Kachere Health Centre is 7km from Mwaya and caters for about 21,000 people. Currently, there are two nurses and a medical assistant. The Health Centre is Government run and comprises a general out-patients clinic, ante- and post-natal clinics, and a clinic for children under five years old. There is also a VCT (Voluntary Counselling and Testing) clinic for HIV/AIDS. Although all medical care in Malawi is free, there can often be shortages of drugs, dressings and basic equipment.
The most common illnesses seen at the Health Centre are malaria and HIV/AIDS related, together with problems associated with malnutrition. In addition to this, the ante- and post-natal clinics are always crowded, as is the clinic for the under fives.
Basic healthcare provision is something which is universally essential to human beings around the world but, sadly, in Malawi, the reality is that healthcare provision is less than adequate. In the Nkhata Bay District where RIPPLE Africa is based, there is just one nurse for every 18,000 people, and just one doctor for over 200,000! A lack of access to basic facilities and a severe shortage of trained medical professionals and basic medications mean that many people struggle to get the vital access to medical treatment they need. The government run Kachere Health Centre is a critical resource in the area and, like a GP, is the first point of contact for all kinds of medical needs. Despite government support, there still aren’t enough resources to go around. RIPPLE Africa’s support of the health centre means the clinic benefits from additional resources thanks to the charity, and RIPPLE Africa’s volunteer healthcare assistants drastically reduce the ratio of patients to medical professionals in the area.
Much of RIPPLE Africa’s support for Kachere Health Centre is delivered through the help of overseas volunteer doctors and nurses. However, RIPPLE Africa does pay for some supplies, salaries, and miscellaneous costs to supplement the government provision:
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