By:Annakleta Haikera
Mundiro, an NGO established in October 2014, has launched a mobile clinic with a 4×4 vehicle in the Mukwe constituency of Kavango East region to provide residents with adequate healthcare services.
Mundiro means “Fire” in Thimbukushu. It symbolizes Mudiro’s commitment to the people of Namibia, says the founder, Barbara Müller.
The Kavango East region has three hospitals and 30 clinics and one health centre.
The region has however faced challenges of delays in completing the construction of health facilities, some of which started in 2012, due to contractors abandoning the sites, according to health minister Kalumbi Shangula.
The chairperson of the Kavango East regional council Damian Maghambayi said that government needs to review the policy which informs which communities can receive clinics.He further said government has created an enabling environment that allows NGOs like Mundiro to operate and deliver services to communities.
Maghambayi informed that Mundiro has developed a documentary on Mukwe constituency’s profile.
“The profile was important to inform the public out there on challenges and opportunities within the Mukwe constituency. The biggest challenges in the profile are the absence of easy access to health care services or health institutions due to poor road infrastructure in the area,” he said.
BarbaraMüller, the founder of the Mundiro, said that she was inspired to start the organisation after her daughter felt sick and was admitted at the Andara Catholic Hospital.Müller got to know the suboptimal health system first-hand. What particularly impressed her during this crisis was the warmhearted willingness of the hospital personnel to help, and how they take care of the patients. Her daughter was able to leave the hospital healthy.
“While at Andara I started bringing in nurses, doctors and a midwife to come and exchange knowledge. Our NGO brought in over 100 people to the hospital from the two Kavango regions, including Grootfontein,”Müllerrecounted.
She said the organisation has been working with the health ministry to soon build an academy to train doctors and nurses. “We want to reach out in all the rural areas for mobile clinics to reach people that cannot walk or those that donot have transportation. We want to teach people in outreach. I love to be in the bush and visit all people,”Müller told The Villager.
The mobile clinic will be used to repurpose to provide space for clinical services or to deliver equipment to remote areas and will operate as a temporary clinic. The mobile clinics will deliver services in all the geographically isolated areas or small villages that may lack access to healthcare providers. The mobile clinic will also offer many different services such as immunizations, screenings, oral health services, laboratory services or counseling for chronic disease management.