There is confusion among health
service providers in Karonga district amid reports that some of them are going
around communities, sensitizing women to stop using implants as a method of
family planning stating they are a major cause of cancer among females.
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| Example of an Insertion |
According to Deliwe Msiska
district manager for Support for service Delivery Integration (SSDI) a team of
volunteers working for Emmanuel Nutrition Counseling has been going in churches
and other public places with a nutrition machine which they use to detect
vitamin levels in women’s bodies.
“Once a woman is detected to have
lower levels of vitamins she is told that it is a result of the family planning
implant in her body and that she risks developing cancer if the implant is not
removed, for this reason many women have flocked to health facilities to have
the implants removed,” she explained.
Msiska revealed this during
District Executives Committee (DEC) meeting on Wednesday where she reported that
for the past two months the number of women opting for Depo-Provera as a method
of family planning had drastically dropped across the district.
“It is no secret that this
development is a big blow to all of us delivering health services in the
district especially now that population boom and maternal health are a critical
subject across the globe therefore I am calling on all stakeholders through the
district council to draw an action plan on the matter soon,” she added.
Emmanuel International Counseling
is a food supplements supplying organization owned by a Kenyan Zachius Zinga.
It is registered with the poisons board of Malawi and its license number to
operate a mobile herbal clinic is ADM/1/376.
Commenting on the matter District
Health Officer (DHO) Charles Sungani said his office deployed health workers to
investigate into the matter and that the results are worrisome, therefore he
called for commitment and cooperation to put the situation in check.
“There are a number of places
that have been heavily affected, as a health office we have lost many women who
were on family planning methods that involve insertion of devices into their
bodies who had them removed for fear of cancer, as such we need robust
campaigns to win them back,” said Sungani.
He also called on the district
council authorities to put mechanisms in place that would enable it to monitor
the kind of messages that various service providers render to Malawians in the
district.
Investigations indicate that
Emmanuel volunteers invaded churches and markets of Mpata, Ngala, Nyungwe and
Kaporo.
Quizzed on the matter, a
representative of Emmanuel Nutrition Counseling who only identified herself as
Gladys distanced her organization from the allegations saying they are
emanating from people with ill intentions.
“Whoever is putting across such
messages does not represent us we do not counsel people on medical issues we
only supply natural food supplements,” she narrated.
Meanwhile Karonga district health
office has said it will summon Emmanuel Nutrition Counseling officials in order
for them to tell their side of the story.
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