Pictures of crisis

Mount Darwin is a rural district of 40 wards in Zimbabwe’s northeast. It is certainly feeling the impact of the climate crisis, with temperatures regularly soaring to life-threatening levels, especially in the lower areas of the district. Coupled with extremes of drought and flooding, and an increase in diseases such as malaria and cholera, it is clear why communities are concerned for theirs and their children’s futures.

Our visit began with an exhibition of photovoice displays, produced by people from local clinics and catchments. The photographs were simply presented but eloquently told their presenters’ stories. We saw roads and bridges rendered impassable by floods, drought and fallen trees, hampering those seeking health care and those trying to provide it. Streams already dry after the rainy season and stagnant water sources, shared by animals and humans, now breeding grounds for insects and disease. A shortage of bikes means health workers have to walk in baking heat to reach patients. Crops are dying in the fields, leaving people unable to feed their families or earn a living. Several also spoke of the brick ovens which dry locally-grown tobacco and which many people blame for poor air quality and sickness.

However, we also heard about adaptations – some more successful than others. Water is being stored in ceramic containers in the ground to keep it cool. New boreholes have been dug. People are sleeping outdoors to escape the punishing heat indoors, however that also exposes them to mosquitos and snakes.

Chawanda Clinic

One photovoice photograph showed a nurses’ home which had lost its roof during a storm. Later that day were saw the clinic building for ourselves. Chawanda Clinic is one of 25 public health facilities serving Mount Darwin’s 240,000+ population. This facility treats about 45 people a day from a catchment of about 14,000 people, providing maternity, HIV and other care. We heard from the in-charge, Tawanda Chimadyi, how those inside the building had escaped but their belongings had not, and without repair funds the clinic struggles to attract staff. Now only wasps live there. The facility’s overhead power lines were also damaged in the storm, also impacting on the facility’s ability to function.

Karanda Mission Hospital

The largest facility in Mount Darwin is Karanda Mission Hospital, our final facility visit. About 200 patients per day arrive from all over Zimbabwe to be treated for a variety of conditions, with an increase in malaria, diarrhoea and dehydration cases in recent years being attributed to the climate crisis. Severe malnutrition amongst children and those who are immunocompromised is also on the rise, with a Canadian charity stepping in distribute food to those most in need.

We also heard about a rise in teenage pregnancies, and separately heard the term ‘water babies’ to describe children born after their mothers are forced to trade sex for access to water or are raped when travelling greater distances to a water source.

The climate crisis is also having an impact on the health workforce. Staff do not want to work in such hot places, preferring to move south to slightly cooler climes, with implications for patients and their treatment.

A desperate picture

Amon Dhlana, the District Nursing Officer for Mount Darwin, gave an overview of some of these challenges in a short film (watch here). He spoke of rainy seasons where roofs are lifted from buildings, followed by dry seasons where workspaces are so hot that staff leave their jobs to escape the heat. He told us about pregnant women travelling great distances and arriving for their confinement dehydrated and sick – a lack of clean water and dry bore holes compounding their plight.

In summary, the REACT team clearly saw some of the climate-related challenges faced by the communities and health facilities of Mount Darwin. We left determined that the interventions we will co-create with local people in the coming months will have a positive impact on their health and wellbeing.