Two wheels for health: helping Village Health Workers reach further

ZIRP is supporting almost 580 village health workers (VHWs) with bicycles for improved access to marginalised areas and health facilities in the cyclone affected areas. Village Health Workers are an instrumental part of the community health system in Zimbabwe. The impact of their work is visible in the referrals to health facilities and reduction of communicable diseases in the community. Their work as hygiene promoters has earned them the endeared term “Ambuya Utano” (loosely translated Matriarch for Health). They volunteer to serve their communities, at times walking long distances.

Miranda, a Village Health Worker in Chipinge, is constantly moving around the village, raising awareness on COVID-19 and checking on caregivers and their babies.  “This bicycle is my pride,” she beams, “It has enabled me to reach the communities who cannot get to the facilities. I don’t allow anyone to touch it.” The bicycles are a sustainable means of empowering VHWs to travel long distances within their villages. It has also eased their ability to attend Health Centre Committee meetings and health-related training programs. The carrier on the bicycle is used to store and transport the VHW’s Infection Prevention Control kits and medicines for the community.

In emergencies, Miranda’s bicycle is used to relay information quickly and has in some cases ferried a pregnant woman or sick child to the health care facility. Miranda attests to the manner in which the bicycle has revolutionised her work. “It would have been almost impossible to do the number of visits I am conducting now on foot as the village is just too big.”

In December 2020 alone, VHWs provided basic services to 395,803 people, conducted growth monitoring for 273,014 children under five, identified, followed up and conducted recommended home visits for 7,577 pregnant women and referred them for early antenatal care before 14 weeks and referred 4,587 women to deliver in health institutions. A total of 1,515,822 people received promotional services within their communities.