Beitbridge RDC improves healthcare with 3 more clinics
BEITBRIDGE Rural District Council is building more clinics in the district to improve healthcare services.
Through partnerships with development agencies and members of the community, the local authority is on the verge of completing the building of three more – Dumba, Mazunga and Whunga clinics.
More resources are being pooled to build more clinics in resettlement areas in ward 13 and ward 14.
Council chief executive officer Mr Peter Moyo said they used resources from the community, development agencies, devolution funds and the constituency development funds to build the clinics.
The three clinics were at different stages of construction and their team was pegging more sites in strategic areas.
The district has an estimated population of 250 000 with two thirds of the people resident in its rural component and relying on one referral hospital and 16 clinics.
The 140-bed hospital is also strained with a 15 000 daily transit population crossing the border to and from South Africa.
“We have identified primary health care as one of the major services in our area and hence we are building more clinics in areas with shortages,” said Mr Moyo.
“So far, working with the community members and supported by resources from the Government and other development agencies, we are building Dumba clinic in Ward 2, Mazunga in ward 14 and Whunga in ward 10.
“In addition, we have pegged another site at Tshipise in Ward 1”.
He said in some cases, the community members were providing material resources and labour while the council was offering technical support.
In Whunga, he said, the main super structure was at roof level.
This clinic will serve part of Beitbridge West, Gwanda Tshithaudze and Gwanda South areas.
“We have had good support from everyone at Whunga including the army which provided builders,” said Mr Moyo.
“At Mazunga, which will service motorists along the Beitbridge to Bulawayo road and the resettlement areas under ward 14, we converted an old farm house. We are now putting final touches pending final inspections by the Ministry of Health and Child Care”.
He said they were expecting to open Mazunga and Dumba Clinics to the public in the first quarter of this year.
Mr Moyo said devolution funds, the CDF and community involvement had helped them change the state of health care facilities in Beitbridge district.
At Dumba, they were now working on final touches to the incinerator and septic tanks.
“We have made good progress, and our hope is that should we get more devolution and CDF funds we can speed the construction rate of such health care facilities.
“Ideally we require eight more clinics for us to have a total coverage of health facilities under our area of jurisdiction. These should have the main building, potable water, incinerator and four standard staff houses and have solar panels or be connected to the national grid power supply”.
Mr Moyo said in some instances people were walking or travelling for more than 50km to the nearest healthcare facility. This, he said, the council wants to reduce to less than 10 km.
Chief David Stauze of Beitbridge West said recently that the community was willing to work with the local authority and central Government in addressing service delivery challenges.
“The situation is also worrisome in the rural areas where people are walking for longer distances to access the nearest health institutions. The community is willing to work with Government and its partners to look into the provision of quality health services as a matter of urgency,” he said.