SHURUGWI Town Council has started rehabilitating Makusha and Mambowa clinics to create space for maternity wards as part of plans to expand maternal health services, the Southern Eye has learnt.
BY STEPHEN CHADENGA
Council chairman Tsungai Makore said the development would ease pressure on expectant mothers from the mining town, who were being forced to congest at Shurugwi District Hospital, resulting in some opting to deliver at home.
“We are working on it (rehabilitation of clinics) and hope to open maternity wards at the clinics soon,” Makore said.
“The move will definitely help in the decongestion of the (Shurugwi) hospital, as well as making sure that expectant mothers have easy access to maternity services.”
Over the years, there have been reports of some women resorting to home deliveries, as there were no maternity facilities in the area.
A 49-year-old woman from Makusha, Enisia Mlambo said introducing maternity wards would assist pregnant women, who usually get inefficient services at the hospital in the mining town.
“Usually there is congestion at Shurugwi Hospital and some pregnant women are failing to access maternal health services on time,” Mlambo said.
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According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, at least 242 women died while giving birth in 2017. Health experts say the figure could even be higher as some cases go unreported.
Zimbabwe maternal mortality rate stands at 614 deaths per every 100 000 live births, a figure which is one of the highest in the region.