Clinics in three provinces do not have safe water

Only half of the health clinics in three Zimbabwean provinces have access to safe water and the majority of districts face shortages of essential drugs, according to an NGO monitoring group, the Food Security Network (FOSENET).

Based on information drawn from 52 districts, FOSENET noted that clinics spread across central Zimbabwe - in Mashonaland West, the Midlands and Masvingo - had the poorest access to safe water out of the country's eight provinces.

FOSENET found that the availability of antibiotics had also dropped with curently 58 percent of districts having access, compared to two-thirds that had access in March.

Provinces like Matabeleland North did not have adequate medical staff - only half of its clincis had a nurse.

A quarterly monitoring report on health and education released by FOSENET also highlighted the barriers that poorer communities face in trying to access health care services. It noted that only 58 percent of the selected monitoring sites in 53 districts spread across the country had access to health facilities within five kilometres of their homesteads.

The province of Mashonaland Central and the major cities had the best health coverage, while those worst served in terms of distance to facilities were Mashonaland East, Midlands and Matebeleland North and South. Provinces such as Mashonaland West and East as well as Midlands and Matebeleland North had a high prevalence of diseases such as cholera and malaria and yet had the highest percentage of people who walked long distances to the nearest health centre.

The high cost of drugs was identified as another barrier to health services. FOSENET's current report noted that the fee levels in clinics varied widely from Zim $ 120 (US 0.02 cents) to Zim $ 45,000 (US $ 8.43).

Primary clinics and district hospitals do not provide medicine for AIDS related illnesses and patients have to travel to larger towns to access such treatment, noted the report.