• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Tech
Village Health Teams

Experts Reject Plans to Phase Out VHTs

February 11, 2022
KCCA FC host Mbarara city

KCCA FC host Mbarara city

March 17, 2023
Museveni revives Covid19 masks, certificates to public offices

Museveni parliament speech: hits, misses

March 16, 2023
Lapaire, News 24/7 sign partnership

Lapaire, News 24/7 sign partnership

March 16, 2023
Two dead, five injured in Maracha District accident

Boda boda man stoned to death in Arua

March 16, 2023
Uganda police recognizes women who run the CCTV project

Uganda police recognizes women who run the CCTV project

March 16, 2023
Are Uganda-Kenya trade wars about to end?

Why Kenya made U-turn on milk product ban

March 16, 2023
Airtel Uganda, Buganda Kingdom renew 3 year Partnership

Airtel Uganda, Buganda Kingdom renew 3 year Partnership

March 16, 2023
Truck rams into school, kills three, injures 18

Truck rams into school, kills three, injures 18

March 15, 2023
Rwandan, Burundia, others arrested for forging Ugandan passports

Rwandan, Burundia, others arrested for forging Ugandan passports

March 13, 2023
child murders

Five arraigned to court over embezzlement of Shs2.6b

March 13, 2023
ADVERTISEMENT
News 24/7
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Business
    • Politics
    • Science
    • World
    KCCA FC host Mbarara city

    KCCA FC host Mbarara city

    Museveni revives Covid19 masks, certificates to public offices

    Museveni parliament speech: hits, misses

    Lapaire, News 24/7 sign partnership

    Lapaire, News 24/7 sign partnership

    Two dead, five injured in Maracha District accident

    Boda boda man stoned to death in Arua

    Are Uganda-Kenya trade wars about to end?

    Why Kenya made U-turn on milk product ban

    Airtel Uganda, Buganda Kingdom renew 3 year Partnership

    Airtel Uganda, Buganda Kingdom renew 3 year Partnership

    Truck rams into school, kills three, injures 18

    Truck rams into school, kills three, injures 18

    Rwandan, Burundia, others arrested for forging Ugandan passports

    Rwandan, Burundia, others arrested for forging Ugandan passports

    child murders

    Five arraigned to court over embezzlement of Shs2.6b

    Are Uganda-Kenya trade wars about to end?

    Are Uganda-Kenya trade wars about to end?

    Trending Tags

    • Donald Trump
    • Future of News
    • Climate Change
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Sports
    KCCA FC host Mbarara city

    KCCA FC host Mbarara city

    Lapaire, News 24/7 sign partnership

    Lapaire, News 24/7 sign partnership

    fred-enanga Police spokesperson

    Noise polluters to be prosecuted – Police

    VIDEO; Chameleon and weasel filmed kissing in Public…Again

    Mandela national stadium namboole

    Five years later: Uganda Cranes still homeless

    Christian Atsu has been found dead, confirms his agent

    Christian Atsu has been found dead, confirms his agent

    Don’t make sex videos on Valentine’s – Police

    Don’t make sex videos on Valentine’s – Police

    The actual meaning of Valentines day has nothing to do with flowers, chocolate, gifts or sex

    The actual meaning of Valentines day has nothing to do with flowers, chocolate, gifts or sex

    Ladies; Sex is not a Valentines gift – Real Gift Ideas for him

    Ladies; Sex is not a Valentines gift – Real Gift Ideas for him

    MAN UNITED

    Prophet Who Predicted Argentina World cup win says Man United will win Premier League

  • Watch Now
  • Sports
  • Shot Stories
  • Fact Checker
No Result
View All Result
News 24/7
No Result
View All Result
Home Lifestyle Health

Experts Reject Plans to Phase Out VHTs

URN.Dr. David Musoke a researcher at Makerere University School of Public Health says that having two community health workers replace a parish of over thirty VHTs is impractical

Dorothy Nalumansi by Dorothy Nalumansi
February 11, 2022
in Health
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Village Health Teams
ADVERTISEMENT
   Wakiso District LC V Matia Lwanga Bwanika handed over IDs to VHTs in his locality. He says the lay       health workers faced challenges identifying themselves during the COVID-19 lockdown

Experts have urged the government not to phase out Village Health Teams (VHTs) in favor of Community Health Workers (CHEWs).  

ADVERTISEMENT

Dr. David Musoke a researcher at Makerere University School of Public Health says that having two community health workers replace a parish of over thirty VHTs is impractical especially since there is evidence that once well facilitated, laypeople can work efficiently as volunteers. 

