By Kondwani Magombo
Mangochi, June 2, Mana: Government has commended the Norwegian Church Aid-Danish Church Aid (NCA-DCA) for the construction of a maternity wing and three staff houses worth K302 million at Lulanga Health Centre in Mangochi.
Minister of Health, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, opened the facility on Tuesday at Traditional Authority (TA) Lulanga, 130km north of Mangochi Boma.
Chiponda described the opening of the maternity wing as a ‘very exciting moment’ for the people of Lulanga and the government of Malawi, adding that the health facility will help solve maternal health challenges faced in the area.
“We are very happy today because the presence of this facility means more women will be able to access quality maternal health care which they have been in need of for a long time,” she said.
“This place is over 130 kilometres from Mangochi Boma and looking at the condition of the road, it means our women were really suffering,” Chiponda added.
Chiponda encouraged women in the area to always seek medical attention whenever they are pregnant to promote safe motherhood that government is determined to achieve.
Lulanga Health Centre is an Anglican institution managed by the Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) but Chiponda noted that government signed Service Level Agreement with CHAM for free maternal and under five clinics.
NCA-DCA Country Director, Havard Hovdhaugen, said the organisation is always pleased to be of help to the people of Malawi in the area of health, among others.
According to Hovdhaugen, NCA-DCA has constructed similar structures in 14 health facilities across the country.
TA Lulanga also hailed NCA-DCA for the facilities, saying the number of maternal referral cases to Mangochi District Hospital will now be drastically reduced as most cases will be taken care of at the local facility.
Records indicate that Lulanga Health Centre, carters for a population of 42, 000 from 26 villages and the facility records an average of 110 deliveries per month.
The maternity wing was supposed to be officially opened in 2020 but the event was postponed due to Covid-19 containment restrictions.
