Flying doctors to increase its health services care outreach to remotest of areas

A REJUVENATED Zambia Flying Doctor Service (ZFDS) is to increase a number of outreach programmes in 2024 and ensure that it reaches out to remote parts of the country in an effort to provide specialised health care services and treat people with eye and dental problems, among other illnesses, Mbala Outreach Team Leader Samuel Sianga has said.

Dr Sianga said the ZFDS the Mbala outreach programme was targeting to treat between 900 and 1, 000 people in far flung and remote rural areas in Zombe, Tulemane, Kaka, Masamba, Mwenda and Kawimbe in the next eight days of the outreach.

Dr Sianga said yesterday when the ZFDS Mbala outreach team paid a courtesy call on Mbala District Commissioner Annie Paul that the team was in the district to supplement government"s efforts by providing specialist treatment to people in remote rural areas which were hard to reach.

Dr Sianga said with the support from the Government and other well-wishers, the ZFDS has continued to be rejuvenated and able to support governments efforts of providing quality health care in hard to reach areas.

"Before, we embark on our outreach, we thought we should pay a courtesy call on your office as a District Commissioner, so that you can be aware of our programmes in the district. We will in Mbala for the next eight days and during our operations, we intend to go to some remote rural areas where we will be able to provide quality health care.

"We intend to provide specialised treatment to those who have dental and eye problems,among other problems. A rejuvenated ZFDS with support from Government and other stakeholders will strive to effectively supplement government"s efforts by providing quality health care to people in hard to reach areas " Dr Sianga said.

And speaking later, Ms Paul said the ZFDS outreaches were very important in supplementing the government"s efforts because they were reaching out to far flung areas which were hard to reach.

Ms Paul said the outreach which had been taken will help to reduce pressure on the district hospital which was catering for the population in various areas like Mpulungu, Senga, Mungwi and others.

"So when you come to reaching far flung areas, you reduce pressure on our hospital which is second in the province after Kasama hospital. You should be doing these outreaches very often to support us" Ms Paul said.