By Tovin Ngombe:-
A team of Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDH) that was collecting blood samples, testing for HIV/AIDS and Sexual Transmitted disease have been ejected from the area they were to carry out the exercise in Sinazongwe district.
Sinazongwe District Health Director Dr Kebby Musokotwane confirmed the development.
Dr Musokotwane said two of the ZDH blood collectors were manhandled and the community refused to donate their blood.
But before the exercise begun Sinazongwe district health workers and ZANIS conducted a series of meetings with the village headmen, the Church, Non-governmental organization and the Councilor for Siamukululu area.
The response from the community was overwhelming and accepted the exercise to be carried out in their area.
Dr Musokotwane said misunderstanding could have arisen from the ZDH team’s failure to move to the area on time after the sensitisation campaign was done.
The ZDH team decided to come three months after the sensitisation campaign was done and when people had forgotten about the exercise.
The team also went straight into the area to conduct the exercise and refused to go with any of the Sinazongwe health workers who know the people they were to collect blood from and to test them for HIV/AIDS.
However, many people had predicated failure for the exercise because only K2.5 million was allocated for entire exercise in each district.
For Sinazongwe district the survey was actually in Choma area though the people in Siamukululu area access their health service in Sinazongwe district.
Staff shortages mar Sinazongwe district measles campaign
By Tovin Ngombe
The Measles campaign in Sinazongwe district has faced a serious shortage of trained personnel as some health posts that have been mounted were being manned by unqualified personnel proving doom to the success of the exercise.
The unqualified personnel were only trained in giving out Vitamina A supplementation and de-worming tablets.
A Check by ZANIS at Nangombe health post found that there were only four community workers were manning it when the initial plan was to have two trained health workers at each health post.
The community health volunteer Enerst Siakajika told ZANIS that a trained nurse would visit the centre on Friday to immunize the children.
At Munyati health post in Chief Sinazongwe area there was no trained nurse and the community workers had worked for two days without getting their lunch allowances.
Amos Malenga complained of being dumped in the area without any food while they were only administering Vitamin A and de-worming tablets.
Women who had traveled long distances with their children on the back were waiting for the nurse who had promised to pass through the centre to immunize their children in the late afternoon.
The community health workers at Munyati and several health posts were running out of the Vitamin A supplementation and the de-worming tablets and the cards to give mothers whose children were immunized were also running out.
In Makonkonto area most women talked to said they did know about the measles campaign.
A check at Sialwela clinic had only two people manning the station, Mupepula Mutanga who is an Environmental Health Technologist said some health post had not been opened because of the staff shortage and they had no transport to go round the community.
At Siansowa rural health Clinic there was only one trained health personnel attending to women who had lined up in long queues to have their children immunized.
On Monday when the exercise begun, there was no health post at Namafulu middle basic School which shares boundaries with Zimbabwe.
The teacher found at the School Ms Moono palata said some health officials promised to mount it on Tuesday.
Sinazongwe Health Director Dr Kebby Musokotwane confirmed that there has been a serious shortage of health personnel to cater for the entire district.
Dr Musokotwane has said the sitautiuon has led to shifting of staff from one health post to another and closing some health posts.
He said there was short supply of Vitamin A supplementation adding that orders were made from Choma district to contain the situation.
