In order to extend the awareness of sexual reproductive health at the community level, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare trained health workers in hospitals and clinics throughout the country to ensure the safety of mother and child.

The trained health workers are now imparting the skills and knowledge acquired to the Community Health Workers (CHW) to be able to extend health education to the community at the grass roots level. To fulfill this task, the Matukeng health clinic in Maseru district trained community health workers in October, 2011 to strengthen health care at the community level.

Caption: Nurse clinician at Matukeng health clinic train community health workers in Sexual Reproductive Health. On the right the community health workers received home base care kits to care for chronically ill/ bed ridden patients at home.

The workshop focused on issues such as risk factors in pregnancy, delivery and postpartum. They also learn about PMTCT package, postnatal and intra natal care, importance of family planning and condom use.

Facilitators were nurse clinicians and nursing sisters from Matukeng health clinic while participants are community health workers and members of support groups in the area.

At the end of the training, the District Health Management Team distributed home base care kits to participants to be used to care for chronically ill patients at home. The participants were first refreshed about the contents in the kit and the correct use of each medication in the kit.

Meanwhile through the Global Fund grant community health workers receive stipend as a token for their voluntary work and also to encourage them to strengthen community level support of health care and health education.

One of the CHW thanked Global Fund grants for supporting their stipend and home base care kits which they said they were long overdue as most of their previous contents were finished. They said there are still isolated cases of bed ridden which are coupled by poverty and hunger.