The Ministry of Health had in 2018 started a push to establish a National Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) Policy and Strategy which proposes deploying and paying two senior four leavers trained in basic healthcare at every parish in the country to act as the first point of care before referrals are made. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Aliyi Walimbwa, a Senior Health Planner in the Ministry told health development partners attending their retreat where national health priorities for the next financial year 2022/23 were shared that they are still contemplating whether to retain VHTs or drop them when they finally roll out CHEWs. 

Already, the ministry had embarked on a pilot study in 2019 to establish how effective CHEWs can be in disease control and prevention interventions currently being done by the VHTs. But, this idea has always received criticism in parliament because of the wage burden this will come with since initially, the proposal was, to begin with, 15,000 of them and roll them out slowly for a period of five years. 

Matia Lwanga Bwanika, the LCV Chairperson Wakiso says it is rather laughable that government can think of paying community health workers when they struggle to pay one-off facilitation to VHTs once they assist in government programs. 

Bwanika who was attending a meeting organized by Makerere University where VHTs were given identity cards and motorcycles cited the just concluded house to house polio vaccination where VHTs were promised 10, 000 Shillings each but none of them in Wakiso have received funds. 

While their exact number countrywide is not known, as there are limits or follow-ups of how many can be in each village, Bwanika says that there are more than 7,000 in Wakiso.  

Other than phasing these out, Musoke says the government should retain them as volunteers but keep re-engaging them with training and offer work tools to keep them interested as they have done as the University through the UK funded strengthening community health project which has been going on in Wakiso for the last ten years. 

The VHTs programme was started in 2001 as an innovative approach to empower communities to participate in improving their own health, and to strengthen the delivery of health services at the community and household levels.

Peter Jjemba, a VHT coordinator in Zinga Island, says that many of his colleagues that embraced the programme at its launch have since lost interest. Jjemba who joined the teams in 2010 says those that still do some bit of work are those under donor-funded programmes. 

He says while they continue focusing on key areas of malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea, it’s long since they attended refresher training by the government.  

Meanwhile, in an earlier interview with URN, Prof. Francis Omaswa, the Executive Director of the African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST) expressed sustainability of care fears when relying on VHTs. 

“They don’t have mandates and can’t be held accountable”, he says adding that the idea of CHEWs is not new since it was first proposed way back when he still was the Director-General of Health Services in the Ministry of health.

“The design we had proposed was to use local councils where the chairman is made the leader. He would work with an executive of nine members and we said let 30% of these be trained, given uniforms, and be given a village health register to keep track of what happens. But donors said we have no money for that let them volunteer”.

for more click here

Tags: minister of health
ShareTweetSend
Previous Post

I Had Never Desired To Be Bishop-Rev. Akanjuna

Next Post

Retracing Uganda’s Education Reforms, 35-Years After the Kajubi Commission

Dorothy Nalumansi

Dorothy Nalumansi

Next Post
Uganda’s educational progress

Retracing Uganda’s Education Reforms, 35-Years After the Kajubi Commission

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Why more Ugandans in diaspora want policy on migrant workers reviewed

UAE stops Issuance of 30-day Visas to Ugandans

October 24, 2022
Kampala Massage

“I have live sex with 18 clients a day” – Kampala massage therapist

October 2, 2022

Muhoozi Promotion is Actually a demotion – Solomon Serwanjja

October 5, 2022
Immaculate Kibekyenga Corruption unit

Anti Corruption unit saves Girl from Saudi Organ Harvest racket

5
4.8 Billion Collected in Traffic Police Operations

4.8 Billion Collected in Traffic Police Operations

3
Doctor on ebola frontline speaks to us annonymously

“We are denied PPE, threatened and intimidated” – Exclusive Interview with a doctor on the Ebola Frontline

3
KCCA FC host Mbarara city

KCCA FC host Mbarara city

March 17, 2023
Museveni revives Covid19 masks, certificates to public offices

Museveni parliament speech: hits, misses

March 16, 2023
Lapaire, News 24/7 sign partnership

Lapaire, News 24/7 sign partnership

March 16, 2023
ADVERTISEMENT
News 247

Copyright © 2021 24/7 Broadcasting Ltd. [email protected]

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Virtual Exhibition
    • Politics
    • Business
    • World
    • Science
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Entertainment
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Sports
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Health
    • Travel
  • Shot Stories
  • Fact Checker

Copyright © 2021 24/7 Broadcasting Ltd. [email protected]