By Yamikani Yapuwa

Thyolo, February 25, Mana: People from Mikate and Namatuni villages in Thyolo district have expressed hope that construction of health posts in their areas will go a long way in addressing challenges they face to access medical services.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA) on Friday, Village Head Mikate said the construction of Mikate Health Post will bring access to medical services closer to people thereby promoting medical care seeking culture.

“We do not have any health Centre near us as such people walk all the way to Khonjeni to seek medical care.

“This resulted into many to deteriorate with sickness and in some cases others dying in their homes as they could not afford to walk such a long distance or pay transport fare to Khonjeni.

“Further, we have had cases of women giving birth at home while others were giving birth in tea estates while on their way to Khonjeni putting both mother and baby’s lives at risk,” said Village Head Mikate.

She added that the health post will minimize cases of children dying from untreated malaria as women will be able to take their children to the hospital for proper diagnosis and treatment.

A member of the community, Kennedy Yuwa, described Mikate Health Post as a huge asset saying it will serve a lot of people from surrounding villages including those from Mulanje.

“We are grateful to the council for construction of this health facility. We used to walk 20 kilometers to Khonjeni but soon we will have a hospital which is very close to us.

“I have witnessed three people dying on their way to Khonjeni hospital due to lack of a health facility here but once the health post becomes functional, such cases will be minimized,” said Yuwa.

He appealed for the provision of officer’s houses saying it will assist the facility to help many people since the officers will be living within.

“In cases of emergencies at night, we know we will be well covered unlike in scenarios where the doctor lives away from the hospital,” he said.

Agnes Saizi from Namatuni Village, where Namatuni Health Post has been constructed, expressed gratitude saying many lives will be saved.

“For a patient to walk from here to Bvumbwe it was a burden but with a hospital nearby, many people will be treated and continue with their tasks,” said Saizi.

Saizi added that many under five children will also be saved as they will be accessing services closer to home.

She expressed concern that most mothers shun taking their children to health Centre’s for under-five clinic due to distance.

“This is dangerous as it may result into poor health outcomes as most vital vaccines and immunsations are missed,” said Saizi.

On his Facebook post on Thursday, Member of Parliament Thyolo Central, Ben Phiri, where Mikate Health Post is located, expressed happiness that the facility will soon be completed and start serving people from Mikate and surrounding villages.

The health posts have been constructed with funding from the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) project.