The headman of Mururani village in the Kavango West Region has appealed to the Ministry of Health and Social Services to construct a fully fledged clinic in the village.

Namfinda Sikongo shared this during an interview with the NBC news team. 

Mururani village is home to about 4000 inhabitants. It has a senior secondary school of about 900 learners with a hostel.

The village houses Welwitschia University, and it has a police station with holding cells.

The residents of Mururani currently travel long distances to access health services, as they walk about 40 kilometres to Katjinakatji and 70 kilometres to Mangetti villages.

According to community members, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) constructed a prefabricated clinic in the village about five years ago.

The villagers were informed that the facility would operate fully. However, to date, nurses only visit sometimes.

"What we requested is not what we got, and we are not at peace with it. We want a clinic because this is not working at all, and also if you are very sick, they will not help you, and then they will refer you to the state hospital," says headman Sikongo.  

"But we were very happy when this whole structure was complete. We thought our travelling for long distances had come to an end. Unfortunately that was never the case. So this thing has been sitting here, serving no purpose at the end of the day. So I think even the ones who donated this thing, looking at it lying idle, would not be happy, says villager Eunike Sam. 

The community indicated that many residents are unable to afford transport costs to seek treatment at neighbouring villages. 

"Help us on this request. Mangeti and Katjinakatji clinics are far. Not everyone at this village works. Many people are at home, as we know that unemployment is everywhere. What we want is to be helped for them to bring the clinic closer to us," pleads Sikongo. 

The councillor of the Mankumpi constituency, Lukas Muha, agrees with the complaint that the inhabitants of Mururani and the surrounding villages are enduring hardship, and the earlier the issue is attended to, the better.

Contacted for comment, Director of Health in the Kavango West region Francisca Hamutenya shared that the container was meant for outreach purposes, adding that lack of accommodation is another challenge for staff to be deployed there even on a rotational basis. 

Hamutenya said he shared that with plans underway to repurpose the structure into a fully fledged health post, the directorate is looking at all possible ways to have permanent staff at Mururani.