By Linda Kwanjana
It is true that bad news sells.That is common everywhere in the world but it is even worse in Malawi that negative stories are given so much spotlight while success stories are often swept under the carpet and they never see the light of day as if they never happened.
However, as a proponent of development journalism, l am encouraged by what the Chinese media says that “achievement won’t evaporate even when nobody talks about them”.
This does not in any way advocate public relations but, I am promoting positive journalism which places premium on the sense of civic duty.
While at that, on Tuesday, I was taken aback by some of the development strides that President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera highlighted in his speech at Likoma Island during the commemoration of the National Health Day aimed at improving efficient service delivery in the country’s health facilities.
I was taken aback because we have been meant to believe by the media that the current administration is doing nothing meaningful in as far as development is concerned, yet there are so many positive stories worthy highlighting out there.
President Chakwera took time to explain some of the major milestones he has achieved in the health sector since he became the President three years ago. He said, upon assuming power in 2020, he made it a priority to close the gap which prevailed in the Ministry of Health in terms of staff capacity. He reported that this far, his administration has hired over 10 000 Health Surveillance Assistants.
Additionally, his administration has increased a number of Environment Health Assistants, Community Health Nurses, and Community Midwife Assistants.
President Chakwera reported that his government has recruited 1,578 with the funding from the Malawi Government and its partners.
The Malawi leader said his government has “aggressively” raised money for the improvement of health financing, mobilisation, integration and cost effective utilization of resources. He said his efforts have been productive as the government has raised billions for the cause from the Global Fund and other partners.
President Chakwera also indicated that his government has set its sight on easing access to health facilities, as such the Malawi Head of State said his administration has embarked on constructing 900 Health Posts across the country. He said already almost 30 Health Posts have been completed and 45 are under construction.
These are just some of the achievements of President Chakwera’s success stories of his leadership in the health sector.
We must always remember that, President Chakwera inherited a broken health system characterised by soaring brain drain. Fixing the rot, caused by years of malady and deep-rooted corruption is not an overnight job. It was always going to take time, but the speed at which the problems are being fixed is encouraging. All thanks to President Chakwera’s political will to deliver the required services to the people. So far so good.
