Thursday, March 28, 2024

Mobile clinics debate politicised, says Nyirongo

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Example of a Mobile Hospital recently donated to Zambia

Outgoing United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident coordinator Macleod Nyirongo yesterday said the procurement of mobile hospitals has been politicised and the debates around them lacked proper cost-benefit analysis.

He said at a media breakfast meeting hosted by the Lusaka Press Club that a rural community clinic in Itezhi-Tezhi had just been given an award for using a similar concept to promote access to health, which was similar to the mobile hospital concept.

Mr Nyirongo will step down as UNDP country representative next week having served in Zambia since July 2008.

“Don’t dismiss mobile hospitals outrightly. Avoid politicising the debate but use facts and figures.

“For me as an economist, the cost-effective analysis has not been done but the media are the ones who have taken up the matter without the cost-effective analysis,” Mr Nyirongo said.

He said it was unfortunate that politicians in the country had misrepresented the facts and this had resulted in the media taking it up negatively.

“So I think the debate has jumped from the economists to the Press,” he said.
And Paramount Chief Mpezeni of the Ngoni people in Eastern Province and Senior Chief Chisunka of the Ushi people in Luapula Province urged the Government to ensure the speedy implementation of the mobile hospital concept because people in their areas were anxious.

Chief Mpezeni said in an interview that the Government had made a good decision and urged Zambians to ignore Patriotic Front president Michael Sata and United Party for National Development leader Hakainde Hichilema who were constantly criticising the purchase of mobile hospitals.

Chief Chisunka, who is chairperson of the Luapula Province Royal Foundation, said people from Kasongole area walked a long distance to the nearest clinic in Luwingu and that mobile hospitals would provide relief for them.

The Zambia Red Cross Society also said there was nothing wrong with introducing mobile hospitals because they were aimed at alleviating people’s suffering.

Secretary general Charles Mushitu said what was important was the impact of the project on the targeted population.

“I believe the mobile hospitals will be in the same line with the (Zambia) Flying Doctor Service which works well to provide quality health care service to the people,” he said.

Copperbelt Health and Environmental Project executive director, Roy Mwilu said mobile hospitals could play a big role in enhancing health service delivery if well implemented.

He said in Kitwe yesterday that taking a leaf from mobile voluntary counselling and testing programmes, mobile hospitals would contribute positively to Zambia’s health care delivery.
[ Times of Zambia ]

19 COMMENTS

  1. You cant tell us anything on Mobile ambulances, the MMD want to use them as a campaign tool. But come next years elections those auto mobiles will be on stones, broken down unless they bring them 4 mothsn before elections which they are determined to do. To wait until it is optune. But It wont work, MMD going out with or without the Mobile Hospitals.

  2. mobile clinics is a step towards taking healthcare to our door steps. our relatives in rural area will benefit greatly from this. the best doctors in the country will be able to go and pry their trade to villagers who are unable to travel to UTH due to costs or long distances. Sata’s wife who happens to be a highly qualified Doc will be able to attend to our women in shangombo and chama district. you town dwellers why are you so selfish and only want yourselves to be attended to by dr mawba dr lambart dr munkonge prof chintu prof luo dr manda let your relatives in villages also benefit

  3. Has anyone even realy taken time to even look into what realy is a MOBILE HOSPITAL .
    I can tell you this its NOT a LANDROVER 4×4 as in the ones we are to get in zambia .
    What we are getting are Special Purpose Vehicle’s aka Ambulance plain and simple .
    MOBILE HOSPITALS are usualy in all cases 6 mwters to 12 meters long with extensions that can be hydraulicly actuated to widen the width of the bus once in a stationary mode ..ie as in parked .in some cases they are as long as a 40 foot container with state of the art equipment on board and special back up hospital wast disposible trucks .
    CLEARLY NOT A LANDROVER AMBULANCE .
    50 million Dollars plus for 9 or is it 10 units thats practicaly 5 million dollars a unit .IMPOSIBLE , not for an AMBULANCE

  4. We have a serious lack of info on these hospitals.But these are the facts so far.9 vehicles wil be purchased at $53m.this is roughly K30bn each (and this before interest). Is this really the best way of spending this money? Why not set up permanent structures? The govt needs to give us a cost benefit analysis instead of dismissing us because ‘it is none of our biz)

