Only caregivers with children below 7 are provided with meals, says Rundu hospital

Only caregivers of children seven years and below are eligible for meals at the Rundu State Hospital, the Ministry of Health and Social Services has said.

Ministry public relations officer Walters Kamaya said this on Thursday following enquiries and media reports that mothers who are admitted with sick children are not provided with food, and survive on their children’s leftovers or food brought by family members.

“Due to the socio-economic and demographic profile of the region, the catchment area of Intermediate Hospital Rundu is the referral centre for three regions,” he said.

Kamaya said the hospital operates under budgetary constraints thus, management

resolved to permit only caregivers of children seven years old and below to lodge in the hospital.

“These caregivers are the ones eligible for meal provisions,” he added.

According to Kamaya, in February, the hospital incurred a total cost of N$157 063.85 for meals provided to mothers lodging, while in March, it was N$186 426.52.

Before the ministry’s pronouncement, Nampa spoke to two women with children who are hospitalised, and it appears they were not aware they qualify for meals.

A 21-year-old mother from the Zambezi region, who asked not to be identified, said she has been admitted with her sick two-year-old child since 19 December last year, and on top of dealing with her son’s illness, the other challenge is that mothers or caregivers are not provided with food.

“Food costs add up very quickly and I’ve been here since 19 December at Rundu, where I have no family,” she said

The mother of two said she mostly survives on food given to her by other caregivers when their family members bring them food or when there are leftovers from her child’s food.

She informed this news agency that she has not had a proper meal in a very long time and doesn’t even know when her daughter will be discharged.

Another 30-year-old mother who travelled from Andara, some 120 kilometres east of Rundu to stay with her four-year-old child, said she too doesn’t have an income and struggles to afford food while her daughter is hospitalised.

She only has access to food if relatives visit and on days they don’t visit, she goes hungry.

Patients receive three meals per day: breakfast between 08h00 and 09h00, lunch between 12h00 and 13h00, and dinner at 16h30.

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