Hope for Mponela Hospital

 People from Mponela in Dowa District will no longer wait long to access healthcare services from Mponela Community Hospital as it is expected to open next year.

This came to light on Tuesday during a media tour that Office of the President and Cabinet in conjunction with the Ministry of Information and Digitisation organised to appreciate the progress of the facility.

Speaking during the inspection, Ministry of Health head of infrastructure development Sanderson Kuyeli said construction works will be completed in June 2025.

He said the facility, whose construction started in 2019, faced challenges such as inflation, but the government is committed to have it operational mid next year.

Said Kuyeli: “Due to the magnitude of the project, we planned to implement it in phases. The first phase involved construction of an administration block and wards which is now at 85 percent completion rate.

“The second phase included constructing a kitchen, mortuary and other facilities which is now at around 40 percent.”

Kuyeli said the third phase involves constructing houses whose excavations and foundations have already started.

Lucia Michael Chipwaila of Chibwato Village, Traditional Authority Mponela said the facility will ease challenges that pregnant women face in the area.

“Pregnant women travel long distances to Mponela Rural Hospital and some deliver on their way,” she said.

Chipwaila said the hospital will, therefore, promote safe motherhood in the area.

Benjamin Samale of Kachulu Village said the population around Mponela was growing fast; hence, the need to have a big hospital.

Other facilities at the hospital will be theatres, a nutrition department, an infectious disease unit and 46 houses.

The hospital, whose initial cost was K7.9 billion, is expected to complement Mponela rural and Dowa district hospitals.