ZIMBABWE:
'Free'Maternal Health Care Too Costly For Most

7/27/2010 10:32:55 AM

Bulawayo - As African Union heads of state consider child and maternal health at the 2010 summit in Kampala, Uganda the question of user fees has reared its head in Zimbabwe.

Despite government policy which states that new mothers and infants receive free care, health institutions are raising costs to sustain themselves. The countries economic decline has cripples the country's health care system. Expecting mothers are required to pay a 50 U.S. dollar booking fee at clinics and government hospitals. This is equal to a third of a civil servant’s monthly salary. Many women are unable to afford this fee. In some cases new mothers are detained in hospitals and denied birth certificates until they are able to settle their fees. The cost of public health services has mothers using traditional medicine. Hilda Noko, a senior nurse working with the Bulawayo City Council says that When mothers fail to access formal health care, they will seek out older women who claim to have knowledge of herbs that can treat infants. This is very dangerous for the infants Healthcare workers warn that progress to meet the MDG’s on maternal health will be hindered by the insistence on full payment by defaulting mothers before necessary care is given to their children.

(END/RADIO EDITOR/2010)

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