The San community in the Bwabwata National Park in the Zambezi region says their family members die while waiting for help in cases of medical emergencies.
The community is outraged after three men were run over along the Trans-Zambezi Highway at Omega 3 and Chetto villages on 17 and 18 August and had to wait for hours for an ambulance to arrive.
One of the victims (90) died as a result of the injuries he sustained, while a man (23) and a boy (19) were treated for their injuries at Katima Mulilo District Hospital.
Omega 3 and Chetto villages in the Kongola constituency are about 170km and 202km from Katima Mulilo, respectively.
Bwabwata National Park community development committee chairperson Kiepie Herman last week said the pensioner died while waiting for the ambulance to arrive from Katima Mulilo – five hours later.
He said the young man also waited for five hours, while the boy waited for an ambulance for two hours.
“The lack of availability of ambulances is costing our loved ones their lives. If the nurses at Cheto Clinic request an ambulance vehicle for critical emergencies in the morning, it only comes in the evening. It doesn’t matter what life-threatening emergency it is,” Herman said.
POOLING RESOURCES
He said residents are now pooling resources to hire private transport or informal taxis if they are available in the area to transport victims to Katima Mulilo.
“We really need an ambulance to be stationed at Cheto Clinic to transport patients safely and without delay. We can’t afford to continue losing lives or victims getting permanent disabilities because of delayed ambulance responses,” he said.
Kongola-based community activist Glen Shebo says the lack of ambulances at health facilities serving the Kongola constituency is a serious public health concern that requires urgent government attention.
He says the Kandunda Kaseta Clinic is approximately 220km from Katima Mulilo, while the Choi and Sesheke clinics are about 120km away, and the Sachona clinic about 100km.
“Yet none of these four clinics has a dedicated ambulance stationed at the facility. When serious emergencies or road accidents occur, patients often have to wait for an ambulance to be dispatched from Katima Mulilo.
“In an emergency, such distances could mean critical hours lost, and in some cases the difference between life and death. This is not merely a logistical challenge; it is a matter of equal access to healthcare and the protection of human life,” he says.
Shebo says rural communities deserve emergency medical services that are responsive to their geographical realities.
“We therefore call on the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the Zambezi Regional Council to urgently assess ambulance coverage in Kongola and consider stationing dedicated ambulances within the area,” he says.
Ministry of Health and Social Services spokesperson Walters Kamaya last week said Cheto Clinic has a 4×4 vehicle, which was at some stage not available due to some issues.
“The 4×4 vehicle used for emergencies was grounded and is currently being fixed. We are told it will be done tomorrow,” he said.
Kamaya did not say whether an ambulance would be stationed at Kongola.
Zambezi regional police commander commissioner Julia Sakuwa-Neo says three cases of culpable homicide and reckless or negligent driving have been opened and are being investigated at Menias Libuto Police Station.
She says the pensioner has been identified as Suulu Kupalelwa.
“The pensioner and the 23-year-old male were hit on the same day by unknown drivers. Only the driver who hit the teenager was later identified and arrested,” she says.
Sakuwa-Neo urges drivers to refrain from running away from an accident scene and to rather stop and render assistance or call or report themselves to the nearest police station if the area is not safe.
“We will also embark on strategies to increase police visibility, traffic checks, and community awareness on road safety, as the community seems to be walking in the road,” she says.
