MCHINJI-(MaraviPost)-A Health Surveillance Assistant (HSA) dumped Mphanga village clinic in Traditional Authority (TA) Simphasi in Mchinji District because he was lacking accommodation at the facility, leaving behind over 5000 villagers struggling with illnesses and without medical care.
The HSA, who now lives about 15 kilometers away at Chiosya Health Centre, used part of Mphanga village clinic as his own home for the past ten years.
With the demand for healthcare services now increased at the facility, life was a nightmare for the HSA as his home space shrunk significantly.
This was dislosed Tuesday during an interface meeting involving villagers, traditional leaders, healthcare service providers and duty bearers to find an effective and sustainable solution to the problem.
“The clinic has enough drugs that are just being kept at my house because there is no health worker who can prescribe them to us. Our children suffer especially when they fall sick at night. Chiosya is very far from here,” complained Village Health Committee Chairperson, Ignasio Gostino.
One male villager pointed out, “Are we not to blame ourselves for not considering building a house for our own HSA all these years? Let us think about our children and expectant women. Let us do something on our own”.
The interface meeting was organized under a project known as Influencing Health Governance Through Citizen Participation Against Drug Pilferage being implemented by Development Communications Trust (DCT) with funding from European Union through Tilitonse Foundation.
The purpose of the project is to strengthen the capacity of citizens to monitor the utilization of drugs and medical supplies and to enhance oversight functions of local health governance structures in demanding accountability for health resources in community health system.
It uses community suggestion boxes, radio listening clubs and mobile phones as pillars in enhancing access to quality healthcare services to people and to report drug theft and stockouts.
Tuesday’s meeting was necessitated by a report through the use of community suggestion boxes.
Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at DCT, Bettie Chumbu, said the interface meeting was important because it enabled service providers and duty bearers to respond to the people’s concerns.
“We just facilitate such meetings between rights holders and duty bearers so that together they can come up with solutions to their own problems,” said Chumbu.
Apparently, the bolted HSA is alleged to have reported for duties at Mphanga village clinic for only four days since he left in August.
Among other things, the clinic offers antnatal and Malaria and pneumonia treatment for under five children.
Facility Ombudsman and Senior Health Surveillance Assistant at Chiosya Health Centre, Elias Kamgola, acknowledged the HSA housing problem in Mphanga and urged people there to start prioritizing their own healthcare affairs.
“They should not only be thinking about building classroom blocks and teachers houses. We are sensitising them to also own health facilities so that things must not come to worse as they are now,” he said.
Councillor for the area Henry Nyamawolo and Senior Group Village Head Mphanga concurred with Kamgola and disclosed that the community already has bricks, sand and stones available to begin construction of the HSA house.
The two appealed for assistance of iron sheets, cement and door and window flames from their Mchinji Central constituency Member of Parliament Jepter Mwale.
In an interview, Mwale promised that he is ready to assist the people of Mphanga by the end of the current sitting of Parliament using the Constituency Development Fund.