This update is courtesy of Ms. Shantha Bloemen, Founder of Mobility for Africa.
For the past decade, Cladys Mhlanga has been the nurse -in-charge with the IGAVA clinic. Her commitment to the community’s health and well-being seems boundless. Added to her usual overwhelming array of duties of delivering babies, immunizing children and providing HIV testing and counselling, these days of COVID-19 pandemic, she is also keeping her eye on household hygiene practices.
Working with Mobility for Africa has changed the care and attention that Cladys can provide to her patients. Just transporting them with the use of the Hamba alone removes the burden of walking a long distance for health care, especially for pregnant women and elderly people. Before she had the Hamba, Cladys would use a farmer’s car or government vehicle for emergencies, but it would require time to secure the use. With the Hamba, Cladys can immediately respond to emergencies or make follow-up visits on patients, such as those who have tested positive for malaria. She is also using the Hamba to supply nourishing supplements for malnourished children scattered throughout the community.
Over the past three weeks, Cladys has transported 23 patients, most of them women with small children who live far from the clinic, to ensure their children are immunized or they access their family planning prescriptions. “Not only has the Hamba made my nursing work easier, says Cladys, “it has improved the well-being of the community by providing them transport to the clinic and helping deliver firewood for cooking purposes for patients.”
When asked about the current global crisis Shantha wrote “While the lockdown has been a disruptive and frustrating experience, we continue to look for ways to learn and grow. At Mobility for Africa we are convinced that green mobility solutions can help improve access to services, especially health care, in rural areas. While we are still in the early stages of gathering evidence, we can see the result.”
