About Chitambo
Chitambo
Hospital was founded in1908, by Scottish
missionaries, in memory of David Livingstone who died in Chief Chitambo’s area in
1873.
When prospecting for a site to
build the hospital in a less malarial area, Chitambo
Hospital
was built 100 miles south.
The hospital was
staffed, for many years, by a succession of Scottish nurses and doctors as well
as many Dutch doctors.
It is now a Zambian
government hospital managed by an 57 all-African (mainly Zambian) staff. Chitambo
currently treats around 20,000 patients a year.
Common diseases include malaria, pneumonia. HIV/AIDS, malnutrition,
peri-natal conditions, road traffic and other accidents etc.
The hospital is served by 7 RHC and 19
related health posts.
Some of these are
100 miles from the hospital on barely accessible roads.
Chitambo Hospital is situated in Central Province,
in the Serenje District.It is around 60
miles north of the town of Serenje, where the Serenje District Health
Management Team (SDHMT) is based; 200 miles north-east of Kabwe, where the
Provincial Health Offices are based; and over 300 miles from Lusaka, the
capital. The hospital, and its associated Rural Health Clinics (RHC), serves a
scattered population of over 100,000, in remote rural villages. The hospital borders on Northern Province and is 100 miles south of
Our Lady’s Hospital, Chilonga.
The climate in the
area is moderate, influenced by the high attitude of the Zambian plateau (1600
meters above sea level).The area is
forested, with high rainfall and many permanent rivers and streams. The Lala people
constitutes the main population and chi-Lala and chi-Bemba are the main, local
languages. Subsistence farming is the
basis of the local economy and crops grown include maize, sorghum, cassava,
beans, millet, sweet potatoes etc. Chitemene
(slash and burn) agricultural practices are still favoured in the
area. For those living near LakeLusiwasi,
farming is supplemented by fishing. However,
many villages are isolated and there is a high incidence of poverty, including
many orphaned children.
