Maputo, 20 Nov (AIM) – Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), the company that operates the Cahora Bassa dam, on the Zambezi River in the central Mozambican province of Tete, on Wednesday laid the first stone for the construction of a district hospital.
The hospital is budgeted at 446 million meticais (6.9 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate) and it will offer essential services, including outpatient consultations, an operating theatre, a maternity ward and waiting room, a morgue, and laundry services.
According to the HCB chairperson, Tomas Matola, the project corresponds to a turnkey investment, which includes the acquisition of hospital equipment, computer equipment, and all furniture.
“It means that on the day of the inauguration, the hospital will be ready to start operating. The infrastructure represents for the local population the end of an ordeal that used to forced seriously ill patients, especially from the Chitima Health Center, to travel about 25 kilometers to the town of Songo in search of adequate medical care”, he said.
The laying of the foundation stone for the hospital construction was carried out as part of the celebrations of HCB’s 50th anniversary. In addition to improving access to healthcare, the project will also promote employment for local communities.
For his part, the Health Minister, Ussene Isse, said the initiative also comes as a response to emergency situations that previously could not be resolved locally, such as illnesses that do not allow for transfer and must be addressed immediately.
“We are here today building a hospital to provide this response and to save our women, our children, and other patients here in Chitima and beyond. With this new health unit, the province of Tete will have 166 health units, expanding the care network and bringing services closer to the communities”, he said.
(AIM)
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