Community-based workers/ Home-based care providers

In Malawi community-based workers - whether volunteer or paid - are highly motivated and have come to play an essential role in supporting service delivery and increasing general awareness about HIV prevention and treatment and, importantly, promoting openness about HIV.

Community home-based care providers are usually volunteers chosen by their village. In the past several years, their work has been transformed from providing end-of-life care to assisting community nurses with diagnosis and management of common HIV-related conditions, preparing and supporting people on ART, and tracing defaulters, among other tasks.

However, though volunteers are quite accurate in assessing patients' needs and emotional status, they are hampered by the lack of food, soap, condoms, basic medications, supplies, counselling skills and knowledge of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of many other common diseases.

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