Sharon Jiyamwa
Herald reporter
Murewa North Ward 10 has become the first ward to receive a three-wheeler kiosk mobile clinic under the Presidential ward-based primary health care outreach programme commissioned by His Excellency, President Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, on the sidelines of the ZANU-PF National People’s Conference in Chinhoyi.
The fully equipped kiosk was officially handed over at Kambarami Primary School in Ward 10, Murewa North, by Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Cde Daniel Garwe, who was represented by constituency office coordinator Mr Wesley Munetsi.
Also present was Vaka Health Foundation co-founder, Professor Yangama Jokwiro.
Championed through technology-driven healthcare systems inspired by First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, the initiative is being implemented through a partnership between the ZANU-PF Health Department, NetOne and ZimSmart Villages, with additional support from the Vaka Health Foundation.
The deployment of the three-wheeler and an additional five bicycles in Murehwa will directly benefit local villagers, particularly the elderly, farmers, children and chronic disease patients.
The kiosk will operate on a rostered schedule across Ward 10, using local schools as outreach centres, the nurse-manned mobile facility offers point-of-care diagnostics, health education, pregnancy monitoring, malaria screening, blood pressure and glucose testing and direct access to medicines.
The kiosk is equipped with virtual hospital technology whereby a registered nurse conducts primary assessments and connects patients to specialised clinicians via telehealth before making formal referrals when higher-level care is required.
The initiative also plays a key role in early screening for drug and substance abuse, cancer, HIV and TB, while facilitating emergency referrals, including maternal emergencies, to existing health networks.
Five bicycles, together with the blood-pressure and blood-glucose machines secured for this initiative, will strengthen outreach and help connect households to care, assisting community health workers in reaching isolated households, identifying patients in need of screening, and ensuring follow-up care.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Cde Daniel Garwe, emphasised that geography should not dictate access to healthcare.
“For a mother caring for her family, an older person living with hypertension, or a farmer who cannot easily leave the fields for a long journey to seek help, development must mean more than a speech.
It must mean a service that can be reached and a professional who can help,” he said
Minister Garwe added that healthcare is directly linked to productivity and economic growth, noting that healthy farmers and parents are better able to work and provide for their families so access to early treatment helps families avoid the severe disruptions caused by serious illness.
“A healthier farmer is better able to produce, a healthier parent is better able to provide, a child who is well is better able to attend school and learn, a family that can obtain help earlier has a better chance of avoiding the disruption that serious illness brings,” he said
Co-founder of the Vaka Health Foundation and Australian-based nurse educator, Professor Yangama Jokwiro, emphasised that the service is for the whole community, and that access to care must not be determined by a person’s surname, circumstances or political affiliation, as every patient deserves respect, privacy and dignity.
“And let me be clear: this is a service for our community. The need for care is not determined by a person’s surname, circumstances or political affiliation. Every patient deserves respect, privacy and dignity,” he said.
