By Chisomo Phiri Phiri
The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) says it will continue supporting HIV and AIDS interventions in the country.
PEPFAR Deputy Coordinator Sarah Mwale said this during the national Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) stakeholders’ engagement in Lilongwe.
Mwale said the successes registered through CLM are an indication that community members are key stakeholders in monitoring service delivery.
“The approach helps to improve HIV/AIDS service delivery and also improves patients’ experience and outcomes. It is for this reason that PEPFAR is happy to continue supporting the program,” she said.
Henry Kalekwa, a community member from Zomba who is in the program, said through CLM, they have established that there is a shortage of resources, there are few psychosocial counselors, and a need for capacity building.
“The major challenge is that one service provider is allocated a huge area with more clients to attend to, as such quality is compromised. They need to train and recruit more,” said Kalekwa.
MANASO Executive Director Emily Kayimba said CLM has registered a number of successes, such as improvement in the human resource for health, establishment of isolated HIV service provision places, and improvement in ART adherence.
However, she said despite donor support, the government needs its own means of resource mobilization to ensure sustainability of the program when donor support ceases.
CLM is a tool used by the Malawi Network of AIDS Services Organizations (MANASO) in which community members are engaged in monitoring the delivery of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis (TB) services
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