First Lady launch “Light every birth campaign” ………vows to encourage other First ladies in Africa By Ransom Mandhlazi
IN a bid to reduce Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) for Zimbabwe, First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa, in partnership with Ministry of Health And Child Care and We Care Solar, launch the Light Every Birth Campaign at Beatrice rural Hospital.The initiative, will see most rural clinic and hospital labour wards being powered by solar, with an additional solar suitcase which has capacity to light the labour ward for maximum of seven thousand hours, have phone charging facility and have a scan facility.As her quest to uplift the once marginalised, First Lady have been spearheading project and program to close the bridge between the rural and the urban.The facility will help doctors and nurses perform their duties in the rural clinic and hospitals without hindrance of power.Addressing the gathering at Beatrice Rural Hospital, First Lady who is National Health Care Ambassador highlighted the significance of the solar suitcase which came as a big relief to the expecting mothers in most areas of the country and Africa as a whole.“Solar suitcase yandaona iyi yaratidza kuva nyoro kushandisa pakutiwanisa mwenje muzvipatara zvedu. Solar suitcase yacho inoturikwa kumadziro uyewo solar panels yacho ichisungirirwa pamarata sezvinongoitwa amwe atinoziva,” explained First Lady.She implored those in the tertiary and high education to explore and develop solar related innovations such as the solar suitcase for the development of the local communities.First lady highlighted that the facility which has been of significant impact in the Cyclone hit Chimanimani and Chipinge area, is expected to spread across the country.First lady, as the Vice President of OAFAD, said she will encourage her fellow First Ladies from across the African Globe to absorb such initiative to reduce maternity mortality rate in Africa.The function see the We Care Solar handing over 200 solar suitcase for distribution to various clinic with 500 solar suitcase set to be distributed by year end. The suitcase will be distributed to all the ten provinces.