Community Health Services

Lighthouse through its Community Health Services organizes an annual get-together function for its volunteers from 19 Community Based Organizations (CBOs) that it works with in Lilongwe City. This function brings all the volunteers to one place as one body. The aim of the function is to give them room to showcase and publicize activities which they do in their respective communities whilst delivering quality community home based care services to patients. This function also helps them to check the progress of their activities and re-plan for the future. This is one of the many ways through which CBOs provide feedback to their partners who include Lighthouse and the communities at large.

The Lighthouse Trust piloted “Nurse-led Community ART Program (NCAP)” initiative aims to encourage long term retention to care of stable patients on ART by using outreach facilities identified by PLHIV support groups. This intervention aims to serve patients that are; registered with Lighthouse at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) or Martin Preuss Centre at Bwaila hospital, adult (i.e. 18 years old and above), on the same first or second ART regimen for at least 12 months, cleared as a stable patient by a clinical officer: without serious complications or other related infectious diseases, Viralogically suppressed, and live within Lighthouse Community Health Services (CHS) catchment areas.

Through community empowerment and partnerships, Lighthouse works with CBOs to bring about different initiatives that will be beneficial to the community. For example, through this program Chilumba CBO constructed an office block with support from the community members and well-wishers for the smooth running of its operations. Below is the picture captured during the official opening of the office block.

Lighthouse’s “Ndife Amodzi” program is a community-led project that provides ongoing educational, treatment adherence and psychosocial support to stable ART clients in Lilongwe City. “Ndife Amodzi” means “we are all one” in Chichewa, the local language in Malawi, and highlights the central concept of the program: a community working together to support persons living with HIV (PLHIV) with greater involvement of PLHIV in providing this support. This support is provided by volunteers within each community, under the guidance of Lighthouse Community Care Supporters. Unlike traditional Home Based Care (HBC) models, Ndife Amodzi Programme focuses on psychosocial, rather than medical support, provided by community based volunteers with minimal training.