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Precious Manomano
Herald Reporter
Community Health Workers (CHWs) are essential as they help to relieve the substantial burden of the Covid-19 pandemic on healthcare systems worldwide.
They provide training and support to communities to allow people with Covid-19 to be cared for safely at home.
With training on prevention and appropriate infection-control measures, CHWs also serve as good examples of how to prevent Covid-19 in the communities they support.
They work as community advocates, conducting outreach and community engagement for public health programmes and provide health education and services.
They are also responsible for distribution of community education on Covid-19 and how it spreads.
When The Herald visited Goromonzi District to interview some of the village health workers in the district, they stressed that lack of personal protective equipment (PPEs) has exposed them and their families to the deadly disease.
One of the village health workers, Mrs Concillia Mukarati, said they were doing a lot to protect the community members through educating them on measures to reduce the spread of the disease and to follow up on patients who test positive and those in isolation, as well as to monitor funerals of Covid-19 victims.
Mrs Mukarati said they also work together with Environmental Health Technicians (EHT) to register and monitor gatherings at funerals.
She said they were still facing challenges in getting their allowances despite the work load that is heavy and risk.
“We do a lot of work and some of the village workers have contracted Covid-19 because we do not afford to buy PPEs for ourselves,” said Mrs Mukarati.
“We love our job, but we are appealing for support from our partners to provide us with PPEs so that we protect ourselves from the deadly pandemic.”
Mrs Talent Nyamayaro said people did not adhere to Covid-19 regulations, especially at gatherings such as funerals where they demanded body viewing of their beloved ones.
“We do not allow body viewing for Covid-19 cases, but the other family was in denial and went on to do it,” she said.
“After that, we witnessed three deaths within two weeks in that family.”
Mrs Nyamayaro said failure by authorities to pay community health workers was pushing their work back, making it impossible to buy the needed stationery to record their work.
Another village health worker, Mrs Plaxedes Kaseke, said they were regarded as enemies, especially at funerals where people did not want to follow Covid-19 protocols.
She also said they are working without documents or certificates to show that they were community health workers, making it difficult for other people to believe them.
“We do not have proper documentation identifying us as village health workers, prompting some people to doubt us,” she said.
Another member, Mrs Mary Chikukwa, appealed for Government intervention so that they get their allowances.
She said the majority of people think they benefit a lot from their work, but it was the opposite.
“It’s almost 20 years now working as a community working group, but nothing fruitful has came out, no salaries, no allowances but we are doing this job whole heartedly,” said Mrs Chikukwa.
“I still remember there was an outbreak of malaria long back and l failed even to take my breakfast and lunch on time giving treatment to patients, so l am appealing for authorities to intervene and reward us accordingly,” she said.
Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) executive director Mr Itai Rusike persuaded community health workers to continue working hard and educate people about Covid-19.
He also urged people to guard against reversing the gains that have been achieved so far by being complacent and disregarding preventive measures put in place by Government.
“Remind the people to follow the Covid-19 regulations, get vaccinated and do not forward fake news which discourages others to get vaccinated,” said Mr Rusike.
“We want to live a normal life, so we should work together to eradicate this disease.”
Mr Rusike said he will meet the nursing directorate and other health officials to rectify issues of allowances and certificates for the community health workers.
Community health workers are paid by UNICEF and Global Fund.
Those paid by Global Fund are facing challenges in getting their allowances on time.
The country is also extending the vaccination campaign to teenagers from 14 to 17 who were not previously catered for in the initial plan after scientists approved it was safe to inoculate this age group.
The vaccination of children follows satisfactory progress in the ongoing inoculation exercise for the adult population which has won several international plaudits and endorsements from United Nations agencies including the World Health Organisation.
Online Reporter