By Lusungu Luhanga | Project Leader
ELDERLY ASSISTANCE NETWORK (EAN)
Health and Home-Based Care Report
27 July – 2 October 2026
1. Background
The Elderly Assistance Network (EAN) conducted a series of activities from 27 July to 2 October 2026 as part of its ongoing work to improve access to healthcare, promote medication adherence, identify nutrition concerns, and support the wellbeing of older people in underserved communities.
The activities included basic health checks conducted alongside the community dialogues, home visits, and a healthcare outreach.
The activities were conducted with the support of Kahoko, a JICA volunteer nurse, who joined EAN during home visits and the healthcare outreach.
The activities provided an opportunity to identify health concerns among older people and understand some of the challenges affecting access to and continued use of essential medicines.
2. Objectives
3. Activities Conducted
The activities were conducted as follows:
3.1 Basic Health Checks
During the community dialogues, EAN also conducted basic health checks for older people.
The health checks helped identify health concerns that required further follow-up and referral. The findings from this activity were considered together with information collected during the subsequent home visits and healthcare outreach.
The community dialogue itself was documented separately in the EAN Community Dialogue Report.
3.2 Home Visits – 27 July - 2 October 2026 ( 6 home visits conducted)
EAN conducted home visits to 25 households of older people.
The visits focused on understanding the health and care needs of older people in their homes.
Activities included:
EAN was supported by Kahoko, a JICA volunteer nurse, during the home visits. Kahoko assisted with checking blood pressure and blood sugar and engaged directly with clients by asking questions about their health and wellbeing.
Her participation provided an opportunity for knowledge sharing and practical collaboration between EAN and a health professional.
3.3 Healthcare Outreach – 10 August - 1st October ( 6 outreach sessions conducted)
EAN conducted 6 healthcare outreach sessions with the support of Kahoko, the JICA volunteer nurse.
The activities included basic health checks and discussions with clients about their health, medication use and other care needs.
4. Key Findings
Across the health-related activities, 214 older people were reached.
A significant number of older people were found to have elevated blood pressure.
All 201 people identified with high blood pressure were referred to Chileka Health Centre for further assessment and management.
Some older people were being checked for the first time, highlighting the importance of regular health screening among older people in the community.
The findings demonstrate the importance of bringing basic health screening closer to older people, particularly those who may face difficulties travelling to health facilities.
5. Medication Adherence and Access Challenges
Medication access and adherence emerged as a major concern.
Some older people reported that prescribed medicines were out of stock at the hospital/health facility and they were advised to purchase the medicines from pharmacies. However, many could not afford to buy them.
Medicines reported to be unavailable included:
Other older people reported that they had stopped taking their medicines because of side effects.
Some individuals were also taking medication for the first time or had not previously received regular health checks.
EAN provided paracetamol where appropriate and advised clients who had stopped taking their medication because of side effects to return to the health facility for further assessment and guidance rather than stopping treatment without professional advice.
6. Nutrition Findings
Nutrition assessment also identified concerns among some older people.
78 older people were identified as underweight, with some recorded weights including 29 kg, 30 kg, 32 kg and 37 kg.
These findings indicate the need for continued nutrition assessment and support among older people, particularly those experiencing poor access to adequate food or other factors affecting their nutritional wellbeing.
During the activities, EAN provided lunch to older people.
7. Role of the JICA Volunteer Nurse
EAN appreciates the support and participation of Kahoko, a JICA volunteer nurse, during the activities conducted on 1 and 2 October.
Kahoko participated in home visits and the healthcare outreach, supporting blood pressure and blood sugar checks and engaging directly with older people about their health needs.
Her participation also created an opportunity for EAN to exchange knowledge and demonstrate its community-based and home-based care approach.
The collaboration is particularly relevant to EAN's ongoing work in home-based care and nutrition support for older people.
8. Challenges Identified
9. Recommendations. Next Steps
The follow-up will focus on:
11. Conclusion
The activities conducted between 27 July and 2 October 2026 provided important information about the health and care needs of older people in the communities served by EAN.
The identification of 201 older people with high blood pressure among 214 people reached demonstrates the importance of accessible and regular health screening. The activities also highlighted the impact of medicine stock-outs, financial barriers, medication side effects and nutrition challenges on the wellbeing of older people.
EAN will continue to work with older people, health facilities, health professionals and partners to strengthen access to healthcare, medication adherence, nutrition support and home-based care.
EAN appreciates the participation and support of Kahoko, JICA volunteer nurse, during the 1 and 2 October activities and looks forward to continued opportunities to collaboration.
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