Primary health care: cornerstone to wellness

By Catherine Murombedzi

Mahusekwa- ZIMBABWE’S primary health care is robust with traceable links at every stage, bridging the gaps from family level in the community to clinic, district, provinvial, right up to national level.

Unsung heroes and heroines of the health we enjoy as a country are the pillars of the primary prevention to public health.

The village health workers (VHW) are the cogs in the wheel.
An insight into the roles of the VHW shine as a beacon, showing their importance.

Prevention is better than cure, a stitch in time saves nine.

“As VHW, we are nominated by the community, we are not selected by clinics.

” From the community, we then come to the clinics where we are trained.

“At times, we are trained at district or provincial level.

“The recent Covid-19 pandemic amplified our roles as we went from homestead to homestead educating people on the prevention aspect.

“Covid-19 is a virus, hence the need to social distance, wash hands and sanitise. We are proud to say that the chigubhu gear concept, (soapy water in an empty 2l or 5l plastic container, manually operated using a foot is mounted with user stepping on the gear, the container tips resulting in running water) lives as a permanent structure at every homestead now,” explained a health worker in Mahusekwa.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care, (MoHCC) facilitated an interactive appreciation media tour for primary health care for various health journalists from the state to private media and freelancers from the print, broadcast and online media houses. The training was supported by the World Health Organisation, (WHO).

Viral diseases are notifiable and any outbreak is quickly followed up to manage and contain the possible further spread.

The VHW living in the community is usually the first to hear, notice and report cases.

With Mahusekwa community, the eagle eye of VHWs alerted the authorities of measles outbreak and the MoHCC came into action..
This is the important aspect of community led monitoring by the VHW. An outbreak is reported right from an eye witness account and is not made up in an office.

“We had 80 suspected cases, we were notified by the VHW as all these cases are from an Apostolic sect that does not seek conventional treatment. We then enact our tracing respecting the values of the sector with an aim of imparting knowledge. Teaching is continuous through traditional leadership and VHW. We take samples to the lab, meanwhile, we quarantine the suspected to minimise the further spread of measles. Of the 80 samples, we have received 27 results and await the balance. Of the 27, six were measles positive.

“We managed to treat the six and have not recorded any death in any institution. Community deaths occur with word claiming 12 to be possible measles deaths, note well, this is not qualified,” said Dr Delight Madoro, the District Medical Officer for Marondera who is stationed at Mahusekwa District Hospital.

The state-of-the-art hospital has a theatre, pharmacy, maternity wing with a paeds department and admission unit.
Immunisation at the hospital is open daily and amplified during campaigns.

Mahusekwa District Hospital is served by five medical doctors and 79 nurses, a fully functional pharmacy, radiology services and is the district stores for vaccines.
The safety and efficacy of vaccines is maintained through the cold chain supply.
Never at any minute is the hospital without electricity and all operations sail smoothly without any glitches.
The hospital is on the national energy grid. Any power outage is automatically backed up by the 40kw giant solar. unit
The solar system was made possible through Solar for Health, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The hospital is a health oasis offering comprehensive health in the rural community, with no need to travel to the city for treatment.
Infact, it is the city that is travelling to Mahusekwa for the quality treatment and care.
The hospital fully funded by the Chinese Aid was opened in November 2019 by His Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Zimbabwe plans construction of a district hospital in all the 53 districts.
This move will decongest major referral hospitals by bringing comprehensive health to all, thereby leaving no one behind.