Malawi Against Physical Disabilities

INTRODUCTION

Health is considered to be an essential and integral building block in the development process.

The Malawi Government promotes primary Health Care (PHC), which includes preventive, promotion, curative and rehabilitative programmes The Ministry of Health and Population underscored the recognition and relevance of disability prevention programmes recently by the adoption of the Regional WHO resolution and disability rehabilitation. This resolution requires rehabilitation as the fourth component of the primary health care. In this context priority will be given to early detection and prevention strategies, which should be integrated into all community-based activities of the district.

Malawi's goal is to expand medical rehabilitation services to become accessible and affordable for the majority of those in need at district and community level. One of the strategies to reach that goal is the training of medical rehabilitation workers.

BACKGROUND TO TRAINING OF REHABILITATION ASSISTANTS.

MAP and Physiotherapy Association of Malawi (PAM) approached the Ministry of Health and Population in 1997 with a project proposal for a national training of mid-level rehabilitation workers. In March 1999 the Principal Secretary, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, officially opened the rehabilitation Assistants School.

The Rehabilitation Assistants will have a broad based knowledge of rehabilitation, including the basic skills of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and mental health care. They are able to deal with most aspects of rehabilitation, but when a qualified therapist provides neccessary, assistance.

The Rehabilitation Assistant is therefore a generic, multi-displinary rehabilitation worker who is trained to manage clients within the context of Central District Hospitals and he client's community.