Mobile Outreach Clinic

The outreach program offers mobile health services that provide clinical care and health education to poor rural communities. It seeks to address the problem of poor access to quality healthcare, isolation, high transport, and medical costs. The socio-economic situation in Zimbabwe continues to depreciate thereby affecting basic human rights such as healthcare. Our outreach program therefore supplements and supports the limited and stretched existing Ministry of health and child Welfare initiatives by addressing some of the above-mentioned challenges and problems faced mainly by the poor rural and peri-urban communities. Our goal is ultimately to improve wellbeing and save lives.

In this project we seek to address the Primary medical treatment of both acute and chronic ailments as well as compliment that with health and hygiene education and promotion. The target area in which we are working in has only two main government public hospitals, which in themselves are dilapidated and have minimum resources to cater for the masses.

Our target is also of people in the squatter camps who most are immigrants and do not have any identification documents which therefore makes it difficult for them to access any form of healthcare within the system. The economic situation continues to affect service delivery as health workers are continuously striking and or seeking employment in the private sector or migrating to other countries. This results in brain drain and thus ultimately affecting the people in desperate need of healthcare services.

Currently the government offers free immunisation, HIV/AIDS testing, TB screening etc. Our role is to offer Primary Healthcare through the treatment of acute and chronic ailments. An average of 550+ patients are seen per month. In order to strengthen service provision, we are working on developing a project that will seek to empower Community Health Workers (CHW).

Problems / Issues to be Addressed.

1. Lack of access to health facilities
Remoteness and high transport costs Most rural communities do not have nearby health facilities. They have to walk long distances to travel to the nearest clinic or hospital.

2. High elderly population
The majority of the communities we visit are highly populated with the elderly who are left with the responsibility of looking after grandchildren as their parents would have either passed away due to HIV/AIDS or have migrated to neighbouring countries such as South Africa in search of greener pastures. These elderly patients normally present with life threatening chronic ailments such as diabetes and hypertension. These patients therefore are in need of a constant supply of chronic medication or risk complications.

Goal

To improve health and wellbeing of isolated and poor selected communities

2. High elderly population
The majority of the communities we visit are highly populated with the elderly who are left with the responsibility of looking after grandchildren as their parents would have either passed away due to HIV/AIDS or have migrated to neighbouring countries such as South Africa in search of greener pastures. These elderly patients normally present with life threatening chronic ailments such as diabetes and hypertension. These patients therefore are in need of a constant supply of chronic medication or risk complications.

Objectives (medium term)
1. Increase in knowledge and retention
- Overtime the objective is increased knowledge as well as behavioural change.

2. Decrease in acute and chronic diseases
- Regular visits ensure proper adherence and management for chronic patients
- Reduction in reinfection of acute illnesses

Objectives (short term)
1. Increase access to quality clinical care -This is achieved by conducting free mobile outreach clinics to poor rural and squatter camp communities who have little or no access to healthcare facilities. These outreach clinics are set up in existing structures such as community halls/building etc. If buildings are not available the team uses strong solid tents and set up consultation rooms, dispensary etc.