Mission to Mwenga: Days 3 and 4
November 22nd, 2009
We traded in our muddy Land Cruisers for three rented motorbikes for our assessment in Kitutu, in order to visit the health centres. There are no roads around here, only footpaths through the forest.
The health centres are in a very poor state here. I´ve visited manyrural African health centres in the last few years working for MSF, but the ones today still managed to shock me.
None of them had any place to put their waste, so dirty needles are just thrown in or around an open pit where children can play nearby. There’s no water, so patients who can´t pay their bills are sent off to the river to collect water in payment. No mattresses on the broken beds… the list goes on.
The cost of healthcare for patients here is astronomical. To have an emergency caesarean section, you have to pay $80!
This is in an area of real poverty. Yes, there are goldmines in the region, but 90% of the population here are simple farmers who live a hand-to-mouth existence.
With no government funding from the Ministry of Health, these health facilities can only buy their medicines or pay their staff with the money they receive from their patients.
But what if the health care fees prevent the poorest of the population from accessing the health care they desperately need? This is exactly what happens all over Congo, but it is particularly damaging in areas like South Kivu, where the population is already destitute after years of conflict.
Instead, the sick people go to “prayer rooms” or try out the traditional healer. Neither with very efficient results.
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novembre 26th, 2009
12:03
Veronica McNiff
said:
Harriet is so brave and mentions no qualms about her own wellbeing. MSF is incredibly lucky to have her.