Partners in Health (PIH), a non-profit global health organization that fights injustice by bringing the benefits of modern medical science to the most vulnerable communities around the world has announced that the hunt for more partners has commenced to support people living with Non-communicable Disease.
PIH Medical Director, Dr. Christopher Banda made the remarks on Wednesday in Neno when PIH known locally as Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (APZU) paid a visit to people who are suffering from NCDs.
Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Report shows that at least 5.7 Million people would be in need of food assistance between now and the next growing season as compared to 4.1 Million people who were in need of support in the previous season.
The development puts people of all ages at risk of being food insecure and it is expected to be worse in people suffering from NCDs as some of them will not be able to search for food during the lean season.
“We have done a lot in terms of food support, but we are primarily focussing on patients who are in dire need. But we are aware that we need to scale up this food support especially during the lean season.
“Nevertheless, the resources [that we have] are not adequate, we are looking for more partners to help us actually reach out to many people,” Banda said.
Partners in Health in 2023 launched a program called “Package of Essential Non-Communicable Diseases (PEN-Plus) in Malawi, a project which is expected to run until August 2027.
In line with the aim of the project which is to improve the health of Malawians by enhancing the national capacity for implementation of chronic NCD prevention and management strategies, including diabetes and hypertension, per the National NCD Action Plan, PIH jumped in to improve the health of people especially who are suffering from NCDs .
NCDs are the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, including in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). According to the WHO, these common NCDs are responsible for almost 70% of all deaths globally, with 82% of these premature deaths happening in LMICs.
The main purpose of PEN is to reduce morbidity and mortality due to NCDs by providing guidance on continuity of care for people living with NCD, treating incident life-threatening NCD conditions, preventing exacerbations of NCDs, and facilitating post-acute health system recovery.
PIH Malawi is implementing the project in Malawi with a grant of about $2,885,712 from the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF). PEN services are provided in all districts in Malawi, but Full PEN-Plus services are currently available in only 3 districts Neno, Salima, and Karonga.
Neno District Health Officer Haules Zaniku said despite the support that the district is receiving from PIH Malawi, there have been challenges in providing total care to the clients, like providing care to poverty-stricken clients who are failing to afford the basic needs.
“This is a real challenge because you will find that some clients need a special diet but they are not able to afford this food,” he said.
Betina Samuel, a wife to Richard Mabvuto, an elderly man who is suffering from stroke secondary to hypertension, said his husband cannot manage to do works to earn a living after the paralysis of his legs.
“I’m the only one working for the family, but I’m a woman and I can’t manage to do it better than my husband before suffering from stroke,” he said.
Common NCDs include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and cancer. In emergency contexts epilepsy and kidney disease are also common NCDs.
Partners in Health has been tirelessly working on helping people with NCDs and started doing it in Neno 2012 and about 5000 clients have been reached out by the services of PIH.
PIH works in collaboration with local Ministries of Health (MOH) to build local capacity, strengthen public healthcare systems, and deliver high-quality healthcare by addressing the root causes of illness training service providers, advancing research, and advocating for global policy change.
