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Munyaradzi Musiiwa Midlands Correspondent
More than 3 000 villagers from Shurugwi received free medical services and treatment, including a mobile surgery during a health outreach organised by Zanu-PF parliamentary candidate for Shurugwi South constituency, Cde Edmund Mukaratigwa, over the weekend.

Cde Mukaratigwa mobilised a team of doctors and nurses to offer free medical services in his constituency on Saturday and Sunday.

The medical practitioners drawn from various medical fields operated at eight centres in the constituency where they offered, among other services optical, oral, surgical health, cervical cancer screening and treatment of various chronic ailments.

When The Herald news crew visited some of the centres in Shurugwi, more than 3 000 people had been treated.

In an interview, Cde Mukaratigwa said improved health services for rural people was one of his key priority areas, particularly increased access to health services to the elderly, underprivileged people and the vulnerable.

He said there was also need to improve the health infrastructure in Shurugwi by improving the standards of clinics and access to medicine.

“As you have witnessed, the team of medical practitioners is offering free medical services in this constituency,” he said.

“We had initially targeted to treat at least 300 people at every centre, but the number of the people who turned up surpassed our expectations.

“Most centres on Saturday treated over 200 people each. Today, most centres have surpassed 150.”

Cde Mukaratigwa said the medical outreach was not a once off thing, but was going to be a regular exercise in his constituency.

“I appeal to Government to also organise such health outreaches so that it improves and increases access to health services by rural people,” he said.

“I have a vision of making this exercise a routine so that our elderly have access to medical services at places convenient to them.”

The outreach was approved by the Ministry of Health and Child Care.

Cde Mukaratigwa is also helping in repairing and drilling new boreholes in Shurugwi.

He has mobilised more than 60 computers, which will be donated to the schools in the constituency to ensure that the rural schools have improved educational and learning standards.

Meanwhile, close to 2 000 villagers in Shurugwi South constituency received the presidential input support scheme last week.

The villagers got seed maize, compound D and Ammonium Nitrate fertilisers, beans and many other seed varieties.