MARTIN MAWAYA
VUNGU-Joint Hands Welfare Organization (JHWO) in partnership with the local authority, Government and guided by the National Aids Council (NAC) has constructed a unique health facility deep in Riverdale resettlement area, Vungu District in the Midlands Province.
Riverdale Clinic will cater for more than 10 000 villagers resulting in improved health delivery services as they used to walk more than 40km to the nearest health centre which is Mtapa in Gweru City.
The clinic will offer an array of heath services that include diagnostics, HIV and tuberculosis testing services, prenatal and antenatal care services, cancer screening as well as family planning services.
JHWO programs manager, Peter Dube told journalists during the media tour of HIV interventions by NAC and its strategic partners in the Midlands Province last week said the organization worked with the Government line ministries and private entities to source resources to build a unique health facility, the first of its kind in rural Zimbabwe.
Dube added that since 2017, they realized that ward 9 villagers in Riverdale walk over 40km to access health services in Gweru, although at times the Vungu Rural District Council offers periodic mobile clinic services.
He said that the establishment of a new clinic will go a long way in reducing cases of home deliveries, risks of maternal morbidity and mortality, STIs, snake bites, mining related injuries and TB as the area has a high population of artisanal miners.
“To sustainably mitigate these challenges JHWO, working hand in hand with Vungu RDC and the community, the Zimbabwe government line ministries and private entities through Public- Private Partnership, resources were sourced first in the form of a 6.2 piece of land from government and secondly by mobilising financial resources from donors and private entities to establish this unique state of the art health facility that is the first in Gweru, Midlands and Zimbabwe that will efficiently offer primary health care, an array of HIV and TB clinical and laboratory services among many others guided by NAC through the Public- Private Partnership,” said JHWO.
The new clinic will help the villagers to access primary health care at a walking distance as well as cutting costs and assist patients who need to replenish their medical supplies and other conditions that require the attention of doctor diagnostics on time.
JHWO was established in 2004, driven by a vision of a disease and harm free society, advocating against harmful norms and mitigating the impact through health, social development, resilience strengthening, disaster risk management and strategic information and knowledge management.
Ward 9 in Riverdale is a resettlement area with a population of more that 10 000 people.
