Villagers in Chiadzwa in Mkwada area are now walking over 10 kilometres to get medical care after their sole clinic shut down due to the unavailability of nurses.
Nurses at the clinic that serves Mutsago and Chipindirwe villages reportedly withdrew their services after power was cut off from the health centre more than two months ago.
A villager, Lovemore Mkwada confirmed the development to TellZim News and said that only one nurse aide is available but administering only prescriptions. Said Mkwada:
There are no nurses at the clinic, only one caregiver is available. The issue is emanating from the unavailability of electricity for over two months due to a transformer breakdown.
The community is unhappy with the lack of response from the relevant authorities who they say are putting people’s lives at risk.
Mutare Rural District Council (MRC) Head of Social Services, Temba Nyarumbu said the council is aware of the situation and are working around the clock, to resolve it before the weekend. He said:
Some of the nurses retired while others went on leave but we have found their replacements. We expect the situation to normalize by the weekend.
As for the issue of power challenges, this clinic has not been connected to the national power line so all along we were relying on solar power while we work on getting connected to the main power grid.