This week, on April 25, the World Health Organziation (WHO) recognizes World Malaria Day and the need for continued support in combatting the effects of malaria, especially on those most vulnerable. As efforts continue to make preventative solutions and antimalarial drugs more accessible, women and children are still disproportionately affected. Pregnant women are at risk due to their reduced immunity to malaria, increasing the chances that both mother and child experience unwanted outcomes. Young children remain most in danger, though, with the WHO reporting:

“In 2022, an estimated 4 out of 5 malaria-related deaths in the African Region were among children under 5 years of age. Inequities in access to education and financial resources further exacerbates risk: children under 5 years of age from the poorest households in sub-Saharan Africa are 5 times more likely to be infected with malaria than those from the wealthiest households.”

Our volunteer health worker colleagues have seen first-hand how malaria impacts their communities and are there to provide support! They educate families on how to reduce the risk, warning signs of a possible malaria case, and encouragement to visit the clinic and receive antimalarial medications when someone falls ill. Our colleagues also teach families how to make Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) to combat dehydration, which often happens as the body experiences the negative symptoms of malaria. This health education and support is life-saving! 

This World Malaria Day, we thank our volunteer community health worker colleagues for their support in addressing malaria and working toward a healthier future!

This weekend, April 7, we recognize World Health Day and the impact health has on human rights, equity, and empowerment. Our community health worker colleagues recognize the importance of bridging the gap to accessible health care, and in 2023, dedicated 46,876 hours to addressing local health issues! From the start of our organization, we have operated from the grassroots level, meaning every program supported by HealthEd Connect can be tied back to a community, a health concern, and the volunteers who serve there. Community health workers are advocates, helpers, and sources of trusted information to those around them. By working together to tackle health concerns, they empower community members through hope, education, and respect. We are so proud to support the work of our colleagues as they deliver babies, immunize children, visit home-based clients, build new sanitation systems, and serve in clinics and hospitals. We recognize their work on World Health Day!

To learn more about the empowering impacts made in 2023, visit our Programs page!

The solar panel for the pump

New taps outside the community center

Water storage tanks

The UN observance of World Water Day is each March, a time to reflect on the importance of access to clean water and sanitation systems. As we consider what clean water truly means to a community, HealthEd Connect is thrilled to share about a new water system at the community center in Mazembe, Malawi!

Thanks to USAID and UNICEF, a brand new solar-powered borehole has been built at the center, with new taps, solar panels to power the pump, and two large water tanks to provide storage and water pressure. We are proud that the Mazembe Sinkhani center was chosen due to its location, maintenance, and security, along with the Sinkhani volunteers who can help to see this new system is cared for. Now that this is available, the group will work with the community to make a schedule of when this will be available, and how it can be maintained for long-term use!

Organizations like USAID and UNICEF are working toward increasing this critical access because collecting clean water can be difficult and requires carrying heavy buckets, often over far distances. Additionally, if pumps are closed over the weekends, families must either try to carry extra water or ration what they have to last over several days. Girls and women are often disproportionately tasked with water collection, putting them at risk of violence and educational delays. We look forward to hearing from our colleagues in Mazembe about the impacts they see in their community through access to this new water system!

Proud and Mirriam in August of 2022

Proud and Ireen Matete in March of 2024

In 2022, during a monthly weighing day in Kasompe, Zambia, the kafwa hosting the event noticed a young, school-age girl bringing a baby girl to be weighed. Concerned about why such a young kid was coming alone with her baby sister, the health workers went to meet her mother. The mother, Mirriam, was unable to move most of one side of her body due to an injury months earlier. Unfortunately, with no other guardian in the home, the family needed to rely heavily on the kindness of neighbors to feed the two daughters, but Mirriam was hardly eating and unable to produce enough milk to breastfeed her baby.

The Kafwa adopted the family as their clients, and started to support them with regular visits, bringing mealie meal and making a very thin porridge with ground nuts for baby Proud. The team also decided to pay for transport so Mirriam could visit a physical therapist to help regain some use on the injured side of her body. Now, Mirriam can use a crutch to move around her home, and Proud can walk and is growing well! Kafwa coordinator Ireen Matete and the team continue to visit with the family, providing as much support as they can. We hope to continue to hear good news from our friends in Kasompe as they help home-bound clients like Mirriam and weigh and monitor children like Proud!

