Harare, Zimbabwe (News of the South) – At a time the country is caught in an economic crunch and services are falling to atrocious levels across the country Save the Children has stepped up into the health sector with a programme that, lightheadly, rivals nationally sanctioned empowerment programmes.
It has capacitated Health Centers in 13 Districts across the country to stand their ground, modernise and upgrade their health centres from ramshackle parodies of modern health into pristine futuristic images of positivity and growth.
Strengthening Community Participation in Health is a programme initially begun by Save the Children in 2013 with support from DFID and EC and went on until 2016 in June when the latter withdrew.
According to Sophie Hamandishe, Advocacy and Communications advisor, the funding resuscitated in 2016 when they took up the programme again.
And a success it has been.
Ruyamuro Health Center deep in the blanched dusty enclave of Guruve has WiFi, a geyser, generator and offers impeccable services and a futuristic outlook from its small staff that daunts the macro economic conditions of the whole country.
Nurse-in-Charge Milton Mazvanhi speaks as a modern day businessman more than as a health practitioner; speaking of clients and not patients and refuting that they receive children but deliver. (hatigamchiri vana tinobatsira, he says with witticism that belies the negativity pervading the whole health sector reeling under lack of medicine and personnel)
Addressing assembled people at a ceremony to celebrate the programme’s progress so far in Guruve on Tuesday, a Mberengwa District Ward 21 Councillor spoke of restored dignity.
“The District now has dignity. At Bonda Clinic we have built a mother’s shelter without any donor input as villagers provided bricks and the personnel to build. We have electrified the clinic and bought a generator through funding from headman and we also have taped water”
Peter Manhando, Health Center chairman in Shamva District detailed how they have built a water tank and repaired septic tanks by also tapping into the RBF funds.
According to the World Bank RBF funding, coming under provider incentives, is targeted at improving health worker outcomes.
“The evidence captures their effect more in terms of utilization of services and quality of care to some extent”
“Health workers in RBF facilities have higher overall job satisfaction, particularly for compensation (8.436 points, on a maximum scale of 100” it says.
Sherwood clinic chairman from Zibagwe, Mr Chitate hailed the increase in birth rate from 5 per month to 23 as the facility now provides proper maternal services to women who used to shun it preferring to self deliver in their huts.
Listening to the various personnel speak about the new facelifts they have managed to effectualise through the goading and directions of Save the Children one is imbued with the feeling that the future of the country’s, health sector may not be so dark after all.
The government is struggling to avail all the necessary funding leading to structural breakdowns and pathetic services that are coagulating the social anger into a social time bomb especially in cases where people have died.
The recent King Lion us accident where the absence of ambulances has been cited as another reason for the deaths of preventable deaths is one dire example.
However with Save the Children plunging into the field and pushing some Health centres into pooling money to buy ambulances the craggy surface of the future is creaking open and may just allow in some light.
Comments
About Author
