The dirt track leading to Inhassunge district hospital. This is one of the better trails in the district. In Inhassunge, locals either walk or travel by bicycle but in the rainy season the dirt roads can become virtually impassable.
One of the first patients I saw in Inhassunge was a 22 year-old HIV positive girl who was mother to a small child. The girl's prognosis is very poor because she is in a very advanced phase of AIDS. Many patients at the hospital are in a similar condition because they live at great distances from the hospital and do not seek care until it is too late.
The laboratory at Inhassunge district hospital. The lab is equipped with rapid tests for HIV, syphilis and malaria, a refrigerator for vaccines and other medicines and has the capacity to do basic microscopy and sputum bacilloscopy. However, as there are no PCR or CD4 machines, samples have to be sent to Quelimane for CD4 counts and other analyses that are necessary for antiretroviral treatment.
The Friends in Global Health and Ministry of Health staff do consults with patients in these pre-fabricated rooms at the district hospital. Here patients receive voluntary HIV counseling and testing, in addition to anti-retroviral therapy.
A front view of the Inhassunge district hospital. The hospital is situated in the central locality of Mucupia in Inhassunge district.
The maternity wing at the Inhassunge district hospital. It consists of a few delivery rooms with 4-5 beds and is staffed by mid-wives and maternity nurses.
An emaciated 43 year-old woman with AIDS. She presented with dramatic weight loss which is usually indicative of TB co-infection.
Patients already waiting to see Dr. Monica Carvalho of FGH early in the morning. Many of these patients have traveled great distances from surrounding localities to receive medical care at the district hospital.
Women working in a rice field in Inhassunge. Unfortunately, much of the rice crop in Inhassunge has dried up due to inadequate rains last month.
Driving through Inhassunge, we passed long stretches of coconut palms which had been eaten away by Lethal Yellowing Disease, leaving behind barren fields of bare trunks that looked like telephone posts.
The refrigerator/freezer at the peripheral health unit in Palan-Mukula. The refrigerator is powered by paraffin and maintains a cold-chain for vaccines.
One of the wards at the Inhassunge district hospital. The hospital has separate 6 to 8-bed wards for men, women and children.
The pharmacy at the peripheral health unit at Palan-Mukula. It is currently stocked with basic supplies like antibiotics and first-aid treatment.
The peripheral health unit in the locality of Palan-Mukula within Inhassunge district. Friends in Global Health and the Ministry of Health will soon start a satellite clinic here, where patients can receive HIV testing and treatment.
Currently, there is no running water at the peripheral health units like this one in Palan-Mukula. The health units instead rely on a mechanical pump to draw water from a well.
After taking a ferry from Quelimane, the FGH and Ministry of Health staff travel by land-cruiser to the Inhassunge district hospital.
A view of the river Cuacua from the ferry as we departed from Inhassunge at sunset.
The Friends in Global Health team uses these ferries to cross the River Cuacua into Inhassunge from Quelimane.
