Pregnant women and other residents in Ward 21 of Bulilima District are set to benefit from reduced transport costs and improved access to healthcare following the commissioning of Ngwana Clinic, which brings essential medical services closer to the community.
For years, residents had to travel about 10 kilometres to access healthcare at facilities such as Ndiweni and Matjinge clinics, placing a financial burden on families, particularly pregnant women, elderly people and those requiring regular medical attention.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony on Friday, Ward 21 councillor Dolly Dube said the community initiated the clinic project in 2019 after recognising the difficulties residents faced in accessing healthcare at distant facilities.
She said some residents struggled to afford transport and other healthcare-related expenses, forcing them to endure difficulties when seeking medical assistance.
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“We used to travel long distances to access healthcare at clinics such as Ndiweni and Matjinge, which is about 10km away. As residents, we realised that our community needed a health facility closer to where people live, so we came together and started the project. Accessing healthcare comes with a lot of expenses. Some people fall sick but do not have money for transport to travel to distant clinics or even to afford medical services. The establishment of this clinic will bring relief to many residents because healthcare services are now closer to them,” Dube said.
She said the clinic would particularly ease the burden on pregnant women who previously had to travel long distances to access maternity services.
“We are happy that the clinic is now closer to the community, especially for pregnant women who previously had to travel long distances to access maternity services. This will make it easier for them and other residents to seek medical attention without having to travel far,” Dube said.
Headman Sylvester Nkomo of Ward 21 said the vast geographical spread of communal areas made access to essential services difficult, with some villages covering extensive areas.
He said the establishment of Ngwana Clinic would significantly reduce the distances residents had to travel when seeking medical attention.
“The communal areas are too big. Though we call them villages, they are not equally the same. Some villages take quite a vast amount of land. So this institution here now is an advantage to the community because on medical grounds, it will be very near. So it helps the community a lot. To me, it benefits us,” Nkomo said.
Nkomo said the community also faced land ownership challenges when identifying a suitable site for the clinic, as some of the buildings and land in the area were considered government property.
He said the government had initially indicated that it could not release the land because it belonged to the State, delaying progress on the project.
“The establishment of the clinic was initially delayed by challenges over land ownership because there were two Government buildings already in the clinic. The government was saying it could not offer us the land because it belonged to the State. However, a solution was eventually found, allowing the project to proceed,” Nkomo said.
Resident Chemist Ncube said the clinic would ease the financial burden on households that previously spent money travelling to distant health facilities.
He said the proximity of healthcare services would allow residents to redirect money previously spent on transport towards other household needs.
“We used to spend money travelling to other clinics whenever we needed medical assistance. Sometimes people would need to go to a health facility but the challenge would be finding money for transport. Now that we have a clinic within our community, residents will be able to access healthcare closer to their homes. This is a great relief because the money that people used to spend travelling can be used to meet other household needs,” he said.
Ncube said pregnant women would particularly benefit from having healthcare services closer to their homes, given their need for regular medical attention.
“For pregnant women, this clinic is very important because they need regular medical attention during pregnancy. Having a health facility nearby will make it easier for them to seek assistance without the difficulties of travelling long distances. It will also benefit people who need regular check-ups and medicines because they will have a facility closer to their homes,” Ncube said.
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