adminThandeka Moyo, Health Reporter
THE Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland working with villagers in ward 25 in Nkayi North has built a new clinic to benefit over 4 000 villagers.
This brings to two the number of clinics which have been opened in Matabeleland North and comes as a relief to villagers who were walking long distances to access health care.
Lake Alice Health Centre was officially opened on Wednesday in rural Lupane.
Speaking during the official opening of the Nkayi Clinic on Thursday, the Minister of State for Matabeleland North, Cde Cain Mathema, said: “Vova Rural Health Centre is expected to service an estimated population of 4 000 from ward 25 and the bordering wards in Lupane District.”
Matabeleland North provincial medical director Dr Nyasha Masuka said he was happy with the opening of new health facilities.
“The standard is usually to have one or two health facilities for a population of 10 000.
“The opening of this clinic will reduce the burden of access and villagers will now be within a range where they can easily get to a clinic,” said Dr Masuka.
“It is our wish that at least 80 percent of our people should be living within one hour walking distance to a health facility. Sometimes you find people are 30 or 40 kilometres away and this is what we are trying to improve.”
Chief Sikhobokhobo bemoaned the high number of teenage pregnancies in the Ward.
“We are happy that our people now have a clinic nearby and we know that it will reduce the disease burden.
“However, I am saddened by the fact that many schoolchildren are falling pregnant, a huge concern we must deal with so that there is development in this village,” said Chief Sikhobokhobo.
On November 15 in 2015, villagers with the help of Chief Sikhobokhobo, the local authority and the district health executive signed a memorandum with the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland.
Villagers provided locally available resources and manpower which reduced the cost of the clinic to $50 000 from about $300 000.
The project manager, Mr Melusi Mpofu, extended gratitude to villagers who volunteered to reduce costs.
“We built this project with about $50 000 because villagers were ready to avail themselves.
“We are happy as a church because villagers co-operated and we built this health facility within three months,” said Mr Mpofu. — @thamamoe
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