Healthcare in rural Zambia
Zambia is currently ranked 141 of 187 countries on the Human Development Index, making it one of the world’s least developed countries. A large and geographically dispersed population means only half of Zambians living in rural areas have medical facilities within 5km, and poor roads and a long rainy season make these few facilities even harder to reach. A national healthcare workforce crisis means that health worker density in rural Zambia is 12.2 per 10,000 compared with 22.8 minimum target set by WHO in order to achieve Universal Health Coverage.
From our base in Livingstone, and our office in Sesheke, On Call Africa worked in five rural health facilities in Zambia’s Southern Province and twenty rural healthcare facilities in Western Province in 2022. We partnered with the District Health Offices in Zimba, Kazungula, Sesheke and Mwandi District to identify the localities which would most benefit from our services, and worked with the the facility staff and communities to co-design programmes. Having completed planned work in Western Province, we are focusing our efforts on expanding our reach in Southern Province in 2023.