Health

Fundamentally, health is about achieving better health outcomes for vulnerable populations and communities around the world.One of the biggest keys to improving health is access to affordable healthcare. Disease prevention and treatment is still not available to many people around the world, and Zambia in particular. High costs, stigma, lack of health centers, and other factors continue to prevent people from getting the care they need in Zambia.

Rising Fountains Development Programme (RFDP Zambia) focuses on improving health outcomes for underserved populations in Zambia, as well as supporting communities around the country.

RFDP Zambia partners with foundations, universities, funding organizations, government agencies/ministries, churches to improve health for underserved populations, as well contributes to the reduction of communicable and non-communicable diseases in Zambia.  We strive to address different needs in Zambia by improving health outcomes for underserved populations, especially Maternal and Child health, Malaria prevention and treatment, HIV Prevention, Treatment Support and Care, COVID 19 prevention and dental health; supporting health workers and strengthening health systems to scale and sustain health improvements.

 

Maternal and Child health

Around the world, women and their babies are dying from preventable complications before, during and after childbirth. This is tragic because many of these complications can be treated with simple and affordable solutions.

Health care services during pregnancy and childbirth after delivery are important for the survival and well-being of both the mother and the infant. Implementation of proven interventions along the continuum of care, inclusive of skilled care during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, remains a priority with respect to reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. It is against this backdrop that RFDP Zambia is working to increase access to quality health care and scale up provision of maternal and newborn services to the communities it targets in Zambia

RFDP’s health programme on Maternal and child health works to keep mothers and children healthy and help provide a strong start to children’s lives. RFDP Zambia aim to ensure that, children and women will benefit from antenatal care and skilled birth attendance; maternal, newborn, and postnatal care; immunization coverage and school-based health interventions; as well as expanded coverage in the treatment of children affected by diarrhea, malaria, and acute malnutrition. To achieve this, RFDP implements the following interventions: -

1. Promote health during the entire pregnancy, labor, and postpartum period through the trained Safe Motherhood Action Group (SMAGs) members. This involves proper nutrition, disease detection and prevention, assuring access to sexual and reproductive health, and assisting women who are victims of intimate relationship violence.
2. Promotes and conduct advocacy meetings with both policy makers at national level and Traditional leaders at Community on Maternal and Child Health. The main purpose of the advocacy meetings are to increase engagement of community leaders including tradition-al leaders in community health activities and to influence traditional policy makers to address identified negative policies and practices at local levels that highly contribute to high maternal deaths in the communities.
3. Strengthening antenatal Care Coverage, including Postnatal Care through Supporting community service delivery mechanisms in Eastern and northwestern provinces of Zambia.
4. Contribute to the increase of Institutional deliveries in the Eastern and Northwestern provinces of Zambia. Institutional deliveries increase the chances of skilled birth attendance as well as increasing mothers’ access to essential equipment and supplies.
5. Formation of Safe motherhood Action groups in Rural health facilities and surrounding communities. RFDP Zambia has formed 7 SMAG groups in 7 health facilities in Lumezi and Lundazi districts and 140 neighborhoods health committee members were identified as SMAGS.
6. Conduct training of SMAG Members on the Importance of antenatal care, Importance of institutional deliveries, Antenatal care, Postnatal care, Family planning and Sensitization of the community on the danger signs of pregnancy and the newborn and encourage family health talk and help to identify and report cases of obstetric fistulae and mobilize both human/material resources for action. A total of 140 SMAG members have been trained by RFDP Zambia in 7 health facilities in Lumezi and Lundazi Districts with support from ABT Associate’s Zambia Integrated Health Systems strengthening Project (ZISSP) funded by USAID.
7. Provision of both technical and Materials support to SMAG members for community mobilization on Maternal and Child health to increase awareness among couples and women of bearing age on the importance of Antenatal and postnatal care, including institutional deliveries in the targeted health centre areas in the Eastern and Northwestern Province

 

 

Malaria Prevention and Treatment

Malaria remains a leading cause of death in the sub-Saharan Africa despite efforts to control it at vectoral and parasitic levels (World Health Organization [WHO], 2016). The problems have been attributed to insecticide and drug resistance genes in the vector and in the parasite, which have proved very difficult to tackle over the years.

Therefore, malaria has remained a huge burden in the poorest nations, disproportionately affecting children under five, pregnant mothers and those residing in rural areas. Approximately 92% of malaria cases and 93% of malaria deaths are within low- and middle-income countries.

