Mission to Mwenga: Day 6
30 novembre 2009
We had an interesting meeting with the traditional ethnic leaders of Kitutu today. Each of them had come with lists of names of people who had been displaced from their villages.
I asked them why so few of their people visit the health centres here (some health facilities are only used by about 10% of their target population).
Apart from the obvious answer about the high fees, there is also the fact that once someone has paid for their consultation, there are often no drugs in the health centre to treat the patient. Instead, they have to visit a private pharmacy and pay more money.
There is also the problem of the quality of the health services. What woman wants to deliver in a health centre where there is dried blood on the mattress?
(Photo: Operating theatre in Kitutu general hospital. The watering cans are used to clean the surgeon’s hands before he starts the operation.)
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