On September 26th, Women for Fair Development and the World University Service of Canada delivered a training session to 43 health care workers (HCW) from 19 different health facilities. The HCW came from the three Traditional Authorities where WOFAD is currently implementing the We Have Rights Too! Project – T/As Kuntaja, Kunthembwe and Machinjiri. The training was held at Mkango Lodge and included facilitators from the Women’s Legal Resource Centre (WOLREC) and the Kamuzu College of Nursing.
The purpose of the workshop was to develop and enhance the professional capacity of HCW in the delivery of sexual and reproductive health services to patients, with an emphasis on Women Living with HIV (WLHIV). During the first part of the day, an overview of the We Have Rights Too! Project, findings from the baseline survey on SRHR, patients rights and responsibilities, key SRHR concepts, Malawian laws and policies relevant to SRHR were all covered. In the afternoon, participants engaged in group work to discuss the changes that could be made, as an individual and at the level of the health centre, to ensure that the SRHR of WLHIV are promoted and protected at their health facility. Following this, a lecturer from the Kamuzu College delivered a powerful presentation on patient-centred approaches, ethics and serving patients with HIV and AIDS.
Overall, the training proved to be a major success and participants left committing themselves to protecting the SRHR of WLHIV in their roles as HCW.