Zithulele Hospital, Mqanduli

Zithulele Hospital is a 147 bed government-funded Hospital near Mqanduli, Eastern Cape. The Hospital serves a population of 130,000 people. Originally a Mission hospital, known as Zithulele Mission Hospital. It is situated in a deeply rural part of the beautiful Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape. This facility has 147 beds but provides many primary health care services. Zithulele is situated in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa in an Area known as the Wild Coast. It is 85km (90 minutes drive) from the nearest Town, Mthatha (formerly Umtata). It is almost four hours from the nearest City, East London, and just under five hours from the Provincial capital, Bhisho. It is just South of the famous tourist attraction, Hole in the Wall, and the holiday destination of, Coffee Bay. The Hospital itself is 7 Kilometers, by road from the Coast with easy access to a stunning Beach and 4X4 access to a pristine Estuary. Only the last 21km of road is now tar. Zithulele Hospital is a Provincial hospital, and services are free to pregnant and breastfeeding women as well as children under the age of six years old. Other citizens are charged according to a sliding scale depending on their income! The lack of access and infrastructure that makes the Wild Coast a popular holiday destination for adventurers; this also means that many people live in object poverty. The Oliver Tambo District, in which the Hospital lies, is one of the poorest Rural Areas in South Africa. Unemployment in our sub-district was officially 38% in 2011, but that includes Mthatha which has much higher rates of employment than our local community. While access to electricity is slowly expanding, the 2011 census put the households with piped water in their dwelling at 19% - again, almost none outside Mthatha (our adjacent sub-district without a big town reports a more reflective 3.5%). Average income is low, with most households living off about R2000 (US$180) per month. Transport is another major problem – over 15% of people live more than an hour from their nearest clinic (using their normal mode of transport), while over 35% live more than an hour from the nearest Hospital. A return trip to this Hospital costs as much as 10% of their monthly household income for some patients. Unfortunately isolated incidents, especially against tourists, have given the Wild Coast in general a bad name. Nevertheless, the hospital and its surrounds are safe Areas for the staff, both Local and International, as people recognise and appreciate the sacrifices made for them!