DAPP Zimbabwe has handed over the fully equipped state of the art Ambulance to Rusape General Hospital at an event held at Rusape General Hospital. Speaking at the event DAPP Acting country Director, Luckson Soda said the ambulance donation is just one of the many initiatives under the Danish Emergency Relief Fund (DERF) funded Early Actions program being implemented to contribute towards containing the spread of COVID-19 in Makoni District of Manicaland province.
“When COVID-19 reached Zimbabwe we came together with the Ministry of health and child care to reach out to our friends, DERF through UFF HUMANA who quickly assisted us with funds to start actions to fight COVID-19 in Makoni District. The funding has allowed us to integrate COVID-19 action into our existing TC-TB programs. We managed to reach over 10 000 people with COVID 19 information through mass media dissemination channels, outreach activities, screening and support for those affected. We also provided food assistance to 500 vulnerable families who were negatively affected by lockdowns.”
He added that, “We worked closely with District COVID -19 Response Team and Ministry of Health and Child Care to intensify key areas to ensure effectiveness of the program. We therefore began actions to equip Rusape General Hospital’s Isolation unit with a fully functional oxygen unit, a water tank as well Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for hospital frontline workers.”
Tour of the Rusape General Hospital Isolation Unit
Speaking at the same occasion the District Medical Officer Dr. Nyafesa appreciated the support DAPP was giving the District saying the only way to defeat COVID-19 is when everyone comes together and fights shoulder to shoulder. “DAPP Zimbabwe is our all-weather friend who stepped in to assist the District hospital with this state of the art ambulance which will assist in quality health service delivery to the people of Rusape” .He commended DAPP, DERF and UFF HUMANA for the community outreach component of their program saying “the roadshows, short message service (sms) and radio programs are very informative and educative and are being received by those in hard to reach areas”
A nurse checks a pregnant woman’s blood pressure on the recently donated Ambulance
Project beneficiary, Councilor Chingwende of Tsanzaguru echoed the same sentiments saying the DAPP interventions have positively impacted the lives of people in the areas. “The lockdowns meant that we could not go out to work and this meant no food on our tables. But DAPP’s food assistance hampers gave us a lifeline and we managed to feed our families during the difficult period. As we speak right now we are back in our fields planting the seeds we received from DAPP. We expect a bumper harvest come next year”