Online Reporter
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke in Binga
A CROSS-border partnership between Zimbabwe and Zambia is improving access to healthcare services in border communities around Binga District, with authorities from the two nations synchronising immunisation campaigns, malaria control programmes and maternal health services.
Binga District Medical Officer, Dr Sibonginkosi Ncube, said under the Zimbabwe-Zambia collaboration, commonly known as ‘Zim-Zam’, health authorities from Binga, Sinazongwe and Gwembe districts work together to ensure no patients are left behind in accessing health care.
Binga District Hospital serves 23 health facilities catering for a population of about 160 000 people from Binga and the neighbouring districts in Zambia.
“We are a border district and we work closely with our counterparts in Zambia. Together, we have a cluster involving Binga, Sinazongwe and Gwembe districts where we mainly focus on malaria, but the collaboration also extends to immunisation, maternal health services and treatment of patients crossing the border,” she said.
Dr Ncube said technology had improved communication between health workers in the two countries, with referral forms and patient information now being shared through WhatsApp and email.
She said communities from Zambia frequently access services at clinics such as Siansundu, Chunga, Namsanga and Siawuzowa, particularly on market days when people cross into Zimbabwe.
The partnership has also helped synchronise vaccination campaigns in the two countries.
“When Zimbabwe is vaccinating, Zambia is also vaccinating at the same time so that no child is missed, even if families cross the border,” said Dr Ncube.
He added that the collaboration had also strengthened maternal healthcare services, with several Zambian women delivering safely at Binga District Hospital while health officials coordinated with their counterparts across the border.
Dr Ncube said the partnership recently helped reunite a Zambian mental health patient who had been stranded in Zimbabwe after local authorities worked with immigration officials and Zambian health workers to facilitate the patient’s return home.
Bongani Ndlovu