Africa-Press – Tanzania. RESIDENTS of Ijumbi Ward in Muleba District have appealed to the Ministry of Health to allocate health workers to a newly constructed health centre.
Ijumbi Ward Councillor Wilbard Mubirigi, on behalf of the villagers, made the appeal before Muleba District Commissioner(DC), Mr Toba Nguvila, who visited the health facility recently accompanied by the defence and security committee.
“We are happy to inform you that most of the infrastructures including maternity and children’s wards had already been completed. We appeal to the government to allocate medical workers in order to enable the health centre to start providing services,” he said.
Mr Mubirigi informed him that the residents had unanimously decided to construct the health centre to avoid walking long distances to Rubya Mission hospital which also served as District Designated Hospital (DDH). He explained that the health centre, which will have maternity and children wards, will also benefit three neighbouring wards of Ibuga, Buhangaza and Kashasha.
“Most of the people are poor and they can hardly afford to pay high medical costs, thus some patients have been losing life at home,” he said. According to the 2012 Population and Housing Census, Ijumbi ward comprised of five villages namely Ruhija, Lubao, Ibare, Ijumbi and Nshambya and had a population of 11,000.
Mr Nguvila commended the villagers and urged them and all Tanzanians, where such infrastructures have been constructed, to ensure that they are well preserved. “By ensuring that health facilities are equipped to deliver comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care services, we can effectively address the fatal complications of childbirth, including severe bleeding, infection, prolonged or obstructed labor, eclampsia and asphyxia in the newborn,” he said.
Health systems and service delivery require strengthening. The availability of drugs and supplies remain a challenge. The systems for referral and transport are inadequate. Limited access to insurance schemes and informal payments at health facilities pose financial barriers to access.
Statistics indicate that 2 out of 3 of all maternal deaths globally occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Only six African countries dedicate at least 15 per cent of their annual budgets to the health sector, while over 11 million people are falling into poverty every year due to high out of pocket payments on health.
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