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Article History

Received: 3 December 2021

Accepted: 8 April 2022

First Online: 19 April 2022

Declarations

:

: In this study, all methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. The study protocol, including the informed consent forms were reviewed for ethics compliance and approved by the Malawi National Health Sciences Research Committee (NHSRC) (Approval #2443) prior to the commencement of the study. Informed consent was individually obtained from every participant at the very beginning before proceeding with their involvement after being explained to clearly about the study objectives and aims using local languages of Chichewa and Chiyao used in the study areas. For participants who were literate, a written consent was obtained while for those illiterate a written informed consent to participate was obtained through their legally authorized representatives (literate family members) instead. Similarly for the study participants who were children (under 16 years of age), consent to participate was collected from their parents or guardians on their behalf. All the research instruments that were used at community level were also translated to local languages.

: Not applicable. The manuscript does not contain any individual person’s data in any form.

: The authors declare that they have no competing (financial and non-financial) interests.