Jesus Cares Ministries (JCM)

Context

Jesus Cares Ministries is a Faith Based based Organisation (FBO ) working with and empowering the less privileged through education, health, capacity building of destitute and incapacitated households, social mobilisation, awareness raising, research, advocacy and prevention and mitigation of HIV and AIDS in T/A Bvumbwe Thyolo District in the Southern Province of Malawi.

Vision: Healthy People, Healthy Families, Thriving Communities.
Mission: To optimize the health and well-being of the maternal and child health population by employing primary prevention and early intervention public health strategies.
The Project works with community Health workers to strengthen links between health services and community members’ accountability and transparency. For effective community participation, it is important for people to be involved in and contribute to the planning of health system.
JCM identified religious leaders, literacy facilitators, and agricultural extension workers to receive community leader training and serve as community mobilisers. Community leaders educate the community, encouraging men and women to identify and address social barriers to care, and increasing demand for services. Community discussion forums similarly have created space for active community wide debate on social topics relevant to Family Planning and Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR).

Website:
http://jesuscaresministries.org

Area of Work:
Malawi, Africa

Contact Person:
Ethel Chavula

Approaches to implementing Community monitoring/accountability

Jesus Cares Ministries has been undertaking development work in communities throughout in villages over the past 4 years through a right based approach (RBA ) and has been successful. The approach that has yielded outstanding results is simply participatory integrated household approach which is human rights based. The communities own the programs and meaningfully participate from project design to Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. , With PRA the community leaders will gain a sense of satisfaction and empowerment in seeing members of their community achieving important progress on health issues as a result of their involvement and participation . Support Structures are already established and this includes Community Committees linked to District Health Committee and also registered with District Social Welfare Office (DSWO) and District Health Office (DHO ).. These linkages are useful in information dissemination, resource, accessing and holding Government accountable To influence social factors outside the home, JCM identified Community Development Associations (CDA) to engage community leaders in support of
the project.

Results and lessons

The Health strengthening and capacity building project has made achievements in increasing knowledge of and changing attitudes toward issues relevant to women and children’s health outcomes. More than 50% more women in and 31% more in can now report two or more pregnancy danger signs post-intervention than before interventions began. Post intervention, almost three-quarters of women knew that early marriage is harmful to health and named the appropriate age at marriage as 18 years or over. The involvement of religious and community leaders in health activities in the JCM impact areas has proved as a reason why FP programs have enjoyed such broad-based support and acceptance. JCM took this involvement a step further by connecting the community religious and traditional leaders directly with adjacent health facility staff in a way that benefited them both. Facility staff saw an increase in utilization of clinic services and a stronger sense of ownership by community members as a result of community leaders’ involvement.