Zimba Town Council has commissioned and handed over a fully equipped health post and maternity annex with a water reticulation system in Mulamfu area of Simwatachela chiefdom, constructed at a cost of more than K900 thousand under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

Zimba Town Council has further built two staff houses, each costing K500,000.

Mapatizya Member of Parliament Emelda Munashabantu handed over the facility to the ministry of health.

Ms. Munashabantu said the handover reaffirms government commitment to restoring dignity, saving lives, and bringing essential health services closer to the people in the area.

Ms. Munashabantu said the actions clearly speak to the presidential vision of achieving maternal and child health care, especially in rural and most hard-to-reach areas.

She said the government has continued prioritizing the construction of health posts, maternity annexes and the provision of running water in all health facilities across the country.

“Safe delivery requires proper infrastructure, qualified health workers, and clean water, and today Mulamfu ward is a proud beneficiary of this vision. This is a significant investment in the health sector as well as the well-being of the people in this area,” said Ms. Munashabantu.

She described the construction of this health facility as a turnaround and direct response to the long-distance challenges the people in the area endured for a long time.

She has since urged the community to guard the facility from vandalism in order for it to serve its purpose.

Meanwhile, Zimba District Commissioner Robinson Mulamfu expressed satisfaction with the good works done on the project, commending the local authority for the resilient leadership put in to see to it that the good job is properly done.

Mr Mulamfu also stressed the value the facility is going to bring to the people in the area, as it has taken a few years for it to be completed.

Zimba Town Council Chairperson Loviness Chigora reaffirmed the local authority’s commitment in delivering the people’s needs, thereby supporting government’s vision of ensuring that service reaches all the parts of the district.

“I am very happy that finally this project is being commissioned today. We apologize that it has taken this long, but we wanted to give you the best. We shall listen to you and be your voice,” said Ms. Chigora.

And Director of Health Services Dr. Kayawa Milimo thanked government for the infrastructure, stating that it is going to reduce geographical barriers, improve health-seeking behaviors, and enhance health outcomes.

Dr. Milimo added that the department is committed to ensuring that the people in the area receive effective, safe, patient-centered, timely, and equitable health services for the 11,000 population in the area.

“To operationalize this facility, a multidisciplinary team of health workers has already been deployed in order to ensure that services commence without delay immediately after commissioning, beginning with basic primary health care services, which will include outpatient, inpatient, maternal and child health services,” said Dr. Milimo.

Meanwhile, the traditional leadership in the area has also commended government for the facility in the area pointing out that more than 30 villages are going to benefit from the facility.

Mulamfu Senior Headman Austin Siabenzu lamented that the area recorded a number of deaths due to people, especially expecting mothers, walking long distances.