DONATED goods, such as refrigerators, scanning machines and delivery bedding for expecting mothers, are gathering dust at the Chikangwe proposed 24-hour maternity wing since 2015 due to financial and water crises.
BY NHAU MANGIRAZI
Zim-Health, a non-governmental organisation from Netherlands, donated the goods to ease maternal health challenges in Karoi town, covering Chikangwe and Claudia suburbs, as well as the Nyama resettlement area and was expected to benefit 15 000 women.
A maternity wing was established to assist expecting mothers before referring them to Karoi District Hospital, catering for 32 outlying clinics in a district with a 329 197-strong population, according to the 2012 national census.
The official opening of the wing has been staggered due to lack of coordination from senior officials and financial resources coupled by the worsening water crisis affecting the farming town situated about 204km north-west of Harare.
The problems have been blamed on lack of coordination within the municipality’s management, with one councillor claiming that the council approved the employment of midwives, who have “a dark past”.
The ministry of Health and Child Care reportedly demanded that the community hall be fenced before it could authorise the use of the maternity wing, but nothing was done.
Two full council meetings were postponed in May, as policy makers wanted a briefing on the progress from the housing department.
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According to the June full council minutes, Ward 1 councillor, Travolta Matekenya raised concern that the facility was yet to become functional long after the set deadline and this was prejudicing residents.
Sha Mujuruki responded that there had been no progress made.
“She (Mujuruki) said nothing had changed and everything was at a standstill and work was still pending since management had not discussed anything pertaining to financing for the maternity wing,” read the minutes in part.
Matekenya further asked about the challenges being faced since most goods were donated and council input was minimal, but the director argued that financial challenges were the hindrance.
Matekenya, however, argued that the real problem was “lack of commitment and incompetence on management’s part”.
Health officials at Karoi district and Chinhoyi provincial hospitals were evasive on the matter.
“We are only witnessing pregnant women registering here for antenatal and postnatal care. We do not know how they would have delivered, as the clinic is still to offer the service here,” a source close to the development said.
The maternity wing is currently being used by breastfeeding mothers, who are on antiretroviral therapy and a recent visit revealed that it has not been working as a maternity wing, with three beds in the other room gathering dust, while scores of other donated materials are locked in another room.
“We had a challenge of a sink. It was installed, but nothing has been done to show commitment on when the maternity wing will be opened,” another source said.
A seven-member commission appointed by Environment Water and Climate ministry to see if council had the capacity to take over water from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority recently was informed that the maternity wing could not be officially opened because of water challenges.
Karoi Residents and Ratepayers Association chairman Freck Kuchekwa expressed concern over lack of progress on the facility.
“We are concerned that expecting mothers have to use a district referral hospital, when donated goods are gathering dust because there is no water to make it function,” he said.
Karoi Town Council town clerk, Wellington Mutikani said the council would soon use the public health and amenities cross-cutting team to investigate the matter.
“Public health is council’s priority and issues of maternal health cannot be overlooked,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey says at least 20% of Zimbabwean births for the last five years were home deliveries, which have a negative impact on maternal mortality.
Maternal mortality occurs when a woman dies while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy.
The causes maybe related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes and the Karoi scenario aptly points to one such potential case.
