CHIEF Evaluation and Monitoring for nongovernmental organization Mazombe Mahenge Development Association (MMADEA) through project healthy for welfare, Hezron Kalolo has urged government officials in the villages and the general public to create the habit of saving money for expectant mothers when they are about to give birth and after delivery instead of waiting for government.
He said that despite the current challenges facing the people of different villages, but MMADEA organization provides education on reproductive health and the effects of teenage pregnancies in eleven (11) project villages.
Hezron said this yesterday that the project is implemented in the three wards of Idete, Nyanzwa and Ibumu of Kilolo District through the funding of the Foundation for Civil Society (FCS), while campaigning to raise awareness of people about the challenges of the health sector.
He said that Kilolo District is one of the districts of Iringa Region with challenge of teenage pregnancies and early marriages where many girls become pregnant before age of 18.
Moreover, Evaluation and Monitoring Officer of the NGO of the MMADEA mentioned some of the causes of teenage pregnancy to be a low level of maternal education, poverty, desire, unprotected sex, peer pressure, child marriage and culture.
For their part, the people of Idete Village of Kilolo district, Iringa region have asked the government to build a clinic for maternal and child services to improve the reproductive health of the village.
They said the village does not have a government clinic that increase maternal and child deaths, whereas when there is a government clinic, health care will be affordable through a community health insurance (CHF).
Speaking yesterday at different times during the public meeting, citizens commended a non-governmental organization of Mazombe Mahenge Development Association (MMADEA) of Iringa to provide educational health issues of mother and child, saying there has been an increase of awareness for health matters.
They said that they used the high cost of health care due to existing dispensaries that are not for government to that impose high costs of treatment, adding that if there had been a government dispensary would recover those costs.
Residents said they have been forced to walk long distances from village to Kidabaga Health Center located many miles away in another ward Kilolo district, Iringa region.
They argued that the absence of a health center is a factor leading to the citizens to walk long distances to follow health services together with the poor infrastructure of the road, where many cars fail to arrive and have to hire a vehicle from the Catholic church at high cost due to the absence of an ambulance at the private clinic owned by the Lutheran church in Tanzania.
They said that if there had been a health fund (CHF) would help in reducing the cost of health care while questioning why were paying a lot of money for hiring ambulance from the council when the government provides free services for reproductive health.
Citizens of the Village of Idete, Kilolo district in Iringa are in danger of experiencing the challenge of losing pregnant women and children due to the distance to the health center, as they have to contribute to an ambulance from the council and the Catholic Church.
Tumpe Mwadisa is a resident of the Idete Village, speaking to a journalist of The Guardian when he saw her sent to Iringa Regional referral Hospital where she helped with lift to go and delivery down to Iringa Town.
She said that the challenge of losing pregnant women and children is attributable to the absence of a government clinic and a health center for the entire Idete ward.
In turn, Chairman of the Village of Idete, Bimas Mkemwa together with Idete Ward Councillor, Bruno Kauku have said that the education provided by MMADEA is significant to the people, since they did not have enough knowledge on community health fund (CHF) and access to services for reproductive health, while asking the government to build a clinic in order to save the life of mother and child.
Following the cry for residents and village leaders for Idete, Kilolo district in Iringa have asked the government to build a clinic so they can overcome the discomfort of walking long distances, especially pregnant women to follow health care.
However, citizens have cried for national leaders to skip the village for many years to see the persecutions suffered by citizens of the village despite the village been headquarters of the ward.
