By RODRICK DESURI 

Auki 

Kiu village in West Are’are, Malaita province is a thriving rural community but with one long-standing problem – struggling health and sanitation service.

The health of the large population living in the rural areas of Kiu village is still at risk. 

Built in the 1970s, the clinic is deteriorating as the population grows faster and ages. 

The space of the entire building is the main constraint faced by the two nurses serving at the clinic. 

Overcrowding of patients, access to clean water and sanitation, transport access for emergency cases, and community support are challenges faced by the clinic. 

One of the nurses, Mavis Surutaro, a registered nurse who has served at the clinic since last year, describes the current situation as very hard, challenging, and in need of intervention by the health authority as soon as possible. 

She stressed that space in the clinic is limited thus, they have come across challenging times when attending to patients.

“Here at the clinic, the space is limited.

“The antenatal room, admission room, store room, dressing room, and even the outpatient area, all need space.

“Challenging times that we have experienced are when there are many patients. For example, if we have three mothers in the antenatal room plus two other patients being admitted at the same time, we can hardly put them in one room because of customs, but the two patients will be placed in the outpatient area,” she said. 

Another challenge the clinic faces is access to clean water for sterilisation and essential uses.

“There is no water connection to this clinic. Whenever we need water, we use a bucket to get water from the community tap. Sometimes, we wash our used tools and stained items at the tap. 

“This is not safe for the whole community.

Meanwhile, sanitation poses as another issue patients face when they go to the clinic.

“Sanitation is also a challenge that patients are facing.

“We don’t have a toilet and shower room here at the clinic. Whenever our patients need to relieve themselves, they have to go along the coastal seaside, which is also not safe for women, especially during the daytime, and for older people,” she explained. 

Community support is another challenge. 

Many notices and appeals have been made to community members to complete the new clinic staff house and to conduct a general clean-up around the clinic boundaries, but these have fallen on deaf ears. 

“As a result, our staff house is not progressing, and the clinic’s surroundings are still overgrown with bushes,” she said. 

Surutaro emphasised that, before the clinic becomes a meaningful place for survival, Kiu community itself needs to show their commitment before the health authorities, like Kilu’ufi Hospital and the responsible Ministry, can support the clinic.

The population of Kiu village is roughly 1,000 to 2,000 people. About half of the mature population have lived and worked in government ministries, abroad, and even own private businesses in the country.

*Reporting for this story was supported by Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS)

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