The plight of Chikonkomene community due to lack of access to health services

By Juliet Mphande

Doreen Kawala a member of Chikokonmene community in Central Province of Zambia expressed the difficulty her family has faced, especially her aged grandfather in accessing health services due to the long distances between medical facilities and the shortage of health professionals in their area.

Healthcare facilities in Chikonkomene community are scarce and widely dispersed. Residents do not have access to reliable public transportation caused by poor infrastructure, leaving the community stranded with not many options of how they can access health services.

Access to health services implies that healthcare services are available and obtained in a timely manner.

Doreen Kawala stated “my elderly and disabled grandfather needs ongoing medical support for his chronic health conditions, the cost of frequent travel becomes excessive causing us to avoid seeking his much needed treatments for long periods”

She added, “after experiencing difficulties in obtaining transport, when we visit the hospital, we are required to stand in long queues. Queuing in hospitals is stressful.”

The majority of patients spend at least two hours before they are seen by the doctor. Time is very sensitive in healthcare; this spells disaster and the patients know as much. “Patients should get the medical attention needed at the right time. Long wait times can lead to adverse health effects. People have died while waiting in long queues at the hospitals.” lamented Doreen.

The global optimum doctor-patient ratio is one doctor per every 5,000 patients. However, Zambia now has one of the most anomalous doctor-patient ratios of one doctor to 12,000 patients. There is a dire lack of medical personnel in the country. The quality of health care dispensed is impacted by the workload the health workers have to manage. For example, a clinical officer is forced to rush their patient care to satisfy the demand of so many people in line waiting, which leads to lower quality and inadequate healthcare.

‘’There is an urgent need for the government to increase the number of health workers not only in our community but in the country at large.’’ emphasised Doreen Kawala

Poor health services in Zambia is as a result of high debt levels which leave the country in a weakened position. A lot of the country’s debt is obtained in foreign currency, which means if the Kwacha (Zambian currency) weakens due to external factors such as the copper price falling unexpectedly, the amount that Zambia owes in real time increases.

High debt weakens the economy by forcing the government to spend money on interest payments when it should be spending on national development and critical sectors such as the health services. Lack of investment in the health sector has a long-term impact on the social well-being of Zambians as is seen by the experience of Doreen, her family and community of Chikonkomene.

Zambians will continue facing challenges when accessing health services if the government does not address the debt problem. Many Zambians are already struggling as unemployment levels continue to rise due to the austerity measures adopted by the government which are imposed by the external creditors, coupled with the higher costs of living there is increased poverty levels in the country and the community of Chikonkomene is not spared.

The impact of debt should concern everyone, as everyone is affected by it. Amidst all the debate, the debt levels in Zambia continues to increase at an alarming rate and Zambians will be the first to pay the real price for the country’s debt, even with their lives as the social services are underinvested and the healthcare system ill equipped to take care for the Zambian people.