Today, we recognize International Women’s Day and the importance of empowered women in our families, communities, and countries. This year's IWD theme is “Invest in women: Accelerate progress” ,and with a goal of gender equality by 2030 everyone must work together, through financial and institutional support, to reach this critical goal. We are proud to showcase one of the ways we invest in women to accelerate progress: nursing scholarships!

Scholarship recipients, selected by a committee of professional nurses, pursue their nursing degrees and impact their communities through skilled and compassionate care. Nursing scholars have represented ten countries, including the United States, Haiti, Malawi, Nepal, and Zambia. Some have no connection to our volunteer community health worker programs but are dedicated to supporting community health, like Chileshe Chunda, who shared: “Ever since I joined the health department, I have understood the importance of life. I would like to be given the opportunity to continue changing and saving lives.” Others have deep connections to our volunteer health worker colleagues and plan to take their expertise into the field, helping those in their community who lack access to care. Carol Chisenga, a third-year student, shared, “Being trained to be a lifesaver has really changed my life…I have so much passion for the community and, most importantly, the health of the vulnerable people whose health is not fully considered.”

We have seen firsthand how investing in and educating women can change communities. Elevating women in professional spaces and addressing education gaps has improved information access for others around them, as the nurses have shared their time and knowledge with patients, health workers, and home health clients. We are proud to support their professional aspirations and honored to partner with generous supporters who are passionate about investing in women!

Our colleagues in Zambia work hard to keep their communities safe! A recent cholera outbreak has greatly affected the country and delayed school openings. Due to this, community advocates (like the Kafwa), Ministry of Health officials, and school leaders have been working hard to keep everyone healthy. In Mapalo, Kafwa leader Joyce Songwe taught at church about sanitation procedures and ways to prevent the spread of the disease. Ministry of Health officials visited all schools to ensure proper environmental hygiene and hand washing protocols were in place, so students could stay healthy once classes resumed. And now, as the community continues to be on high alert, the Mapalo Kafwa team is taking chlorine to clients to help disinfect their drinking water, along with food support for those in great need.

Community advocates like our health worker colleagues make a significant impact in situations like these! They help fill in gaps where ministry officials cannot offer more support, take information to their home health clients, and educate community members with valuable knowledge with the goal of keeping everyone healthy. As you can see in the photos, the team is prepared and ready to serve!

Our nursing scholars serve with heart! In a week that celebrates both International Day of Women and Girls in Science and Valentine’s Day, we want to highlight two young nurses from Nepal who showcase life-changing care!

Pabitra (right) wanted to go into nursing with an interest in the “work and dedication towards the patient” from a young age. With scholarship support through HealthEd Connect, Pabitra has finished her program and is working in a hospital! Her dreams don’t stop at her professional career though, as she wrote in a letter that “studying nursing and getting a certificate is not enough. I want to help the people who are far away from the health services and health care facilities.”

Sara (left), has finished the majority of her nursing program and is getting ready to write her final exams! Sara has a heart for serving, having decided to join as a volunteer health worker even before receiving a scholarship, and volunteering as a medical helper for a children’s organization during her program. She wrote of the impact of experiences like these, saying “It feels so good to serve those passionate little souls who were dedicated towards their goals.”

It’s a privilege to support nursing scholars like Pabitra and Sara! Young professionals like these women change lives and impact communities. Your gift towards nursing scholarships, supporting women in science and life-changing care, makes all the difference. Thank you!

Woman in Biratnagar, stylishly bringing refreshments to community health worker visitors at her home

We are happily preparing to be with our partners in Nepal this month! After several years apart, some of the HealthEd Connect headquarters team will be making the journey this week. We’ll be able to visit Ramprasad and see how the sanitation program in Gorkha has grown, protecting the community from illnesses. A visit to Biratnagar with Sangeeta and her volunteer team to learn about the frequent health awareness camps they facilitate and ask selected community members how the cookstoves are improving smoke-related health issues. And in Kathmandu with Pinkey, the Nepal leadership team will gather and spend dedicated time collaborating, planning, and envisioning what the future could look like in their own communities and for their volunteer team. We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to visit with our Nepalese colleagues in person and see the impact they are making firsthand!