise awareness in Ruarwe and surrounding communities

»     To run educational programmes (in partnership with Nyumba Ya Masambiro) suitable for men and women of all age groups. Sessions will cover topics such as explaining facts about HIV and dispelling myths, discussing how to protect yourself and others, showing people how to live positively and stay healthy, and tackling issues of gender inequality