MLW Community Engagement Officer Yamikani Dickson described the first Community Advisory Group (CAG) meetings of 2023 as successful.

The CAG meetings were held in Blantyre and Chikwawa on 23 and 24 February 2023 respectively.

The meetings were designed to share projects such as ‘One for All, All for One’, ‘Triple’, and ‘Pneumococcon’, catalyze a productive dialogue between the CAG members and MLW researchers, and to solicit community feedback on MLW research work from CAG members.

Over 100 CAG members from both Blantyre and Chikwawa converged for the meetings. Also present during the meetings were MLW staff and a representative from the Blantyre District Health Office (DHO) who shared new developments regarding Cholera.

Commenting on MLW’s One for All, All for One project, the advisory groups discussed the importance of adding graphics in communicating information about vaccines which is currently one of the most sensitive topics.

“The comic book has been put together in such a way that children will understand vaccines at an early stage. This will be a powerful tool for controlling the spread of false news regarding vaccines,” a CAG member from Chikwawa Elina Manyamba commented.
Project Manager for One for All, All for one Rodrick Sambakunsi said that he was very pleased to see that the comic book which will launch in 2023, was positively accepted amongst the CAG members.

Overall, both CAG meetings highlighted the ongoing post-COVID challenges, the Cholera pandemic, people’s perception of vaccines, and the importance of continued efforts to sensitize people on MLW health research and government interventions.

CAGs act as middlemen between MLW and communities. CAG consists of diverse groups of residents including teachers, healthcare professionals, church elders, market leaders, youths, and chiefs.