A FOOD crisis has hit Ngomahuru Psychiatric Hospital in
Masvingo with mental patients at the government-run institution already showing
signs of malnutrition, the institution’s medical director Parirenyatwa Maramba
has said.
Maramba said this during a donation ceremony of foodstuffs
by a group of students from the Midlands State University’s Julius Nyerere
School of Science psychology department on Thursday.
He said the hospital is now in dire need of assistance with
160 patients currently receiving treatment at the health institution surviving
on sadza and vegetables daily.
Maramba said the economic hardships prevailing in the
country have seen government releasing funds for patients’ medication, while
failing to channel anything towards procurement of food.
“We depend on government for funding and we are only having
medication for patients.
“The diet is very poor. Most of the patients suffer from
malnutrition. They are having sadza and vegetables that have neither cooking
oil nor tomatoes every day.
“We are appealing for donations from well-wishers as we are
faced with challenges in providing relish for these patients, some who have
found a permanent home at the hospital,” Maramba said.
The students led by the university’s psychology department
chairman Herbert Zimira donated sugar, beans, kapenta among other items towards
the malnutrition of patients.
“We started visits at the psychiatric hospital in 2015 for
purposes of our studies, but we then noticed the critical shortages affecting
the institution and decided that we should bring some of the commodities in
short supply each time we visit,” Zimira said. Newsday
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