01 Mar 2023

The arrival of a 10-person Cuban medical team in Ngamiland between December last year and January has greatly improved health care service delivery. 

 This is according to Ngami District Health Management Team (DHMT) coordinator, Dr Sandra Maripe-Ebutswe said the team comprised a physician, anaesthesiologist, dermatologist, general, paediatric and  orthopaedic surgeons, ICU specialist as well as a cardiologist, oncologist and biomedical engineer.

Presenting a health and planning report to a District Development Committee  meeting in Maun Tuesday, she revealed that a resident anaesthesiologist and gynaecologist were on the ground and an ophthalmologist was currently undergoing orientation in Serowe.

Dr Maripe-Ebutswe said an ear, nose and throat surgeon and paediatrician were also expected. 

“This is indeed a blessing to our district as our community will now be able to access specialised health services closer,” she said.

The meeting learnt that DHMT had a complement of 21 medical officers and 16 intern doctors. 

Dr Maripe-Ebutswe said medical officers had been allocated departments within  Letsholathebe Memorial  Hospital to optimize continuation of care.

Doctors based at clinics, which had been clustered into three,  also did outreach within and outside Maun, she said.

With regard to other health workers, Dr Maripe-Ebutswe said the district currently had 289 nurses and 68 midwives but the ideal number being 98.

The DHMT coordinator said the district continued to experience personnel shortages for various reasons including  non replacement of transferred  staff members, relocation to the United Kingdom by some while others declined to work in the district.

On the malaria situation, Dr Maripe-Ebutswe reported that  50 cases had been recorded with most of them registered in Maun followed by Mababe.

Ten of the cases, she said, were complicated and out of the total, 36 were males.

Fortunately no deaths had been registered, she said.

In a bid to curb the spreading of the disease, DHMT embarked on an indoor residual spraying exercise with coverage currently standing at 56 per cent for the current season against a target of 85 per cent.

The campaign ran from October to December last year.

Dr Maripe-Ebutswe decried lack of cooperation on the side of the community despite efforts to mobilise the public for the exercise.

The majority of homes were found deserted while some refused to open their houses, she said.

However, she said health officials were not deterred but continued to mobilise communities through house to house visits, leadership advocacy and kgotla meetings towards accepting indoor spraying.

Malaria prevention, Dr Maripe-Ebutswe said, remained a priority.

“It is our aim to achieve the set district target of 85 per cent of eliminating malaria,” she said.

On other issues, the gathering  heard that teenage pregnancy remained a serious challenge in the district despite efforts to educate school-going children and youths about sexual reproductive health which covered family planning and sexually transmitted infections.

Dr Maripe-Ebutswe said some 106 cases had been registered two of them under the age of 15. Ends