Semembela Clinic 2013 Update

This clinic is very isolated, not helped by the very poor state of its “road” through the forestry reserve which people are wary of using due to the fines imposed on anyone felling timber.

The clinic was found to be run down and poorly staffed. The only staffhouse is very old and is the main reason why new staff will not stay at the village. A newly appointed nurse only lasted one day and then left the village!

The clinic is busy, with about 600 births per year from a population of 12000 supported by the clinic. There is no CTC clinic here to help those who are HIV positive, they have to get to the clinic in Bukene, 25km away.

The bicycle for Outreach work was seen to be very old and shabby so Cranbrook School bought a replacement bike for the clinic.

The young guard Machia Kavenga is keen to train as an Auxiliary Nurse but the death of his sponsor meant that he did not complete all his exams. He says if he can train as a nurse he will return to Semembele so the health care for his village will improve.

The village have started to build a new staff house, but little progress has been seen for a while – though they have the funding to build to the lintel.

Jo Taylor
FUM Medical Liaison Officer