The Community Based Non-Governmental Organization based in Mukono District has over the years exhibited quality community health service provision and is now looking forward to more years of excellence according to its leadership.
At 4 Points by Sheraton Kampala, the leadership, staff and other stakeholders have convened to celebrate their health service milestone amid commendations from the Ministry of Health.
The Executive Director, Pauline Picho Keronyai, notes that the organization is strategically aligning itself to become a world standard community health center in the foreseeable future.
“We are building a strong network of Community Health Workers- CHWs, if the government really goes ahead and rolls it out, working with health assistants and local leaders to ensure that services reach the last-mile person or grassroot person.”
“The VHTs we want to work with are those who are actually motivated, which means incentivizing them, facilitating them for their efforts and secondly, is making them accessible and proactive by equipping them and giving them health commodities so that they can be available to serve the needs of the community and finally, providing comprehensive training,” she remarks.
“One of our major focuses is to ensure the VHTs are well trained and skilled so that they have the right capacity to offer services and ensuring that they are supervised as per the Ministry of Health Policy,” says Keronyai.
Speaking as chief guest, Director Health services – Curative in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Olaro Charles commends the institution for its vision and targets.
“You said the community health workers are the cradle of health services and that’s what it should be and I am sure that most of your workers are knowledgeable, having built that capacity overtime and now you need to transition,” he says.
Kateregga Rodrick, a VHT Supervisor notes that with support from Nama Wellness Community Centre, CHWs are now conducting mental health sessions in the community using the IPT-G model, which has helped community members, especially women and young girls.
In the next ten years, they intend to build a community health hospital which will deliver services to the people.