The Malaria Burden

• There were 247 million global cases of malaria in 2021.
• Malaria disproportionately affects children under five and those residing in rural areas.
• Approximately 92% of malaria cases and 93% of malaria deaths are within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
• In 2021 the WHO Africa Region was home to 95% of all malaria cases and 96% of deaths.
• The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 619 000 in 2021.
• In Africa, children under 5 years of age accounted for around 80% of all malaria deaths.
• Every minute in sub-Saharan Africa a child dies from malaria. The region accounts for approximately 93% of all malaria deaths globally.

Source: World Malaria Report 2022 (click to download)

RFDP Zambia aims to ensure that, children and women are prevented from being infected with malaria. In order to achieve this RFDP Zambia.

• Promotes and distributes insecticide-treated nets (ITNs)
• Promotes Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnant women (IPTp) in partnership with Rural health centres in the surrounding areas of the health facilities.
• Promotes Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in infancy (IPTi) in partnership with Rural health centres in the surrounding areas of the health facilities.
• Advocates for Indoor residual spraying (IRS) in communities in partnership with Rural health centres

BE A PART OF THIS NOBLE CAUSE

Your donation of just $3 will purchase one insecticide-treated mosquito net that will last for 3 to 4 years and protect two people on average.

 

HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment Support

 

 

The HIV pandemic hasn’t loosened its hold on Africa, putting 7.5 million people at risk of living with this medical condition. About 18.9% of the general population is affected by HIV and it continues to affect more people every day. The region is gripped by the largest HIV/AIDs epidemic in the world and it’s a major health concern even in 2023.

Statistics show that more than 1.2 million children have lost their parents to this disease. The socio-economic adversities continue to make their orphaned lives even more deplorable. The financial insecurities lead minors into sex work, which only preserves the vicious cycle of the epidemic.

It may also lead to dropping out of school and engaging in child labor to make ends meet. The homeless and parentless children in Africa need donations to survive this epidemic and the challenges of the orphaned life.

In Zambia, the HIV epidemic is one of the country’s major public health problem.  Ninety percent of new HIV infections in Zambia are driven by structural and biomedical factors such as multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships, mother to child transmission, low and inconsistent condom use, low levels of male circumcision, and mobility and labour migration. The socio-economic impact of HIV and AIDS in Zambia is enormous because the people most affected are at the peak of their productive and reproductive lives.

According to the ZDHS 2018 Report, 11.1% of women and men age 15-49 in Zambia are infected with HIV; HIV prevalence is higher among women than men (14.2% versus 7.5%).

• HIV prevalence by residence: HIV prevalence is twice as high in urban areas as in rural areas (15.9% versus 7.1%).
• The HIV prevalence rate in Eastern province and Northwestern Province where RFDP Operates is 7.4% and 6.1% Respectively.
• HIV prevalence according to province: HIV prevalence is highest in Copperbelt (15.4%), where it is nearly three times as high as in Muchinga (5.4%) and Northern (5.6%).
• HIV prevalence among young people: Overall, 3.8% of young women and men age 15-24 are HIV positive. HIV prevalence is higher among young women than young men (5.6% versus 1.8%).
• HIV prevalence by circumcision: HIV prevalence is 5.9% among men age 15-49 who have been circumcised (by either traditional or medical practitioner

In Zambia, RFDP in partnership with university of North Carolina/Global Social Development Innovations (UNC/GSDI) works with the Government to prevent HIV transmission, and partners with adolescents to raise awareness on HIV prevention and treatment. RFDP has also partnered with UNC/GSDI to improve HIV treatment adherence amongst the ALWHIV and contribute to the reduction of stigma of adolescents living with HIV in Zambia.

In order to contribute to the reduction of HIV transmission, RFDP Zambia works to;

1. Improve access and usage of primary health care services and support for people living with HIV.
2. Reduce incidences of HIV/AIDS, particularly among youths, orphans and vulnerable children, and other high-risk groups.
3. Focus on Adolescents living with HIV to improve HIV treatment adherence and contribute to the reduction of stigma of adolescents living with HIV in Zambia
4. Improve provision of care, support, and access to education and training for youth, orphans and vulnerable children living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.
5. Increase treatment-related life skills (i.e., personal safety, healthy disclosure, and community stigma management), employability skills (i.e., communication, critical thinking, decision making, and interpersonal relationships), psychosocial functioning (i.e., self-efficacy and future orientation), and financial capability (i.e., savings and money management) of ALHIV as strategies to improve HIV adherence and treatment outcomes.
6. Conduct demand creation and public awareness on voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), ART enrollments, adherence counselling, and promote health education.

