By OLIVER SAMBOKO
OVER 500 schools will be inspected countrywide to check for their readiness to reopen on June 1, the Medical for Quality Healthcare in Zambia (MQHZ) has announced.
MQHZ Director General, Dr Quince Mwabu said in a statement that they had partnered with National Action for Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ) and will visit more than 500 primary and secondary schools to monitor their readiness for reopening.
He said the random visits will be conducted in all the 10 provinces and the nation will be briefed about the findings of this exercise before schools reopen.
Dr Mwabu said the two organisations would monitor availability of desks, sanitisers, availability of clean water, toilets and availability of teaching staff.
He also said MQHZ was concerned with reports that some Zambian patients are not visiting health facilities due to the fear of contracting Covid -19.
Dr Mwabu encouraged those with special health conditions like pregnant mothers not to shy away from visiting clinics and hospitals even amidst the coronavirus as long as they took preventive measures such as wearing face masks and maintaining physical distance.
“We have received reports that some parents are no longer taking their children for immunisation schedules and medical reviews for fear of contracting the virus. Avoiding these programmes may have more serious effects to the health of their children and even their own health,” he said. Dr Mwabu also called for the expediting of the process for recruiting of paramedics as guided by the President Edgar Lungu aimed at increasing the number of health workers in to effectively combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
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