With 83% of its population living in rural areas,lack of access to health information is a measure challenge in the Malawian health sector. One doctor is changing that narrative through her non-profit organization's advocacy campaigns. We introduce to you,Zayithwa Fabiano,founder of Health Access Initiative, MalawiCan we meet you?
I am Zayithwa Fabiano,a 27-years old Malawian Medical Doctor. I love hiking, reading, gardening, travelling, cooking.
Tell us briefly your childhood experience.
I grew up in a small town called Zomba. I am the last born in a family of 5 children. I grew up very close to my parents and siblings. We were taught to be very civically engaged at a young age, so spent a lot of time helping our parents with their social work.
What's your educational background?
I had always enjoyed the sciences from my primary school education at Zomba Private Primary School. I went on to complete my secondary school education at Marymount Secondary School. I began studying Bachelor of Science majoring in Organic Chemistry at Chancellor College, University of Malawi, when some political unrest in the country lead to the closure of the institutions for over 6 months. I decided to leave this institution as pursue medicine at another college. In 2011, I started studying Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery at College of Medicine, University of Malawi, I graduated with flying colors in 2016.
Tell us briefly what is like to be a citizen of your country.
Being a Malawian citizen brings me pride. Malawi is a democratic nation where I am free to exercise my rights fully. It is a beautiful country with a lot of natural resources; One third of it is made up of fresh water lake, we have the 4th highest mountain in Africa; this sustains my outdoors hobbies. We have our unique cultures and traditions which instills a sense of pride and belonging to me. It is a developing nation with many opportunities for young people like myself. It also has a lot of challenges like many other sub-Saharan developing countries which gives young change makers like myself a lot of work to do. We have come a long way since we gained our independence but we also have a long way to go as a nation, I see our generation working and fighting to build that. It is a great time to be a young Malawian.
What is the level of youth political participation in your country?
Political participation has been very low in the past. Leading up to the 2019 May elections we saw a lot of youth getting involved in politics at various levels; those running for office, the voters, those involved in the campaign process, and the reviewers and critics voicing their thoughts about politics and the electoral process. To date, youth are taking a front role in politics and advocating for their needs. Unfortunately we still have a long way to go for Malawians to develop trust and confidence in young leaders, but we are making headways. It is clear that the youth want change and they know that change will not come unless they take a leading role in politics. In a 2019-2020 court case the nation won a case against its electoral commission to overturn presidential electoral result which thy felt were unjust. That victory has given hope to Malawians and other countries that there is a possibility of truly practicing our democratic rights and having fair and just elections. Malawi youth are ones to watch in the political space, they are going to achieve a lot and make history relevant to the world.
What are your contributions towards making your country a better place?
I have dedicated my life to making positive and lasting change through medicine and civic engagement. I engage in community work ,volunteering my time and expertise at various institutions and organizations to contribute my quota in improving health care delivery. I am the founder of Health Access Initiative Malawi (HAIM). Health Access Initiative Malawi is a Non-Governmental Organization working to ensure that accurate health information and health care services is accessible to every citizen of Malawi especially those cannot access it. I realized from my medical practice that people had little or no health information. Most health resources available are in writing and with the level of illiteracy, the information available is of no use. With 83% of the population living in rural areas they did not access to multimedia platforms which provide this information. So I decided to create a solution to address this challenge and this is one major reason why Health Access Initiative exists. We have a 10-member volunteer team working tirelessly to see that we achieve our dream. I have carried out several quality improvement projects at various health facilities to improve health services e.g. volunteering at rural health centers, raising funds and purchasing equipment for the maternity ward, teaching the general population about blood donation and facilitating a blood drive, providing free education and screening of non-communicable diseases in rural communities among others. I also enjoy working with youth at various levels. I provide mentorship to youths to empower them with various skills and networking opportunities necessary for them to thrive. I am also the National coordinator for an organization called Ladies in Tertiary Education (LAITE) which provides mentorship to young women in tertiary education facilities. I sit on the board of trustees of Namakungwa Initiative for Cervical Cancer and Fistula which offers health education and free screening for cervical cancer but also linkage to care for women with fistula. I am on the board of trustees of Umodzi Youth Development Trust Umodzi which is non-profit organization aimed to help prevent mental and emotional disorders, provide proper treatment and care of those with such disorders, and the promotion of mental health among the youth of Malawi.
