Medical Investments Limited (MIL) which comprises of The Avenues Clinic, St Clements Clinic and The Avenues Clinic Laboratory has donated an autoclave machine to Tengwe Clinic in Hurungwe. The donation is a part of the yearly campaign by the group to raise awareness and funds towards improvement of maternal health in the country.
Own Correspondent
The campaign which is done under the banner of “The Avenues Clinic run for a cause” was this year conducted on the 5th of June. Speaking on the handover of the autoclave, the CEO Mr Heath Dhana expressed much gratitude to the supporters and sponsors of the campaign who he said without their efforts the campaign’s drive would not be achievable.
Tengwe clinic is a rural clinic in Hurungwe East District, Mashonaland West Province. The clinic which caters for up to 50 deliveries per month had been operating without a functional autoclave for over a year now. An autoclave is a machine which is used to sterilise equipment using elevated temperature and pressure killing bacteria, viruses, and even spores. Therefore, working without one compromise Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures particularly within maternal units causing unnecessary complication due to infections.
However, the Acting Sister in Charge at the Clinic Mr Kademaunga commented that they had to travel almost 50km frequently to Karoi District hospital to get their equipment autoclaved which was not only inconvenient as the roads to the hospital are very bad but it was also a cost that the clinic had to carry so that they deliver babies in a healthy and safe environment.
When MIL was approached by Angels Foundation for Doctors and Nurses on a mission which is a Non-Governmental Organization that assists access to health for less privileged communities, the group was happy to direct all proceeds collected from this year’s run towards the worthwhile cause.
The CEO for the Angels Foundation said, “The Angels Foundation Zimbabwe and the Doctors and Nurses on a Mission Project is proud to be partnering with The Avenues Clinic on its Maternal Health Project which aims to assist rural and marginalized clinics and hospitals with maternal equipment, accessories and bedding as a way to help in combating child mortality rates and improve maternal health for women.
Through the partnership with The Avenues Clinic we hope that more clinics and hospitals around the country will be capacitated.” The group’s Corporate Affairs Manager Mrs Cordellia Shereni commented that the run has made great strides over the two years that the campaign has run. In 2019 the proceeds were handed over to Rujeko Polyclinic a clinic in Dzivarasekwa which caters for over 100 deliveries a month.
