This project will build accommodation for a permanent team of doctors and nurses who will provide critical healthcare services to 4000 people living in rural Maunga, who currently have no reliable access to healthcare. Children and pregnant women are particularly at risk. A clinic has successfully been built and equipped, but now needs to be staffed. Improved healthcare in rural communities has far-reaching implications; improving the community's productivity and development potential.
People in rural Maunga walk 20km(12.5m) to the nearest clinic, a journey many do not manage. Healthcare services for Zambia's rural populations are severely limited & they face additional factors such as poor nutrition, limited clean water & sanitation, making them more susceptible to illnesses. Children are particularly at risk. High rates of maternal/ infant mortality & diseases such as malaria & cholera could be avoided/ successfully treated simply if skilled care were available.
African Bush Camps Foundation has constructed & equipped a clinic, complete with maternity ward, to serve the community. Before doctors & nurses can be allocated to the clinic so it can be operational, they must legally have adequate accommodation. By building 2 semi-detached houses, the clinic will be eligible for 4 doctors & nurses to be allocated. The clinic will then be fully operational & able to provide critical healthcare services to a large, under-served & at-risk community.
Improved health affects more than just the well-being of individuals; it has far-reaching implications for a society's productivity & development potential. Ill health leads to further impoverishment in rural communities by reducing the ability to work, which is chiefly subsistence farming. This results in reduced crop yields & poorer nutrition. A functional clinic will improve the overall health of the community in the long term with special reference to mothers' & young children's development.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
