04 Oct Voices from the Field: Nadège Kabagenzi Reflects on LifeNet’s 10-10-10 Vision
My name is Nadège Kabagenzi and I started working with LifeNet in early 2015 as the Business Program Manager in Burundi, where I managed our Burundi team of management trainers and led management quality assessments in our partner health facilities. In 2017, I moved to Kampala, Uganda, to serve as the Operations Manager for the LifeNet Uganda program. Most recently, I have been serving as Interim Country Director for the LifeNet Malawi program.
Over the past four years of working for LifeNet, I have witnessed how scalable the LifeNet model truly is and seen it work well in three different country contexts. I have seen our trainings produce significant results in improving the quality of care in the low-resourced health facilities we partner with. Because of this, I’m very excited and motivated by our 10-10-10 Vision of scaling to 10 countries and improving care for 10 million patients every year by 2023.
At LifeNet, we believe that every person, regardless of their social status, should receive the best quality care. As a Christian, I believe that this is a practical way to “preach the Good News to the poor.”
I know from my experience in the field that knowledge is power. By providing medical and management knowledge to health facilities and health workers in 10 countries, we will empower healthcare providers to improve their care for millions of patients every year. The patients who visit these health centers are usually some of the poorest people in their communities. At LifeNet, we believe that every person, regardless of their social status, should receive the best quality care. As a Christian, I believe that this is a practical way to “preach the Good News to the poor.”
Pictured above: a mother & newborn child in a Malawi health center.
Let me share a story from our work in Malawi that we heard this month. Victor Maunde is the In-Charge at Maligunde Health Center in Lilongwe. Victor told us that before LifeNet training, his staff had referred many babies born not breathing to a larger hospital after failing to resuscitate them. This high rate of failure to resuscitate was due to both a lack of training and a lack of organization of resuscitation supplies and equipment. Victor told us that after LifeNet training, their referral cases are decreasing. “We are really saving lives,” he said. “Thank you!” Victor’s story is just one of many I could share and it is because of stories like this that I am excited to see our work expanding into more countries and even more health facilities. Every health facility should be ready and able, like Victor and his staff, to respond to the needs of their patients.
In Malawi, as part of the LifeNet 10-10-10 Vision, we expect to grow from 23 to 63 health facility partners by 2023, providing life-saving care for more than 740,000 patient visits every year in the country. As our program in Malawi grows, we plan to open a small office in the Southern region of Malawi and another one in the North.
Expansion in Malawi and expansion into a total of 10 countries is extremely important. Statistics show that 1,120,000 newborns and 200,750 mothers die in sub-Saharan Africa every year. Eighty percent of newborn deaths and 74% of maternal deaths are preventable if providers have access to the knowledge and tools they need. As we expand into a total of 10 countries by 2023, we are reducing the risks for mothers and babies in those countries by preparing health facility staff members to provide high-quality, life-saving care to their patients. This expansion will save and improve many lives.