Interview with Mr. Donald Makwakwa, ED of Family Planning Association of Malawi (FPAM) on COVID-19 Response
How has your country been affected by Coronavirus?
So far Malawi has registered 43 cases of Coronavirus as of 6 May 2020 with three deaths and nine recoveries. The first case of the virus was recorded on 2 April 2020.
Since the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, the President declared Malawi as a ‘state of disaster’, a declaration that ecame with a number of restrictions including restricted meetings (in terms of numbers), determination of which services are essential and which ones are non-essential, restricted movement of people, limitations to public gatherings, and measures to decongest workplaces resulting in people working from home.
What services is your MA still able to provide during this time?
FPAM is still able to provide all core services through both outreach and static facilities. These services include Family planning, HTS, GBV and STI screening, treatment, and management, although the client numbers are relatively low as clients are apprehensive about the coronavirus. The client numbers are likely to decrease as people embrace positive behaviors at community level to prevent the spread of the virus.
Have you had to adapt the way your MA delivers SRHR services?
Yes we have. We have adapted our management of client flow at both outreach and static clinics to maintain the desirable social distance has increased the time which clients spend at the service delivery points and reduced the number of clients seen in a day at service delivery point level.
We have also enhanced infection prevention standards at all service delivery points by providing handwashing facilities for both clients and providers and reinforced the use of surgical masks and gloves by all providers.
Have you had to shut down any clinics or suspend some activities? Which ones?
Several service delivery and non-service delivery activities have been suspended. For example, provision of HIV testing and other SRHR services including GBV screening targeting female sex workers have been temporarily suspended following the restrictions issued by the government which have affected the normal operations of bars, bottle stores and lodging facilities which are the spots where the female sex workers are found.
In addition, other related activities such as meetings including field data collection activities have been suspended.
Services and activities targeting Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) have been shut down following the closure of schools in Malawi. All the activities target school going adolescent girls and the entry points are schools.
Is your MA part of any COVID-19 response team?
FPAM is part of broader Health Cluster committee of the COVID-19 response hosted by UNICEF and specially part of the SRHR subcommittee hosted by UNFPA. The SRHR subcommittee is comprised of major SRHR implementing partners in Malawi including the donor communities (funding SRHR programmes in Malawi), the government through the Ministry of Health (Reproductive Health Directorate) and the UN agencies through UNFPA. The committees meet weekly.
How are you working with partners during this time to ensure SRHR services are delivered?
Through the SRHR subcommittee, FPAM is working with other partners on the following fronts:
- Lobbying the government through the Ministry of Health to ensure that SRHR including Family planning services are considered as ‘essential services’ and are therefore highly prioritized.
- Lobbying donors to ensure that SRHR resources remain secure and are not diverted to support direct COVID-19 response.
- Lobbying government to ensure that reproductive health commodities are available at service delivery points as the supply chain might be impacted by the global lockdowns and other local restrictions.
- Ensuring that the government comes up with clear guidance on how clients continue to have access to SRHR services if there is a national or localized lockdown
How have you engaging Parliamentarians during this time?
FPAM along with other key stakeholders engaged the chairpersons of the various committees of parliament in Malawi to form a parliamentary taskforce on the draft Termination of Pregnancy Bill.
The main objective of this meeting was to allow the taskforce to develop its terms of reference, identify main issues to raise with the Minister of Health, inform the agenda, the methodology to be employed and identification of the venue and date for the meeting with the Minister. A definite action plan for the meeting with the Minister of Health was developed.
Through this meeting, solid commitment was drawn from the members of Parliament who later held another follow-up meeting to firm up their action plan to push for tabling of the bill during the November 2020 sitting of parliament.
Have your MA staff participated in any trainings on COVID-19?
Yes. FPAM is participating in the district level COVID-19 response plans which include training of frontline health workers. In view of this, FPAM has had some of its service providers trained under the district response and is still engaging other districts to make sure that all our frontline workers have been trained.
What concerns do you have about women and girls during this time?
- Increase of cases of sexual gender-based violence
- Shortage of reproductive health commodities which might arise due to disruptions in supply chains
- Strained health systems which may lead into a shift of attention towards COVID-19 response thereby ignoring other essential and time-sensitive SRHR services for women
What is your MA doing to ensure that pregnant women who need services during this time are still able to access them?
We are working closely with other SRHR implementing partners in lobbying the government to ensure that SRHR services are made available. Currently, FPAM is working with UNFPA to strengthen the capacity of community health workers and Community Based Distribution Agents (CBDAs) to ensure that short term family planning methods are available at community level and that referral for long acting and reversible contraceptives and other SRHR services are enhanced during this period.
How are your MA volunteers involved in the response to COVID-19?
The COVID-19 pandemic has high potential of affecting overall productivity of FPAM and therefore affecting the attainment of the strategic goals of the organization. In view of this, the FPAM volunteers called for called for a virtual adhoc Board meeting to appreciate FPAM’s preparedness to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic during which they emphasized the need to ensure that all providers are provided with PPEs and that their risk to contracting the virus was regularly assessed. Updates are provided to the volunteers on any development around the COVID-19 response within the organization.
