“More Local, More Inclusive, More Interactive"
Central government's pledges to rehabilitate local hospitals such as Manama (pictured) have remained largely unfulfill...
Continue Reading...
Shale clinic in Umzingwane...Villagers feel their right to healthcare is not taken serious by the Rural District Council. Image by Newsday
BY VUSINDLU MAPHOSA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | JULY 13, 2022
Umzingwane villagers face continued threats of dying before reaching the closest clinic should they need urgent medical care. The villagers are blaming the local government for dithering on their plans to construct a clinic to address the problem which has lingered for several decades.
UMZINGWANE (The Citizen Bulletin) — All hope is lost for Martin Sibanda as he shakes his head and recounts the 26km journey to and from the closest clinic.
Just like Sibanda, villagers in Sotshe village, ward 9 have been enduring the pain of walking several kilometres to access health services.
“Access to health services here is so elusive that it requires one to walk across mountains to reach Mhlahlandlela clinic situated in ward 10 even when they are critically ill.”
Martin Sibanda, a distressed villager
Sibanda says some expecting mothers end up choosing to camp at the clinic to avoid miscarriages caused by the perilous journey from their homes to the health centre.
The villagers have now submitted a request for the construction of a clinic in their village to the local government. But the Umzingwane Rural District Council (RDC) under whose jurisdiction the village lies, has not yet approved the application.
Sibanda feels the Council is not taking the villagers’ right to healthcare seriously and believes the delay in approving the application proves the local authority’s lack of interest in the matter.
Another villager, Senzeni Moyo says the delay in approving the application poses serious threats to the vulnerable members of the community such as pregnant women, chronically ill people, and the elderly.
“The delay is a threat to vulnerable members of the community such as pregnant women. Chronically ill people and the elderly are also affected,” says Moyo.
The long distance to closest clinics has seen some chronic patients defaulting on taking their medication. Image by Stock photos
Ward 9 Councillor, Bekezela Moyo, believes the approval of the plan by the local authority has taken unnecessarily long.
“It's been a long time since we applied for the construction of the clinic. It is our wish that the council view the project as a matter of urgency.”
“We have lost lives, especially women who give birth along the way to the clinic, while some lose their babies due to unsafe delivery methods at home,” Moyo says.
Moyo says chronic patients end up defaulting on taking medication while some mothers fail to take their children to the baby clinic because of the distance.
“Villagers have always resorted to using scotch carts to travel which is not comfortable for a sick person.”
Bekezela Moyo, Ward 9 Councillor
Umzingwane RDC Chief Executive Officer, Ndumiso Mpofu says it is not true that the local authority is sitting on the application.
“We are still waiting for the physical planning department to produce a site plan, before we will act as a local authority. We have adopted a master plan for each and every ward to locate a site where a clinic will be constructed.”
Ndumiso Mpofu, Umzingwane RDC CEO
ALSO READ: Porous Borders a Haven for Wildlife Poachers in Hwange
“We will use the 2023 wards development funds budget for such projects to be undertaken looking at the fact that community members walk long distances to access health facilities.”
“We do not stop the communities from continuing to continue mobilising resources for the building material of the clinics from sponsors or well-wishers.”
*Edited by Lizwe Sebatha | Fact Checked & Proofread by Melody Mpande | Reviewed & Commissioned by Divine Dube.
Do you have a hyperlocal story to share?
WhatsApp us on: +263 71 863 6459. Email us on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Since You’re Here, We’ve a Small Request…
Our hard-hitting hyperlocal reporting and analysis reaches one in every three people across the greater region of Matabeleland, southwestern Zimbabwe. That means our content reaches approximately 60,000 readers each week. However, in order for our well-rounded journalism to reach more people who need it to make informed decisions about their lives and their communities, we need to build a strong audience of followers that would receive our rigorous reporting in just one place. Because of exorbitant internet data costs, we know most of our readers use messaging apps such as WhatsApp to get all our content in one place. But the platform, predominantly used by our readers, is not primarily designed for content distribution and reader engagement. That is why we’re building a WhatsApp Bot to navigate this challenge. But in order for this strategy to work effectively to serve our needs, we want all our casual readers like you to be part of our growing WhatsApp Community. To be part of this community of registered users, WhatsApp the word "JOIN" to +263 71 863 6459. We look forward to engaging and building a lasting relationship with you. Thank you.
This website uses cookies that are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the privacy policy. By accepting this OR scrolling this page OR continuing to browse, you agree to our privacy policy.
