KILOLO: Chairman of the Idete Village, Bimas Mkemwa in Idete Ward said that education and research offered by organizations of Mazombe Mahenge Development Association (MMADEA) and Iringa Civil Society Organization (ICISO) in district Kilolo, Iringa has largely increased knowledge to citizens about access to health care.
He made statement at the meeting to provide feedback on the research conducted by the organization of CISO held in Kilolo district yesterday.
Mkemwa has asked the government to build a health center in order to improve the health of mother and child in the village and Idete ward in general.
He said that the people of the Idete Village, Kilolo district in Iringa have urged the government in collaboration with various stakeholders to build a health center in order to eliminate the burden of walking long distances to seek maternal health care.
He said that the poor infrastructure of the Idete road especially in this period of rains causes many women to give birth on the way, while unable to afford the cost of hire an ambulance from the Christian mission clinic.
He said that citizens have been hiring the vehicle between 250,000 / -and three hundred thousand (300,000 / -) from Idete to Iringa town for fulfillment health care, especially mothers when they go to give birth.
Mkemwa said that bad infrastructure has led to some bent on marriage and teenage pregnancy as mothers and daughter are forced to sleep in the passenger bus.
He added that citizens are sleeping on buses due to lack of money for guesthouse and lead mothers and daughters raped due to sleep on the bus.
He pleaded with the government to improve the road infrastructure to simplicity in terms of transport and communication and also building a health center in order to improve the health of mother and child in their area.
However, the Kilolo district council has promised to use survey conducted by the NGO in Iringa (ICISO Umbrella) to address the various challenges that hinder the provision of quality services for maternal and child health.
Kilolo district Community Development Officer, Philemon Naminga said many challenges as identified through the survey were information gap caused lack of good governance.
"The flow of information to society from the bottom up to the level of the district council is not good, there is a gap of how to report between citizens and leaders and the leaders themselves sometimes," he said.
ICISO Executive Secretary, Raphael Mtitu said the survey conducted for six months (October 2016 to March 2017) in 40 villages of the wards of Ibumu, Image, Idete, Irole, Ilula, Nyalumbu, Ruaha Mbuyuni, Uhambingeto and Nyanzwa.
He said that the study was funded by The Foundation for Civil Society was aimed at empowering civil society and citizens to evaluate and measure the use of public funds in local government on the quality and services offered, particularly on maternal health and child.
Mtitu said the results of the study show the same 319 people and 65 percent of all respondents have reported the presence of health care maternal and child in their area and 172 people said no such services in their areas.
"That is because of the absence of centers providing services in their villages or citizens and some of the villages to be away from centers providing health care," he said.
Referring distance access, Mtitu said research shows are available for a distance of between one and four kilometer and more than five kilometers, while the infrastructure to get at some of these centers as poor.
He said the study also shows that people spend an average of one hour to two hours to get those services in centers providing services although some spend more than four hours.
"There needs to be enough providers and enough medical supplies to the public gain access so that that they turning away to go to traditional healers or try to cure themselves," he said.
He mentioned other challenges the survey disclosed included drug shortages, some people have no knowledge of good parenting, lack of vehicles carrying patients and the problem of communication especially for pregnant women and children who need care quickly.
However, stakeholders of the health sector donated their comments after reports of the study presented, and asked the government to improve service with their priorities to clinical care, transportation for pregnant women, medical supplies, and services of midwives before and after childbirth.
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