Salima under malaria siege
Khombedza Health Centre in Salima has sounded an alarm over increased cases of malaria it is handling monthly amid shortage of health workers.
The situation is said to impact negatively on the socio-economic development of the area in particular and that of the nation at large as it has already partly affected the construction of the proposed K14.8 billion ($33 million) Salima Sugar Factory falling under the Green Belt Initiative.
The health centre’s in-charge, Henry Mbadza, said the facility handles a monthly average of 1 500 malaria cases, with January 2015 registering the highest at over 3 000.
He said: “For the three years now, we have been having this problem. Most of those affected are women and children.”
The centre, with a catchment area of 60 000 as of February this year, has two medical assistants and four nurses.
Briefed on the situation, Salima district health officer Dr Michael Kayange confirmed knowledge of the challenges the health centre is facing, saying his office is currently working towards addressing some of them.
Contractor working on the factory, Apollo International Limited, said cases of absenteeism are on the increase amongst the company’s workforce due to illness; a move that continues to delay the completion of the project.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) describes malaria as “a disease of poverty that affects the poorest and keeps them poor.”
According to Unicef, children under the age of five and women are more vulnerable to malaria which accounts for about 10 percent of hospital admissions and six percent of in-patient deaths.
