St John gets £34k grant for Zambia project
A GRANT of £34,000 has been made towards the work of St John International in Zambia by the States.
The Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission & Development Commission awarded the grant to support the expansion of its Mother and Baby Programme.
St John Guernsey’s emergency medical and technician Jim Cathcart, said the grant will add new activities to the existing ones.
‘The project tackles high maternal and infant mortality and prevents HIV transmission from parents to newborns through community-based health activities,’ he said.
Nearly half of the people in Zambia are unaware of their HIV status, with 15% of women and 11% of men living with HIV.
This results in only about 60% of all HIV-positive adolescents taking HIV treatment.
Early and frequent antenatal care attendance, which has been encouraged through St John Zambia’s programme, allows an opportunity to identify HIV-positive women and their partners to better assist them.
The grant from the commission will enable a number of HIV-related activities not currently available in the project’s targeted sites, to be included on the existing motherhood health programme.
This includes training volunteers to support families and allowing expectant and new parents to be tested in the privacy of their own homes.
The scheme will also allow them to get treatment and in turn help prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child.
St John will train volunteers also in psychosocial support to become HIV Mentors, ensuring treatment enrolment and support for people living with HIV.
Chief operating officer of St John Ambulance Guernsey, Nikki Harrison, said that the grant would allow St John to improve the lives of communities in many places.
‘The support from the Overseas Aid Commission creates a link between our island community and the community in Zambia and reminds us that we are part of an international organisation working towards the service of humanity. In the coming months our Badgers and Cadets will have the chance to learn more about the valuable work of St John in Africa,’ she said.
Although the grant was submitted by the international arm of St John, the application was supported by St John Ambulance Guernsey, which, as a member of the worldwide Order of St John, has been helping to improve the lives of islanders since the 1930s.
St John is meeting the urgent needs of pregnant women, new mothers and infants in Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe through its Mother and Baby Programme.
Programmes are community-based and volunteer led.
