Roberto Bazzoni Onlus : Zimbabwe is going downhill

Zimbabwe is going downhill

An email directly from Zimbabwe describes a spiralling situation

Please click here to view the Italian version of this article. Extract from an e-mail of 5 July 2006 about the situation at the Luisa Guidotti Hospital. Mutoko Dear Paolo PS Everything here is a total mess due to prolonged blackouts causing loss of pumped water due to changes in electrical energy levels continually causing burn outs to the pump circuits. The hygiene situation at the hospital and in the houses is pitiful to say the least. Due to the lack of water, there is an accumulation of feces and urine and showers and taps are dry. The situation is made even worse by the hundreds of patients fleeing Harare (where the health service has collapsed). They are drawn here knowing that our little hospital is still in operation. The queues at the Clinic continues to be endless (Thank God that we have Luciano Nigro to support us for a few weeks) I cannot perform operations without water necessary for the sterilization of instruments, this morning I had to send a package full of operating instruments to the State facility in Mutoko, hoping that at least there, the sterilization system would be working (but last week the machine was broken down) I haven’t seen things as bad as this for many years. Frighteningly, we are returning to the state of African bush hospitals (but without the help of the order of Combonian Brothers to help us). I hope the container with the new generator arrives soon to create a second emergency circuit to light up staff accommodation. I am planning on installing a Lister petrol motor water pump with a small generator for the pumps instead of being dependant upon the public electrical network connection. The hospital can stay continue to function without light but without water it should be closed. In the meantime, thanks to Sebastiano and our Supporting Groups, I continue to deliver weekly provision to staff and patients at the hospital, reduced to destitution and malnutrition by 4 figure inflation which continues to grow, and the horrendous devaluation of salaries. The new 2 ton van helps so much with this! With the inflicted recession and the move from a productive country to a country with such a low quality of life and being dependant on other countries, the mentality must change and we must start to think as we did in Karamoja or the West Nile. You know what I mean, you were there! We must be in a position to do without the Public Health service and strive in as much as is possible, to become independent because as everyone knows, by next year the country will be in complete darkness due to the lack of fuel and funds to pay for its importation As for the phones, - at least for emergency calls, we would need to think about a Thuraya satellite subscription. We need a lot of money for the new pump, the new Lister and for a circuit for the new generator. Bye Paolo, Hope to hear from you soon and you are in my prayers for the work you do. Yours Carlo

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