Mahlalini – Forty-one Rural Health Motivators (RHMs) graduated yesterday under the Mahlalini Area Programme, boosting community healthcare delivery in the Shiselweni II Constituency.
The new group, trained over three months by the Ministry of Health with support from World Vision Eswatini, consists of four men and 37 women. Their role will be to conduct home visits, collect health data, and submit regular reports to the Ministry and programme teams.
According to Ncobile Mhlanga, Development Facilitator for the Mahlalini Area Programme, the addition of new workers comes at a crucial time. Of the previous 49 RHMs, 30 had aged out, leaving communities underserved.
Mhlanga welcomed the inclusion of men in the new intake, saying this would improve male participation in health programmes. “Men mostly prefer to talk to other men about their health issues, so having male RHMs is a breakthrough for the programme,” she said.
The graduation ceremony was held at World Vision’s Mahlalini offices, where Shiselweni Cluster Manager Musa Mkhumane applauded the partnership with the Ministry of Health. He noted that the ministry’s decision to add the RHMs to the stipend list will motivate them in serving the nine communities.
Mkhumane added that the expanded workforce is expected to positively impact the health and wellbeing of more than 3,500 residents in the constituency.
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