K75m maternity wing gives women hope
Mulanje district director of health and social services Stalin Zinkanda has said the K75 million maternity wing at Mimosa Health Centre will help reduce the district’s maternal and neonatal deaths.
Speaking on Friday in Mulanje during the handover, he said the district registers maternal mortality rate of 104 per 100 000 live births and neonatal mortality rate of about 22 per 10 000 deliveries.
“This facility is about 18 kilometres from the district hospital. Therefore, women from around the facility will be served within their catchment area,” said Zinkanda.
He said infrastructure development is one of the strategies employed to improve maternal health.
Sukambizi Out-growers manager Johnstone Sapulani said the project is a response to the problems that women around Mimosa were facing in accessing maternity services.
He said the Sukambizi Association Trust, a group of smallholder tea farmers who sell their produce to Lujeri Tea Estate, sourced money from partners for the project.
“We received money from various donors. Sainsbury’s pumped in K50.6 million, Fair Trade Africa contributed about 13.8 million and Lujeri Estate donated K11 million,” he said.
Lujeri Estate’s contribution went towards the construction of an incinerator.
Mulanje District Council through the Constituency Development Fund provided K4 million which was used to purchase land on which the structure has been constructed.
Mulanje District Council chairperson Thokozani Namoyo thanked Sukambizi Association Trust and partners for the project.
“I also thank Mulanje South East member of Parliament Naomi Phiri[Democratic Progressive Party] for initiating the processes of buying land,” he said.