  5. We have a serious lack of info on these hospitals.But these are the facts so far.9 vehicles wil be purchased at $53m.this is roughly K30bn each (and this before interest). Is this really the best way of spending this money? Why not set up permanent structures? The govt needs to give us a cost benefit analysis instead of dismissing us because ‘it is none of our biz’

  6. I do not have enough info on mobile clinics/hospitals but I do know that we have to reach rural communities some how and some of those places only land rovers etc can do that job. How the government intends to maitain them and information on other logistical factors will have to be provided by government.
    The nature of the whole debate has be too emotional, immature and plain vicious/vindictive. We are over politicising everything. If all these critics utilised the energy and time on really developing their own sphere we would have collective and meaningful development but hey the road to a trully just, fair, equitable and noble future is only travelled by a few

  7. “Chief Chisunka, who is chairperson of the Luapula Province Royal Foundation, said people from Kasongole area walked a long distance to the nearest clinic in Luwingu and that mobile hospitals would provide relief for them.” Chief you are a rotten MMD puppet. Your area where my maternal grand father cousin to Mr. Aram Chabwe (Son to the Great Chief Chisunka)comes from is dotted with many health centres which only need manning and up grading. Those ambulances wont last a year on those roads. You need to understand what is involved in running a motor vehicle before you disgrace our Chiefdom.

  8. Splaka
    The concept of Mobile Hospital is to cover as many people as possible over a vast geographical area in need of health care.A permanent structure will only benefit the people living around that area.On top of that these mobile hospitals will admit patients and later take them to District and provincial Hospitals if need be.This program will complement the govt’s long term policies of building permanent structures.This program has worked well in Pakistan and other Asian countries including China(Rural China).

  9. #4 chi colour there is an example pa picture you can’t see?? thats whats we are going to ve in zed and not want u googled mwanya MMD plus chi LT MAFII YEKAYEKA!!

  10. #9 Sharp Shooter- If Land Cruiser Ambulances fail to reach the so called remote areas how do you expect those unfamiliar wagons to succeed? Lets wait and see. You cannot compare ZFD to those wagons, because ZDF only need space to land and take off. At 30bK we can revamp our rural health centres permanently not this Micky Mouse solutions

  11. The bottom line is this is just a way for the MMD to fund raise for the campaign. We will be seeing more and more of these in the coming months. Indeni will close for long enough time for MMD machinery to trade in fuel. The mobile hospitals will not be functional just a few months after they come because the main reason for buying them is stealing money.

  12. Strange that doctors who run hospitals think mobile hospitals are a waste of money, and Macleod an ecomonomist, Mpezeni an uneducated chief think they’re good. Why not send landcruisers to ferry those villagers to hospitals for treatment and back to their villages? Govt should just buy lots of ambulances.

  13. Sharp shooter,
    you are talking about 9 vehicles covering the whole country. Your assertion of covering as many people as possible is not valid. What makes these vehicles worth K30bn? The vehicle in the picture does not look like it is worth it. These vehicles will be obsolete within 1 yr because of the distances and state of roads, while the debt will be with us 4 generations!

  14. ignorance is deep rooted in you guys against this idea or you just choose to be negative in line with your party policy. you have never saw mobile dental clinics or mobile laboratories going round in townships. speaking for myself i welcome this initiative by govt so that my relatives in mpika and sefula can benefit. problem yaba kaponya they know and see no good just like their leaders HH and sata who want to turn death into a carnival kwateniko imitima. God is able to see thats why he cant allow umuntu namakandi to rule zambia. safe hands KK, FTJ, Levy RB amakandi panse you never rule us you will keep dreaming with your followers, meanwhile PF and UPND carry on with your tug of war who is stronger and who is weaker we see were it takes you, pitfall

  15. #15 kalinosky petr- Your language clearly demonstrates MMD’s shallowness and love for dirty money. Just debate and if you run out of points let those still with steam continue with the argument. Insults are not points and puts you far below the guys you call KAPONYAS

  16. If all things were equal,yes these mobile hospital would supplement the health services and indeed take the health services to our people in the rural areas, but as things stand in Zambia ie the infrastructure, shoddy managerial practices..etc these mobile hospitals are simply a waste of money. Some of the bloggers here overestimate our ( us Zambians) ability to manage our resources.

  17. #16 dejavu i cant blame your lack of understanding issues. i will allow you to continue showing your little knowledge. if you have relatives in villages i can assure you they will benefit. good weekend im off blogging let me enjoy my weekend why you labor ku job

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