Timothy Chibuye and baby Dixon’s story
Meet Timothy and his son, Dixon. When Dixon contracted severe malaria, he received vital assistance from Hills Ngosa, a Community Health Volunteer (CHV) in Kamwala.
Dixon and Timothy Chibuye
CHVs are the backbone of the health system in rural Zambia and a vital part of the MAM@Scale programme.
This programme was implemented by a consortium of partners that secured valuable funding from Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) and the Government of Canada to enable the scale up of the original pilot project.
CHVs provide invaluable health advice to their communities, which are located far from health facilities. They work to combat malaria by educating families on the danger signs of severe malaria, administering RAS (rectal artesunate), a pre-treatment for children with suspected severe malaria and refer patients to health facilities for further treatment.
In March 2019, Timothy was farming in his field when suddenly Dixon started to convulse. Timothy was very shocked to see this, and suspecting severe malaria, left the farm immediately to travel the short distance home and prepare themselves for the journey to a health facility.
On the way to the facility, Timothy realised that there were CHVs living nearby, and so sought help from Hills Ngosa. CHVs work hard to ensure that people know where they live in communities. Hills immediately offered assistance and took Timothy and Dixon to his home, where he could help Dixon by administering RAS. Dixon was the first child to whom Hills administered RAS, and he was then referred to the health facility for follow up care.
CHVs are essential to health service delivery and create a vital link between communities in rural Zambia and health facilities. Timothy is grateful for Hills’ assistance that day, as without his intervention, Dixon might not be here today.
“The way the CHVs are working and helping our children in the community is really marvellous. Because of the care the CHV took to look after my son, he is here and I am holding him.” – Timothy Chibuye