Officials from the National Aids Council (NAC) recently toured Harare’s peri-urban settlements, making a key stop at Ushewekunze in ward one of Churu constituency.
The visit formed part of NAC’s assessment of how funds from the Aids Levy are being utilised through community-based implementation partners, particularly ZimbosAbantu Health Care on Wheels.
The delegation included NAC board chairperson Nester Mukwehwa, Harare Metropolitan provincial manager Adonijah Muzondiona, operations committee head Tendai Westerhof, as well as ZimbosAbantu directors Tawanda Mushawedu and Chiedza Mushawedu, clinic staff and community residents.
The visit sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the mobile clinic programme in delivering primary healthcare services, including the fight against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), under NAC’s social contracting model.
“We are happy with the results of social contracting, as well as the impact we have seen and heard from beneficiaries. It is commendable,” said Mukwehwa.
ZimbosAbantu currently operates 12 mobile clinics in underserved communities, including Hopely, Hatcliffe, Epworth, Caledonia, Ushewekunze and Churu Farm in Harare, as well as Emganwini and Cowdray Park in Bulawayo, with occasional outreach visits to Chitungwiza.
The social enterprise was founded in 2021 after identifying severe gaps in healthcare access for women, youths and children living in informal settlements, many of whom were forced to travel long distances to access medical services.
“That is the crux of our intervention — to see how we can assist communities to save money without the burden of travelling long distances to seek healthcare services,” said Mushawedu.
The organisation began operating in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East, before expanding to Ushewekunze in 2023.
Healthcare access remains a major challenge in Ushewekunze, where residents must travel to Tariro Clinic in Hopely or Rutsanana Polyclinic in Highfields due to the absence of a nearby health facility.
Under NAC’s social contracting framework — which funds civil society organisations providing HIV prevention and healthcare services — Ushewekunze was specifically selected for clinical services.
The outreach programme featured patient testimonies, drama and choir performances that highlighted the initiative’s impact on the community.
“We do not have a physical clinic, which forces some people to resort to unsafe traditional medicines and unconventional healthcare methods. We are grateful for this mobile clinic and the education ZimbosAbantu is providing,” said one beneficiary.
ZimbosAbantu offers a wide range of primary healthcare services, including HIV care, screening for non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, as well as prostate and cervical cancer screening.
Consultations and diagnostic tests are subsidised through NAC funding, meaning patients do not pay for HIV tests, STI screening, prostate cancer screening or medical consultations.
Patients only cover the cost of medication. To ease that burden, the organisation has also introduced a savings scheme to help patients purchase prescribed drugs.
The initiative also contributes towards the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 7 and 12.
Each mobile clinic employs up to 10 people, including clinicians, doctors, nurses, nurse aides, data specialists, community mobilisers, security personnel and drivers.
On average, one mobile clinic serves about 600 people per month, attending to between 18 and 22 patients daily from Monday to Saturday. A medical doctor visits once a week.
However, Mushawedu highlighted several operational challenges, including staff shortages and transport difficulties.
“Nurses do not live within the community and must travel to Ushewekunze. Securing doctors is even more difficult because of the long distances and poor road networks. In many cases they use their own transport, and this is an area where we still need NAC’s intervention,” he said.
Mushawedu said the organisation aims to expand significantly.
“Our target is to establish 150 mobile clinics. The healthcare gap is huge across all provinces. There are communities with little to no public health facilities, so we are filling that gap while waiting for government to complement these efforts in future,” he told Standard Style.
Key partners supporting the initiative include the Embassy of France in Zimbabwe, Australian Aid, Swiss Re Foundation, FSD Africa, Bayer Foundation and the Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV.
Muzondiona described the programme as a critical intervention responding to the country’s changing health realities.