Pupu Clinic brings health delivery revolution

WITH her walking stick, Gogo Nonhlanhla Khumalo (75) from Lusulu Village under Pupu Ward in Lupane District would trudge through a thick forest that has dangerous animals as she made her way to Gomoza Clinic to access healthcare services.

She had learned to safely navigate various risks, including dehydration and attacks by wild animals

For Gogo Khumalo, Gomoza Clinic, which is located 21km away from her village, was her nearest health facility.

Expecting mothers from the same area also faced the same predicament prompting an increase in home deliveries as most avoided travelling long distances. Many never made it, as the journey was long and arduous because of their delicate conditions.

Others in villages located further than Lusulu were forced to walk 40km or more to the clinic.

Building of Pupu Clinic has therefore come as a relief to a population of over 12 000 from Pupu Ward who had to endure walking long distances to clinics in neighbouring villages to access healthcare services.

Funded by Government through devolution funds, the imposing health facility comprising two wards for males and females, a labour ward, a post-natal ward, a vaccination room, a consultation room and a pharmacy, has helped reduce the distances travelled by the locals to seek health services.

Devolution funds have transformed the health sector with new clinics emerging in several districts in Matabeleland as the Second Republic steps up the inclusive development philosophy of leaving no one and no place behind.

The programme has helped local authorities in Matabeleland and other parts of the country improve access to health services, particularly in rural areas, where a majority of citizens walked long distances to access services.

Leaving no one and no place behind has become synonymous with the leadership of President Mnangagwa, who has made it a buzz phrase that has found resonance among the people in both rural and urban areas.

Ms Samkeliso Sikhosana, a local village health worker and retired nurse, said they mooted the idea of setting up a clinic several years ago but the project came into fruition following the coming in of the Second Republic.

“We sat down as a community and engaged authorities over the issue of people travelling long distances to access healthcare. We have people from Lusulu travelling to Lupaka and Gomoza to access healthcare” she said.

“We had to walk over 20km to access healthcare and during the rainy season, villagers from either side of Shangani River encountered challenges as could not cross the flooded river.”

Ms Sikhosana said pregnant women were forced to skip their appointments because of long distances to either St Paul’s Clinic or Gomoza Clinic.

“Due to long distances, it had become a big challenge for expecting mothers to access maternal health care and some ended up having home deliveries,” she said.

“We are more than happy with this new clinic and we thank President Mnangagwa for this facility. He listened to our pleas and for some of us, this is a dream come true.”

Another villager, Mr Longman Ndlovu said: “We now have a clinic which has helped ease the burden on us as we had to walk long distances to St Paul’s Clinic. We had some people walking up to 40km to Lupaka and therefore, we are saying Pupu Clinic is a positive development,” he said.

He said Pupu Clinic, which has come as a huge relief to villagers, will revolutionise health services in the area.

“For a long time, as a community, we have been appealing to authorities to establish a clinic in Pupu Ward 24 given the long distances that people used to travel to neighbouring health facilities, but we never got a positive response until after the Second Republic,” he said.

“We laud the Government for responding to our plea. We used to walk long distances to St Paul’s Clinic”.

Community sister-in-charge of Lupane district, Ms Thabani Tshuma said Pupu Clinic, with a catchment of 12 000, will address the issue of risky home deliveries.

“We are very happy about his facility because it will cater for most of the people who used to rely on St Paul’s and Gomoza clinics. We are saying, three-quarters of the Gomoza population will be catered for by Pupu Clinic while a quarter who use to go St Paul Clinic will also come to Pupu,” she said.

“We had people travelling long distances such as those from Lusulu who walked 40km to Gomoza which they considered to be their nearest health facility. You will find that some of these people would prefer to stay at home when sick because of the long distances resulting in deaths.”

Sister Tshuma said failure to access healthcare resulted in the spread of communicable diseases and ultimately an outbreak.

“We had an increase in home deliveries which is risky considering that when a woman loses a lot of blood while giving birth, chances of dying are high. We will now have zero home deliveries because of reduced distances,” she said.

“We received the delivery beds and we have the post-natal wards where mothers will be kept while being monitored. We have a consultation room, post-natal ward, and labour ward, male and female wards where patients are temporarily admitted for monitoring.”

Sister Tshuma said Pupu Clinic is manned by two qualified nurses, a nurse aide, a general hand and an environmental health technician.

The clinic, which is now complete and ready for commissioning by President Mnangagwa, has a spacious waiting room, a screening room and a maternity ward with delivery and post-natal rooms with showers and toilets.

The immaculate facility has been tiled with fitted cupboards. There are also two blocks of staff cottages each accommodating four families. A solar-powered borehole supplies the clinic with water. The dispensary is also stocked with drugs and other consumables.