Girls in Zambia Finally Gaining Access to Community Healthcare

Program Manager Creates New Program to Empower Girls in Zambia

Situation

Healthcare is not necessarily expected in Zambia, especially in rural communities. As a result, people die from preventable or curable ailments because they fail to get medical assistance in time. Healthcare workers want to encourage Zambians, to be more aware of the community health services that are available.

Solutions

In September 2007, after participating in RGH’s 7‐Day MPH Program, Felicia Sakala realized her own unique public health mission. Felicia works for Africare, a leading African NGO, in Lundazi, Zambia. Determined to really make an immediate difference, Felicia developed a program called the “GiNE Project” (Girls Need Empowerment). She wasted no time in bringing the idea to the Africare Country Representative and District Facilitator for Lundazi, and through her consistent efforts she won the important support and trust of field staff and colleagues.

Success

Within three months of completing the 7‐Day MPH Program Felicia and her colleagues had reached almost 1300 community leaders and parents on the importance of encouraging girls to access community health services. Nearly 1400 girls were exposed to this important message and almost 700 girls had responded by receiving services at health facilities since September.

As a direct result of her hard work and determination, Felicia has become known and recognized as an expert in the field of girls’ health education. Her colleagues benefited from her training as she implemented her learning in other Africare programs and conducted a “Health in the Work Place Survey” at a staff meeting. She was nominated to be on the Scientific Committee and reviewed abstracts on Women, Children and Youth, as well as Gender and Human Rights, prior to a 3‐Day National HIV/AIDS Conference in Zambia. During the conference she expertly chaired various sessions on these crosscutting issues.

Felicia was the first Africare officer to win her “Black Belt” Award from RGH. This means she is now eligible to be a certified coach so she can guide others to bring their “unique public health mission” to life.

About this Series

RGH’s 7-Day online programs provide participants with dynamic capacity building solutions that empower real country-led development. This series highlights the success of participants as they strive to bring better health and well-being to their communities and countries.