Innovation Infusion: Transforming Primary Care

While I was writing this week’s newsletter, on leadership and innovation, our team received the news that we have been awarded the 2023 WFP Field Clinic Award! We received the award last year as well and it is a symbol of our dedication to building the best primary care clinic possible.

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This award means a lot to our team. We are still a relative new clinic and we want to demonstrate to our patients and the UN staff that we stand for high quality care. To be chosen from 27 clinics in WFP to be the best in the field is a great honour for us and has motivated me to write this week’s newsletter about what makes the Primary Care Clinic Malawi special and what the future for us holds.

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Focus on staying healthy.

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The mantra of our clinic from the beginning has been : “ Providing access to high quality healthcare to our staff and their families”. In a country like Malawi, with very limited health care capacity it is a critical component of our work and how we are supporting the most vulnerable people in the country. If our staff and their families are sick, vital support mechanisms for millions of people will not function properly.

We are more than just a medical clinic. We have a different philosophy and we are aiming to change the system. Our focus now is to keep staff and their families healthy, keep them engaged in improving their own personal health condition to further reduce their need to visit the clinic for medical purposes.

Our health promotion campaign has helped us to keep our staff engaged, productive and focused on the objective of the organization, reducing hunger in Malawi.

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Focus on community.

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We are not working in isolation. Our goal from the beginning was to be a clinic for our staff, mostly our national staff and their families, but integrate our work into the communities we are serving. Our team is working closely with other clinics all around the country, small and big to ensure that we can support building health care capacity in Malawi. We have been supporting clinics with training of their doctors and we have been donating supplies to the Dzaleka refugee camp clinic with much needed medicine and equipment.

Our newest innovation is to integrate all health-related teams into one outreach campaign across the districts in Malawi. We are combining the efforts of our UN CARES, PSAEA and PCC colleagues into an integrated approach on how to serve the community. We have been visiting the UNHCR transit camp in the north and provided health consultations and health talks to people entering the country to educate them on the health risks in Malawi. We have been visiting the Area 13 market in Lilongwe and provided health education on sanitation and hygiene and also provided cholera vaccinations to workers at the market.

In our most recent duty of care outreach campaign, we connected UN workers from different agencies in the districts, who never met before and were very happy to meet other UN colleagues and collaborate on their work.

Focus on prevention.

One of our main drivers going forward will be to provide support to our staff in catching illness at an very early stage before they become a major problem. We have been providing screenings to staff on several potential cancers, including breast cancer screening for women. We have started specialist clinics for our staff and their families, including surgent, gynaecology and paediatrician consultations. ?We have extensive vaccination clinics for staff and families for adults and for children. This includes one of the first Malaria vaccination programmes globally for small children. As a certified HIV/TB clinc we are providing consultations for HIV/TB/ART for adults and children.

Conclusion

Why Our Clinic Stands Out

?Our mission is clear: to provide high-quality healthcare in Malawi, where medical resources are sparse. Our focus is not merely on treating illnesses but on fostering a culture of health that keeps our staff and their families healthy and productive. This approach supports the broader mission of the World Food Programme—reducing hunger by ensuring that our staff are capable and healthy.

Building a Community-Centric Clinic

We pride ourselves on integrating our services with local communities. Our team collaborates with clinics nationwide, enhancing healthcare capacity by training doctors and donating essential supplies to facilities like the Dzaleka refugee camp clinic. Recently, we launched an innovative outreach campaign, uniting health-related teams from various UN branches. This initiative brings health education and preventive care directly to the communities, including cholera vaccinations at local markets and health consultations at the UNHCR transit camp.

Driving Prevention and Early Intervention

?Preventive care is a cornerstone of our strategy. We aim to detect and address health issues before they escalate, offering screenings for various conditions, including pioneering efforts in malaria vaccinations for children and comprehensive cancer screenings. Our specialized clinics provide tailored care, ensuring that our staff and their families have access to the best preventive and curative services.

Through these efforts, we are more than a clinic; we are a beacon of innovation and community partnership in healthcare. Our continued commitment to these principles not only enhances the well-being of our staff but also sets a benchmark for healthcare innovation in humanitarian settings. Together, we are forging a healthier, more resilient future for all.