Health Minister Kapembwa Simbao yesterday told parliament that government would this year construct five new district hospitals in selected districts around the country.
Mr. Simbao said it was government policy to construct new district hospitals in the country every year in order to ensure that each and every district had a hospital to enhance people’s easy access to health care.
He said government has designed a strategic plan in coming up with names of districts that would benefit from the construction of hospitals this year.
Mr. Simbao said if districts like Chiluba, that did not have a district hospital were not on this year’s plan, they would definitely benefit from the programme next year.
The Minister also disclosed that government has allocated sufficient resources to complete the construction of district hospitals that are still under construction before embarking on the construction of new ones.
He stated that all district hospitals that are been put up are being built in three phases, adding that most of the hospitals under construction such as Chongwe District Hospital are in their last phase of construction.
Meanwhile, Health Deputy Minister Solomon Musonda told parliament today that Chilubi District spends about K72 million a year in referring patients to hospitals in other districts due to the non-availability of a district hospital in the area.
Dr. Musonda said the money was being used to cater for staff allowances and transport costs in ferrying patient to other districts.
The Deputy Minister was responding to a question raised by Chilubi MP Obby Chisala who wanted to know how much money Chilubi district has been spending in referring patients to Lubwa Mission and Luwingu District Hospitals.
This was during the oral answer session.
ZANIS
Now , this is how you prevent fistulas. Like in Botswana or Namibia!
Yeah right!! When are the elections?:):)
Do you still have the mobile hospitals? Why not send those back and use part of the money of this project. We hope it is not just another way of stealing money from the Ministry of Health. And hey, why has everyone suddenly forgotten about Dr Simon Miti that former PM who is implicated in the scandal at the Health Ministry?!
What`s the point when you can`t maintain the ones you already have?
This is what makes a black man a black man.
five this year…. and how many in previous years ? maybe someone like senior citizen could answer this with some facts and figures from his advanced research methodology.
….It’s election time soon , and things are happening………..In a hurry to develop…:d/
Simbao must be teling us things like this after building the hospitals. Our politicians make me sick!!!!! There will be no improvements in our hosiptals until there is a ban on using GRZ resources to pay for politicians and chiefs to be treated overseas when they are ill.
These are just big lies.
Elections are near so they wanna say we have to complete our good projects.Build Universities<Employ people.Renovate UNZA,etc,Develop the infrastructure all around Zambia.Five this year?How many in twenty Years past?
MMD has failed to construct hospitals in 20 years. Is it feasible for the MMD to construct 5 hospitals in 1 year?
totally agree with # 4. Conditions of current hospitals are completely deplorable, why not improve the ones currentlones or is it just having a building they can call a ‘hospital’? SHAME, SHAME, SHAME.
simbao – be a man and think, good for nothing people.
?MMD you are jokers you spent so much money on the mobile hospitals when there was need for permanent infrastracture and now you want to pretend you have built hospitals when there is still no medicines in hospitals! plse give us a break why do you always want to blind fold us, All these projects that should have been done years ago why now. We are not children we can see thru, How effective are the mobile hospitals right now kwena eeh!