Health pressure group trains health literacy facilitators

12 Oct, 2014 - 03:10 0 Views

The Sunday News

COMMUNITY Working Group on Health (CWGH), a health pressure group, has trained about 1 000 health literacy facilitators throughout the country to help in educating communities on their right to health as well as improve health delivery system, an official has said.
Speaking to Sunday News recently, programme leader, Ms Nonjabulo Mahlangu, said the idea of training comes in the wake of deteriorating health delivery services, violation of patients’ rights and burnout suffered by health personnel due to their work load.

She said the shortage of staff at health centres led to the manning of primary health centres by untrained personnel as a stop gap measure to manage shortages.

“As CWGH, we have trained close to 100 in 22 districts that we operate in. Their role is to help communities in matters to do with health delivery system. Trainees are equipped with special health skills and they transmit the same knowledge to communities through focus group discussions,” said Ms Mahlangu.

Ms Mahlangu said the programme is meant to assist the Ministry of Health and Child Care in making sure that the general health delivery service is improved.

“We are working hand in glove with the Ministry of Health and Child Care, as the parent ministry. We are their partner and have cordial working relations as they also assist us in many areas. The major objective is improving health delivery services within communities that we live, hence training community members. The communities should be the first to benefit from effective health delivery system and not the last since we use the bottom up approach. So far the programme has accrued many benefits as it has improved the relationship between patients and health personnel, among other things. The patient-nurse relationship has improved through these trainings,” she said.

“The programme has also improved active participation of communities in matters to do with health and creation of health centre committees comprising local health facilities personnel and gatekeepers like village head, councillors, and village health workers, among others. The benefits accrued in many districts are many as communities have built clinics, nurses’ houses, waiting mother shelters, boreholes with some equipping hospital wards from their contributions. Many people now know that health is their right and responsibility, all through health literacy training,” she added.

She said the organisation aims to see every community in the country embracing the health literacy programme and being able to actively participate in health programmes through cleaning their environment, knowing health rights and making immense contributions to the health delivery system.

 

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