Government has said it is aware of the many hardships rural communities were facing in accessing health services.
Kafue District Commissioner Winford Ngoma said there was therefore need for rural communities to realise that Government resources were minimal to take care of all citizens’ needs.
ZANIS reports that Mr. Ngoma said this in Kafue’s Chipapa area today where a Japanese Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Association for AID and Relief (AAR) donated eight bicycle ambulances, 16 ordinary bicycles for care givers under Kuchafwana Home based care group during a handover ceremony.
Mr. Ngoma said Government would welcome partnerships such as the one it had created in Chipapa with AAR Japan because they filled gaps where the state was unable to cover. He said it was pleasing that the Japanese NGO had now been working in Kafue district for the past nine years.
Mr. Ngoma said rural communities such as Chipapa were the hardest hit by diseases such as HIV and Tuberculosis putting families under immense pressure. He said the support to the community in Chipapa was timely adding that it would go a long way in mitigating their suffering.
Mr. Ngoma said his office was aware that Chipapa covered a very wide catchment area and the ambulances would help people access health care in most desperate circumstances.
He added that it was also encouraging that among those who have been trained to maintain the bicycle ambulances were women.
Mr. Ngoma commended the NGO for having continued to work in Kafue after phasing out in Chilanga area. He said Government would always value any assistance cooperating partners provided.
And Kafue District Health Director Dr Mwila Lembalemba thanked AAR Japan for the gesture. He noted that one of the biggest hindrances to accessing health care had been long distance.
Dr Lembalemba noted that the handover of the ambulance was timely and a clear testimony of good public private partnership which the Ministry of Health and Government were encouraging. He said such initiatives would contribute to the fulfilling of the ministry of health’s vision of providing equity of access to cost effective health care as close to the family as possible.
Speaking earlier AAR Japan Country Director Takashi Ashida stated that his organisation‘s main objective was to carry out various international cooperation activities including relief on disasters to promote self reliance of vulnerable people. He said AAR had now been in Zambia for the past 26 years since 1984.
Mr. Ashida said the donation was made to increase access to VCT, HIV and TB treatment and also prevent new infections through community mobilisations, sensitisation and access to medical health services.
He said an assessment and analysis conducted revealed that Chipapa clinic’s catchment area was vast as people walked for as long as 35 km to access medical treatment and other services. He said both HBC caregivers and patients have to cover long distances on foot due to no reliable transport in the area.
Mr. Ashida said the bikes and ambulances would provide another option for locals. He said the bicycles were made in such a way that they provided comfortable transportation of chronically ill patients and people in need at minimal costs.
He said the community has agreed to contribute K3, 000 per person every year which would go towards maintenance of the ambulances and make the project sustainable.
ZANIS
Being aware is one thing, but being careless in the way you handle rural people is another! If you had any decency you and your president should have resigned by now in national interest!!
There seems to be more movement in infrastructure such as mobile hospitals and schools. These are useless if there will be no human resource to manage these. If Government is aware, let us have personnel in place otherwise these efforts are useless.