Mrs. Graça Machel, the Founder of the Graça Machel Trust, and an international advocate for women and children visited Lilongwe, Malawi from 13th to 16th March, 2018 to hold meetings with Government Ministers, members of the parliament, the United Nations family of organisations, civil society, private business, youth and women’s organisations. She also assessed progress done on some of the developmental programmes that the Trust runs in Malawi to improve the lives of women and children.
During the visit, Mrs. Graça Machel had an opportunity to tour Bwaila District Hospital in Lilongwe which is one of the busiest hospitals in Malawi and is in need of baby incubators and operating rooms. Currently, the hospital only has one incubator.
Mrs. Machel had a meeting with Lilongwe district health officer (DHO) Alinafe Mbewe who shared her concerns that the situation at the hospital has caused long waiting- lists for patients that need operations because there is only one operating theatre, adding that there is only one functional theatre and some operations are on pending due to this. “We at least need three more theatre rooms and theatre beds,” said Mbewe.
“There is need to expand structures at this hospital, this hospital is in crisis, it is not proper for such a busy hospital to have one functional incubator. I think that the private sector needs to do something to provide the incubators. Being a woman, I feel bad”- Mrs. Graça Machel
The Trust, through its lead implementing partner, MaiKhanda, supports the creation of a social pact that will bring together government, the private sector and civil society to target health infrastructure, health financing and social accountability as priority areas to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable groups.
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trust’s goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.