The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are hard for those of us in the UK to deal with. The potential threat to vulnerable communities in the developing world is a growing concern. Read here about an update on the work that Transaid is doing in Zambia.
Regular readers may recall that we had a talk in November from Florence Bearman, Head of Fundraising at the transport charity, Transaid. Following that, our International Committee agreed to a donation of £500 to the charity, which was match funded by the Government of Canada - meaning that the charity benefitted by £1000 in total.
Florence sent us an update today providing information on how the charity is rising to the challenge of helping Zambia to tackle Covid-19 by adapting its MAM (MAMaZ Against Malaria ) programme, and supporting the Zambian Ministry of Health by contributing to guidelines on the role of Community Health Workers in the context of Covid-19. Florence thanked our members once again for our support. We understand that our sister club, the Rotary Club of Canterbury Sunrise, has also given support to the charity.
It is interesting to learn about the role that Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) are playing in Zambia's health system in the response to Covid-19 - both by learning about the disease and establishing hand washing stations and foodbanks. We are all aware right now of the importance of these in the current global pandemic.
It's also World Malaria Day tomorrow, and this is a timely reminder of how healthcare workers dealing with malaria (a preventable and treatable disease that affects millions every year) can also help with health pandemics such as Covid-19.
To find out more about Transaid, click here.
Picture: Community Health Volunteers for MAM. Picture credit: Transaid (reproduced with permission).
