MMTA Charity Update
Roland Ross General Hospital staff working on the labour ward
In 2023 MMTA’s charity Friends of Mufulira received a request from our twinned hospital, Ronald Ross General Hospital, to assist with restoration of their labour ward.
Our returning medical electives that year had identified this area of medical care in greatest need. At a cost of £13,204.93, and a year of works, Trustees are happy to report that in January of this year the new labour ward was re-opened. The charity is working with a partner on providing an incubator and auxiliary neonatal equipment.
Preliminary figures for January and February provided by RRGHs statistician, Beatrice Chisala, recorded admissions for the Maternity Ward (including nursery, antenatal and post-natal) as 252 Admissions/179 Deliveries (January), and 188 Admissions/119 Deliveries (February). (The difference in admissions/deliveries being to do with births versus expectant mothers showing up for tests, complications, and premature admissions).
A nurse visits the renovated labour ward at RRGH
Our local agent, Mr Ebrony Peteli, wrote in an email to say:
the Nurse-In-Charge…was visibly happy that the ward was
open…(the ward) looking beautiful and clean… She thanked
me far too much though I was just a conduit of kindness and
good heart of ‘Friends of Mufulira’. “
Situated in the Copperbelt, close to the DRC, Mufulira is an entrepot for those travelling in and out of DRC, and else-where in the region. Because of this, facilities must serve patients from outside the local community.
Wider Zambian issues in the last 12 months made the project more difficult than it might have been. In 2023 the
main employer in Mufulira, Mopani Copper Mines, (nationalised in 2020) was sold to an entity in the UAE called IRH, a company with little previous experience in copper mining.
Reports from Mufulira suggest that there has been little or no activity and that future mining has been further sub-contracted to another entity which has no direct mining experience either.
Meanwhile, the general economic situation in Mufulira is poor, exacerbated by the effects of climate change. 2024 saw both floods and drought, with outages of electricity between 17-20 hrs per day, and similar for water. Inflation is running at between 15-17% and the national currency of the Kwacha has declined from 20.5/£ in March 2020 to 36.5/£ today.
As Mabvuto Chibende, another friend of FOM, has written to me.“Growing up in Mufulira, I have witnessed the economic development in my hometown. From being a town that relied on the mines for employment to a multisectoral employment -structured town. I have seen pros like the health sector play a key role in the development of Mufulira through the NGOs supported by USAID programs. However, with the recent suspension of these programs through the (US) Executive Order, I see the negative impact of this on all the end users of the programs. Jobs will be lost, and healthcare systems will suffer. I have also seen the mines close and reopen under new management and pick only certain parts of their corporate social responsibilities leaving the rest to die a natural death.’”
Mufulira has moved from being the ‘Town of Abundance’ (the literal meaning of ‘Mufulira’ in Bemba) to a town of shortages.’
The withdrawal of USAID has been particularly had for Zambia,as it was a beneficiary of its programme to combat HIV.
The provision of antiretroviral treatment (ART) can be a matter of life and death for patients. In recent years most of
Zambia was covered by the provision funded by USAID. This life-saving treatment now faces being curtailed.
For the above reasons the MMTA’s continued relationship and annual medical elective programme is valued highly by the local community.
In 2025 our first elective, Jenny Blackwood, from Edinburgh University, travels to Mufulira in April followed by three others
from Liverpool School of Medicine in July. Jenny will stay at the guesthouse owned by our colleagues at IntroZambia and be supported throughout her stay by octors, teachers, and other members of the community known to us.
New patients continue to be seen in March 2025
Finally, FOM is also grateful to Dr Charles Chiponda, former Acting District Health Officer for the Copperbelt region, who intervened to keep what was an almost impossible building project – difficult to manage from UK – on course.
The MMTA’s continued support is what has made the decadelong relationship with Mufulira powerful and constant. It is thanks to you all that we have been able to show solidarity and hear of specific medical needs.
Anyone who would like to learn more about what FOM does is welcome to contact me or any of my co-trustees at any time via the MMTA or personally at [email protected].
By Anthony Lipmann
Trustee
Friends of Mufulira
How to Donate to Friends of Mufulira
Donate to Friends of Mufulira directly via www.peoplesfundraising.com/donation/friends-of-mufulira. Or use
the Donate button on the MMTA website mmta.co.uk/charitable-support. 100% of the donation goes to FoM.
Donate to Friends of Mufulira as you shop via Easyfundraising. Signs up at www.easyfundraising.org.uk , select
Friends of Mufulira as your charity anb shop through the website with participating retailers. Easyfundraising
will a make a donation to the charity with every shop.
