In the first week of March, the PM met with Doctor Wells, an American working at St. John’s Medical Clinic in Solwezi. He said his schedule would not allow him to visit Meheba in March, and he will be leaving his position (where he was contracted for three months) at the end of the month to work in Botswana.
The FHS coordinator took two weeks of leave in the first half of March and was issued a verbal warning for not informing the PM or his FHS colleagues of his plans to be on leave or his expected return date. The fifth part of the workshop was conducted this month, with one more remaining.
FHS staff met with the RHM Project Manager Louis and the twelve RHMs to exchange information about our programming on March 20th. The meeting was very informative and FHS staff agreed to provide a monthly schedule to MCDSS to avoid duplicating those services which we both provide, namely HIV/AIDS sensitizations and counseling.
On March 24th FHS and RHS staffs also met with Elizabeth, the HIV/AIDS Coordinator between PEPFAR and UNHCR in Lusaka. She was excited to hear about FORGE’s activities and gave us permission to obtain and distribute PEPFAR publications and other educational materials from various NGOs in Solwezi. The UNHCR Program Officer is compiling a list of those organizations which have these materials, and FHS/RHS will acquire this list when it is prepared.
FHS staff also met with the UNHCR Program Officer and MHA Refugee Officer to discuss options for those refugees who are repatriating while receiving free ARVs from the Zambian clinic system. It was agreed upon that HIV positive individuals will be given a two month supply of ARV drugs upon departure to allow them time to find an equivalent treatment in their countries of origin.
Future activities and projections:
FHS staff and the PM decided our next workshop location will be in Block B. It will be geared toward the Block and Road leadership structure (chairpersons, secretaries, etc.) and will incorporate community health mobilization and first aid responding components. The curriculums for these two subjects are being developed by the Coordinator. The eventual goal of this new focus is to create a community health committee in each block, where Meheba refugee leaders are trained in basic health issues and can be resources to their populations by providing information on the available health care provisions in Meheba.
Indicators and statistics:
See M&E spreadsheet attached. Workshop attendance was low due to coinciding “Under 5” immunizations occurring on the same day. The workshop will be repeated and the final in the series will be held next month, including post testing information. Overall center visits were low due to the leave taken by the Coordinator for half the month.
Attached in a separate document is the medical dispensation report, including patient symptoms. I am also attaching the Coordinator’s monthly report form in case the information contained in it can provide additional insight into the types of cases we handle. This report form was used before the new indicator spreadsheet was instituted in October. If you find it valuable, I can fill it in for the months from September to present and provide those to you next month, or submit them every month from now on.
Substantial problems or issues:
FHS staff suspended the dispensation of medicine toward the end of this month. The project has written permission from MoH to dispense drugs. MoH has also signed a statement acknowledging that they are not responsible for FHS activities, and FHS can follow suit by having patients sign a liability waiver whenever they are prescribed medicine by the FHS Coordinator. The PM will be contacting the District Ministry of Health officials to confirm our approval to distribute a specific list of medicines.
Wishes or requests:
None.
Budget:
Please see expense monitor.
