By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, February 20, Mana: Senior Chief Santhe of Kasungu says the five houses that have been constructed at Santhe Health Centre will help to reduce the long standing problem of staff shortage in rural health facilities.

Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, Santhe said rural health facilities have for long been facing shortage of health workers, owing to shortage of staff houses.

“Lack of staff houses has a huge impact on healthcare service delivery. It’s either the healthcare personnel’s morale will be low or the staff will not be interested to be deployed to a facility that has no houses.

“This is why we are excited that our staff houses here are nearing completion, meaning soon they will be occupied. This now means more staff for the facility and consequently improved health service delivery,” she said.

Santhe said the houses should now be a motivation to healthcare workers to be interested to work everywhere in the district and help towards ensuring that every person has access to quality health services.

The houses are part of the K3 billion Health Infrastructure Rehabilitation Fund which will also help to complete 18 other health staff houses that were abandoned under the Umoyo Housing Project in 2012 in various health facilities.

Director of Public Works for Kasungu District Council, Davie Chigwenembe, said he is impressed with the quality of the structures being constructed under the project.

He said: “Apart from the Santhe houses which are at 90 percent completion, we are also finishing staff houses that were abandoned in 2012, specifically at Kasungu District Hospital, Lodjwa, Kaluluma, Wimbe, Bua and Chamwavi health Centre’s.

“Some of the funds have been used to rehabilitate a walkway corridor at Kasungu District Hospital, and the rehabilitation of a solar power water supply reticulated system and supply of solar power to staff houses at Ofesi Health Centre.”

Chigwenembe said it is pleasing that most of the contractors have delivered within the stipulated contract period, giving an example of the Santhe houses which will be handed over at the end of February – a month earlier.

“Another good thing to note is that all the structures under this project have been delivered within the contract price despite that there was devaluation of the Kwacha.

“Additionally, we have saved some money for additional work like construction of a maternal and child health block, maintenance of existing offices and construction of a pharmacy at Kasungu District Hospital,” he said.

In the 2023/24 financial year, Kasungu District was allocated K3 billion to pilot the health infrastructure rehabilitation project which was also being piloted in Mzimba, Dowa, Balaka, Chitipa and Likoma.