Baines’ River Camp

The Chiawa Rural Medical Centre looks after the wellbeing of the local community in the Western Chiawa Game Management Area. This area spreads out over more than 2,000 square kilometres, and its residents have limited to no access to electricity, running water or sewage. Public transport is unavailable. At the clinic, conditions are diagnosed and patients are either treated or referred to the missionary hospital in Chirundu. HIV/AIDS information is offered, chronic medication is dispensed and sometimes babies are delivered. The clinic leads the Safe Motherhood Action Group and provides education on family planning. The clinic keeps stats of everything and anything important in terms of social facilities and medical matters within the community, from the number of pit latrines in each village to birth rates and graphs of the most common diseases in the area. For those who simply cannot get to the clinic, the Doc gets on his motorbike for house calls up to the far reaches of the Game management area.