Free medical help for Binga

29 Dec, 2019 - 00:12 0 Views
Free medical help for Binga

The Sunday News

Sinokuthaba Dube, Sunday News Reporter

MORE than 300 senior citizens and children in Binga District benefited from free medical help after a two-day mobile health camp was set up at Siabuwa Rural Health Centre. 

The Citizwean mobile clinic was sponsored by a Non-Governmental Organisation called Go-Fundme.

One of the organisers of the programme, Dr Freeman Chari said the exercise started in November with urban areas benefiting first.

He said the response they got from Binga was overwhelming and encouraging.

“We started this programme in November where we had our first health camp in Cowdray Park suburb with the aim of giving back to the community and I must say we are very elated about the response that we have been receiving so far.

“We had targeted the most vulnerable age groups of 10 and below and also those aged 65 and above as they are the most affected especially senior citizens who cannot afford to buy medication,” Dr Chari said.

He said they received a crowd of almost 400 patients in two days from Binga with most patients suffering from high blood pressure.

“This is a sign that people are living with conditions that they can’t afford to get treatment for. In Binga we attended to almost 317 patients with most of them suffering from chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes,” he said.

He said the need for medical attention among the rural folk could not be wished away with issues of affordability and accessibility hindering the villagers from seeking medical assistance.

Dr Chari added that he was grateful to the sponsors for bringing hope to the villagers at a time when the country’s health delivery system was facing a myriad of challenges.

Another organiser of the Citizwean mobile clinic, Dr Wellington Mahohoma said they have also covered areas including Harare, Mutare and Bulawayo with most of their funding coming from well-wishers on social media with each hospital visit pegged at an average of US$3 500 depending on the number of people and cost of drugs the patient needs.

The mobile clinic turned Binga’s Siabuwa Health Centre into a hive of activity as children and the elderly thronged it with the hope of getting medical assistance.

The programme started in November this year where people in urban areas, particularly Cowdray-Park Memorial Clinic in Bulawayo had the privilege of benefiting first.

Cowdray Park Memorial clinic co-owner Mrs Nokuthula Chakanyuka who is also a nurse said the programme was initiated by Dr Freeman Chari in order to cushion poor communities in both urban and rural areas.

“This was one of our biggest programmes as a clinic initiated by our fellow health care specialists to help give back to the community though we had conducted similar programmes for free,” she said.

She noted that the programme received an overwhelming response from willing medical doctors.

The Citizwean mobile clinic targeted the nation’s most vulnerable age groups of ten and below and those above sixty-five years as they are the most affected especially senior citizens who cannot afford to buy medication.

Dr Mahohoma also expressed his gratitude towards well-wishers who kept on pouring resources saying they were making work a lot easier.

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