The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Reporter
THE Lupane community has welcomed the construction of a state-of-the-art expecting mothers’ cottage by a non-governmental organisation, Sabona Trust at Fatima Community Clinic as a major step towards eradicating perinatal mortality prevalence at homes.
The modern expecting mothers’ shelter, which consists of a delivery room, two bed dormitories and ablution facilities with a bathroom that offers warm water from a solar-powered geyser was constructed at a cost of US$100 000 including the installation of a borehole.
Construction of the facility began in 2014 and was completed last year. Speaking at the official opening of the facility, Kusile Rural District Council chief executive Mr Christopher Chuma said the construction of the expecting mothers’ facility by Sabona Trust at Fatima would go a long way towards enhancing health service delivery to rural communities within its vicinity mostly made up of newly resettled farmers. Fatima Clinic provides primary health care to villagers from Fatima, Manganganga, Ngondo, Chimwara and Jabatshaba.
“We have a long standing relationship with Sabona Trust as it has been involved in various developmental projects in the district. It is through its sweat that we are witnessing the construction of this well equipped clinic that will provide health services to communities around here, notably the newly resettled farmers. This latest development is also in line with the Government’s mandate of offering quality health services to the people, “ said Mr Chuma.
Fatima Clinic sister-in-charge Thabani Tshuma said the construction of the maternity wing at the health institution would go a long way towards achieving the Ministry of Health and Child Care’s mission of zero tolerance in mother and child mortalities. “We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Sabona Trust for putting up this expecting mothers’ waiting room. As a ministry we don’t want to see expecting mothers dying while giving birth and thus we thrive to see mothers giving birth in a healthy and safe environment through being assisted to deliver their babies by professional midwives,” she said.
Sister Tshuma said the number of women giving birth at homes was still alarmingly high, a situation that has led to a number of birth related mortalities.
The local authority’s vice-chairperson Councillor Soneni Tshuma said the construction of the shelter was a major step towards improving conditions for expecting mothers.
“The first expecting mothers waiting room was built in 2009. The structure started as a hut which was too small and of poor standard. The community had contributed grass for that thatching and they used mud to build the wall. We did this because many people were coming very far to seek delivery services. There were also many home deliveries and various complications at homes,” she said.
The founder and chief executive officer of Sabona Trust, Ms Ynghild Solholm, said the construction of the expecting mothers’ shelter was one of the many projects, which the organisation has initiated over the year in Lupane and it would continue to carry out humanitarian work in the remote areas of Matabeleland North Province notably in Lupane and Hwange districts. Also present was the organisation’s chairperson, Ms Hildegard Sihwa-Mufakare, medical practitioners from Norway and community leaders.