What steps did you take to bring your vision to fruition?
I have always had a desire to make a positive impact in my community, but I lacked the skills and know how to make this vision a reality. My medical training in itself equipped me with skills and knowledge to serve others, which has helped me serve various people in different ways. Beyond my medical training, I realized I needed the confidence and leadership skills as a young woman to be a better change maker in my community. I enrolled in the Youngstars Female and More Self-esteem and Leadership Program to gain those skills. From there I also took part in the Mandela Washington Fellowship 2019 which exposed me to other young leaders across the globe from whom I learnt a lot and collaborated with on various projects. I also took part in the African Change makers Fellowship cohort 3 which equipped me with contextualized leadership skills. I also did the Commonwealth 100 Leadership Development Program which provides one with leadership skill for the 21st Centaury. I am currently doing the Dalai Lama Fellowship which is offering me contemplative skills essential for change makers.
What have been your achievements?
As an organization, Health Access Initiative, Malawi carry out advocacy campaigns. We have organized health education campaigns on non-communicable diseases in Songani, Zomba, Malawi where we reached about 200 people. We have done hypertension screenings and referral treatments. Between March- June,2020,our campaigns have reached 785 persons. Due to the pandemic ,our activities have slowed down. We are mainly focusing on social media outreach rather than person -to- person outreach.
What motivated you to do what you are doing?
My motivation came from my family. My parents grew up in the villages and went to school without shoes or other necessary resources. Most of their age mates dropped out of school at an early age. Yet my parents persevered and were among the first in their families and villages to become educated and go to college. My parents came from poor backgrounds but both managed to get their masters and PHDs, author books and become change makers in their community. Through various social impacts platforms, they continue to give back to their community. I am simply following their footsteps.
What has been your major challenge since you began your nonprofit?
One of the major challenges since I founded the nonprofit, Health Access Initiative Malawi, has been obtaining resources to run the organization. Till date, financial resources have come out of pocket and from voluntary contributions. Human resource has been voluntary as well. How have you been able to raise money to implement your ideas? The organization is funded majorly from my personal earnings. I give about 10 percent of my earring to the charity work I do. Those who have shown interest in what we do have also given their support.
Could you share with us one or two experience(s) you have had in the course of your campaign that has impacted on you?
My greatest satisfaction has come from seeing those I have been able to reach out to,grow to become the best version of themselves, make progress and give back to the society just as I am doing.
What do you think is the major cause of unemployment in Africa, and how can we get over this?
The amount of jobs available outweighs those seeking them. Another issue is that most people work till their retirement age and even past it leaving no room for new people to come into the organization. The way out is to invest in quality skill-based education, encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.
If you had an opportunity to speak to presidents in Africa, what would be your message?
My message would be- Believe in yourselves, rely on yourselves! We have everything we need in Africa, not only to survive but thrive! However we will never achieve that if we keep looking to the western world to give us direction and donations. We need to look to ourselves, we need to look to each other for good leadership, resources, encouragement, trade, religion, politics, high standards, assurance and support. We need to love our continent, we need to love each other
Final words
To see the change we dream of whether it is development, eradication of disease, quality education, innovation, or creativity, we need to begin by changing ourselves. Each one of use should change our mindset. If your mindset says you are a failure, you are not good enough, that is what you will be, you will not love yourself and you will be incapable of loving anything or anyone as they deserve to be loved. If you change your mindset, love yourself, you will love your African brothers and sisters too regardless of their tribe, skin tone, religion, geographical boundaries, language and culture. The day Africans realize that geographical boundaries are prison walls and begin to respect and love our brothers and sisters is the day slavery shall truly end.
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