Community members from group village head (GVH) Malenga in Traditional Authority (T/A) Lundu in Blantyre have asked the district council to expedite construction of the K28 million maternity wing at Namikoko Health Centre in the district.
In an interview on Wednesday, GVH Malenga said they are wondering why it was taking long to complete the maternity wing.
in 2021. | Wisdom Chirombo
“Construction work started in 2020 and was supposed to be completed early 2021. However, officials from Blantyre District Council instructed the contractor to start again and this delayed the project to 2022,” she said.
One of the community members, Bertha James narrated her experience in December 2024 when she gave birth to a stillborn due to delay to arrive at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (Qech) after being referred from Lirangwe Health Centre.
“I lost my baby at Qech because we left Lirangwe late as we were waiting for an ambulance. I believe if we had a maternity wing here, I would have not lost my baby,” she said.
James also said pregnant women spend K5 000 on transport to access healthcare services from either Lirangwe Health Centre or Lundu Health Centre.
In a separate interview, Blantyre District Council chairperson Elson Dumuka acknowledged the delay to complete the facility and attributed it to challenges surrounding funding.
He said: “This project is being handled by Blantyre North legislator Francis Phiso [Democratic Progressive Party] and what transpired is that there was a misunderstanding on funding with the community.
“But also Ministry of Health officials instructed the redesigning of the structure when they visited the site because they noted that the facility was not meeting set standards for a maternity.”
However, Dumuka said the project has been included in the 2024/25 Budget.
He also said payment for electricity connection is done
