The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
MATABELELAND South Province has benefited from medical outreach programmes that have been facilitated under the Health Resilience Fund to ensure access to health care for everyone.
People from Umzingwane, Gwanda and Plumtree are part of the beneficiaries of the programme where they managed to get services such as maternal health care, dental care, pharmacy and various other services under the programme.
The Health Resilience Fund (HRF) is a coordinated effort by the Zimbabwean Government and Technical partners supporting the Ministry of Health and Child Care in attaining universal coverage for the people of Zimbabwe.
The Health Ministry leads a coordinated pooled fund with financial contributions from the European Union, the Governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and Technical support from UNFPA, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation
Acting District Medical Officer for Umzingwane Dr Kudzai Chigubu welcomed the gesture and said the outreaches benefit communities in various ways.
“This reduces travel costs because these are places that are far apart. As it stands patients are coming in with various conditions and are screened by our nurses, some are attended by the doctor. We are offering child immunisation services, Antiretroviral services and mobile our laboratory is here together with a truck for mobile x-rays together with pharmacy services all for free. In a nutshell, we are doing everything that can be done at a central hospital at this place,” he said.
Dr Chigubu said their wish as Ministry is to see all community members who take medication especially for chronic conditions to always be on their medication. He said the outreaches ensure that health services and medications are brought as close to the communities possible to enable them to have easy access.
Unicef Chief of Communications Mr Yves Willmot who is touring the province with members of the media to observe the impact of the HRF on communities said the media play an important role of information dissemination on important health programmes.
“The purpose of this tour is to make sure the media see what is happening on the ground and cover and highlight what the Ministry of Health and Child Care is doing to support the Health Resilience Fund. Let it be inspiring coverage that shows the progress that is being made at the same time highlighting the challenges that we are facing. We are on a journey to make sure that access to unversal basic health services is guaranteed for all people in Zimbabwe,” he said.
Furthermore he said it is important to show other partners how joint ventures are in the health sector are working and making a difference.
A beneficiary from the project, Mrs Musa Sibanda from Umzingwane said she was grateful for the assistance form the Ministry of Health and its partners for the outreaches.
“Some people like us the elderly do not have money to pay in hospitals and people end up dying because you do not have money for services. But I am glad today I got free help, I even got injections and other drugs. We are helped here today, especially the elderly. We hope to have mor of these programmes coming to our communities often,” she said.
The focus of the HRF is also to end preventable deaths in maternal newborn and child health, consolidating and strengthening Zimbabwe’s Global Health Security Systems and to also advocate for and strengthen the health system by enhancing allocation, Technical and operational efficiencies.
