Lusulu residents appeal for intervention
Prestige Muntanga
LUPANE-Lusulu villagers in Matabeleland North have appealed for government intervention and refurbishment of a local clinic amid concerns that locals were walking long distances to access health care.
Lusulu clinic was first built in the 1970s by one Dr Decker. It was shut down a few years later following the death of its founder.
“This used to be a mobile clinic back in the 70s. It was initially built by Dr Decker who was later killed during the war. In 1976 my brother received vaccines here.The structures built by Decker collapsed and we have failed to rehabilitate them into a modern clinic. The structures we see today are a result of the community mobilising their resources and this has not been enough,” said Moreblessing Ngwenya, a community member.
He bemoaned the lack of health facilities in the area that has led to home deliveries which are not safe for babies and their mothers.
“As a community we haven’t received any assistance from anyone.
We mobilised our own resources to build what you see now. But these structures do not meet the minimum requirements for a clinic, therefore the clinic is not functional. These structures are only used as an Expanded Program on Immunisation (EPI) point only.
Pregnant women have no choice but to deliver at home. People also die from communicable diseases like malaria because they cannot access health care anywhere in this place,” he said.
Ngwenya appealed to government and well wishers to help renovate the clinic.
” We are appealing to government and other potential partners to assist us in fulfiling our dream of accessing primary health care. We have local manpower and local resources and these can be harnessed to refurbish the clinic. Our biggest challenge is securing building material like cement and reinforcement which are not locally available.
“We are willing to work with donors and/or government. Currently the only viable services that we get are EPI services once a month but when it comes to maternal health and other services we are forced to walk 30 kms to Dandanda clinic or 40km to Gomoza.
The derelict clinic is in ward 6 of Lupane. It is located approximately 80 km from Lupane centre. If the clinic is rescuscited, it has the potential to serve the following villages, Mabhonono,Ngcono, Lusulu Sizinke, Lupaswana, Mhlangamlambo and part of Tshongogwana.
