The University of Pretoria’s Community Oriented Primary Care Research Unit (UP COPC RU), has partnered with the Rotary E-Club of Southern Africa D9400 in a project (valued at R1,6 million) in the Melusi informal settlement community, located west of the City of Tshwane.
The UP COPC unit has been working in this area for over four years and is an implementation partner in this maternal and child health project, which was launched in April 2021. This is one of several informal settlement health sites run by the COPC Research at the University of Pretoria (UP). Its Community-Oriented Primary Care (COPC) model uses healthcare clinics as a starting point to address other needs such as education and nutrition. The multi-disciplinary team has worked for years to build up close relationships with the surrounding community.
Informal Settlement Health as part of the Department of Family Medicine and COPC Unit started in 2012 as part of the work done by Dr Ellenore Meyer as a greenfield project. This commenced parallel to the Community Orientated Primary Care (COPC) program that employed community health workers within geographical areas that were piloted at the same time by the University of Pretoria, Department of Family Medicine. As a result of her work and collaboration with NGO’s and private business the several informal settlement communities now have onsite access to a clinic, kitchen and/or training centre converted from containers that offer weekly care to residents, supported by the COPC program that includes community health workers from the area offering services by the University of Pretoria.
In Zama Zama informal settlement this initiative led to more NGO’s becoming involved and today the community has an early learning centre, community hall and sustainable water supply. Numerous research projects and educational training sessions have been implemented in these communities, including also Melusi, Woodlane Village and Cemetery View. These projects are lighthouses that empower locals with knowledge on how to farm with chickens, grow their own vegetables and develop business enterprises. In 2021 as part of a UNICEF breastfeeding program, women were also taught how to sow and earn an income through their handiwork. The holistic health program teaches women how to support early child health and development. The inter-disciplinary approach involved service-based learning under the supervision of qualified professionals and private volunteers.
Maternal and child care remains a primary focus area within UP’s COPC Research Unit and forms part of its Informal Settlement Health Programmes, and it is also one of Rotary’s seven key focus areas. The Rotary Grant will enable holistic maternal and child care on three strategic levels of access: healthcare, nutrition and education. As one of its main focus areas, Rotary aims to make high-quality healthcare available to vulnerable mothers and children so they can live longer and grow stronger. Up to date, in Aug 2021, thousands of patients had been seen on-site in Melusi, 240 children receive micro-nutrient supplementation for free monthly and all the early learning centres were mapped and their teachers enrolled for an accredited early learning centre teacher course. Four local community health workers were also trained as Life Skills coaches and this will now be replicated for the duration of the project in smaller groups to reach 100 more women.
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