Bandages For Mpongwe

In spite of all that has been provided over the past year, there is much that is still needed in the villages supported by HHI.

The doctors in Mpongwe Mission Hospital, Win de Lagne and Marieke Lagro, have predicted a shortage of available drugs this year.  They have suggested that £8,000 is needed for essential healthcare alone, and have provided a list of what is needed.  In general, the items on the list are what British clinics would consider surprisingly basic items - bandages, adhesive tapes and blades for surgical knives.  Only occasionally does an item stand out, such as 'anti-rabies serum' and the doctors' passing comment that "we could do with some wheelchairs and patient trolleys".

On closer investigation, the need for bandages turns out to be desperate.  Part of the reason is that so many children go barefoot, and that although a cut may be treated and dressed, the dressing is dirty again almost immediately.

"It is not possible to compare the cost of a bandage here and one there" says HHI.  "The point is that in Zambia, you can't always find a bandage at all - and you can't just pop into Boots for a tube of Germolene".  An exceptional appeal from the Mpongwe hospital is for transport.  The hospital currently has two vehicles, six and eight years old, which a report delightfully describes as 'no longer in shapely condition' after well over a hundred thousand miles on bad roads.  The ideal would be a new all-terrain vehicle - but that's £30,000.