 

Dental-Oral Health Services

Globally, Vulnerable and under-served populations face persistent and systemic barriers to accessing oral health care. These barriers are numerous and complex and include social, cultural, economic, structural, and geographic factors, among others. For example:

• In 2008, 4.6 million children worldwide did not obtain needed dental care because their families could not afford it.
• In 2011, there were approximately 33.3 million unserved individuals worldwide living in dental Health Professional Shortage Areas.

In addition, endemic low levels of oral health literacy among the public and many in the health care professions may limit their ability to understand the importance of good oral health to overall health status. Furthermore, low oral health literacy creates additional obstacles to recognizing risk for oral diseases as well as seeking and receiving needed oral health care.

Lack of access to oral health care contributes to profound and enduring oral health disparities in Zambia. For example, dental caries a chronic, infectious, and largely preventable disease commonly known as tooth decay disproportionately affects vulnerable and under-served populations, groups who commonly lack access to oral health care.

Globally, poor oral health among older people has particularly been seen in a high level of tooth loss, dental caries experience, high prevalence rates of periodontal disease, and oral cancer.  The negative impact of poor oral conditions on daily life is particularly significant among edentulous or toothless people. Extensive tooth loss reduces chewing performance and affects food choice; for example, edentulous people tend to avoid dietary fibre and prefer foods rich in saturated fats and cholesterols . Edentulousness is also shown to be an independent risk factor for weight loss and, in addition to the problem with chewing, old-age people may have social handicaps related to communication. Moreover, poor oral health and poor general health are interrelated, primarily because of common risk factors; for example, severe periodontal disease is associated with diabetes, heart disease and chronic respiratory disease. Tooth loss has also been linked with increased risk of ischemic stroke  and poor mental health

Amongst children, dental disease can lead to missed school days, increased health care costs, and chronic pain. Dental health is a window into a child’s overall health. Strong and healthy teeth are a foundation for maintaining good health, happiness, and productivity. The pain caused by decay reduces children’s ability to concentrate and learn at school, it impacts their speech development, damages their self esteem, and sets them up for a lifetime of ongoing expensive restorative dental care.

Vulnerable and under-served populations include but are not limited to

• Children, especially those who are very young.
• Pregnant women.
• People with special needs.
• Older adults living in rural and urban under-served areas.

 

RFDP Zambia in partnership with the Ministry of Health will be implementing Dental health programmes to promote, improve and maintain oral health of the people of  Zambia in Rural health Facilities and   surrounding communities in eastern and north western provinces of Zambia.

In order to do this RFDP will be implementing the following interventions.

School Based Dental Prevention Programme:

The School Based Dental Prevention Program  is a  school based preventive dental intervention targeting children in primary schools in Zambia. Trained Community based dental staff will provide dental screenings, referrals, and follow-up to dental providers to address unmet dental needs in this population. Health education and preventive sealants will be  provided to the target school population as well as information regarding dental prevention and Care.

School dental screening will be central i the school based dental prevention programme. This include visual inspection of children's oral cavity in a school setting followed by making parents aware of their child's current oral health status and treatment needs. Screening at school intends to identify children at an earlier stage than symptomatic disease presentation, hence prompting preventive and therapeutic oral health care for the children

Community Outreach Programs :

RFDP Zambia will partner with the Ministry of Health to Conduct community Public awareness on Dental - Oral health,  to raise oral health awareness amongst people in the community through oral health educational, oral health literacy campaigns through local radio. The Community outreach programmes will include dental check ups, dental screening and treatment,  and referalls for treatment such as teeth extraction, community orah health education on dietary habits and oral hygiene practices education programmes.

Anticipated Dental-Oral Health Programme Outcomes

1. School going children receive free dental examinations and screening in Zambia
2. Increased availability of dental health care  services in the community and in schools.
3. Reduced susceptibility to decay in sealed teeth amongst children and adults in Zambia
4. Children diagnosed with oral health disease referred to an appropriate level of dental care
5. Improvement in oral health of 75% of the participating population.