China donates K30m to Safe Motherhood initiative in Malawi
China has donated K30 million to Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood to help its efforts to accelerate reduction of maternal mortality rate in the country.
The money will be used for the construction of maternity waiting home at Salima District Hospital.
Speaking during the ground breaking ceremony on Wednesday, Vice President Khumbo Kachali commended the Chinese Embassy for responding to the call positively when they were approached by the Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood.
“I am grateful today to the Chinese Embassy for timely donation that has been made towards the goal to providing quality care in a bid to reduce maternal deaths in the country. As government we need to respect partners that are playing a great role in providing such a facility that we are going to construct here,” said Kachali.
He emphasized on the need for all development partners to work together for the common good of the countries citizens mainly towards priority areas where the country has shown utmost interest.
“We should realise that the programmes initiated by President Joyce Banda are in the best interest of all citizens in the country and we must also note that not long ago Safe Motherhood Initiative established but look at the strides at has made in the health sector,” acknowledged the Vice President.
On his part, the Chinese Ambassador Pan Hejun reiterated China’s commitment to assisting the country in all its sectors. He said he learnt with great interest about the Initiative and its great interventions hence the donation.
“I would like to commit our continued support to all the areas we are supporting including the health sector. This donation for the construction of a maternity waiting home will go a long way to assist mothers who come from very far to wait for delivery while being monitored by skilled birth attendants as one way of promoting access to quality health care,” observed Pan.
“Our government is already providing scholarships to the country’s citizens including medical doctors as one way of improving capacity building in the health sector and to add an icing on the cake we are today handing over a donation of K 30 million for the construction of a maternity waiting home in Salima district as one of the areas facing challenges in the due to population explosion,” added Pan.
Taking her turn Deputy Minister of Health Agness Mandevu Chatipwa, commended the Chinese Embassy for efforts made to assist in the reduction of maternal deaths through the construction of a maternity waiting home.
“As a Ministry, we are very thankful to the People’s Republic of China for assisting the government to put up a maternity waiting home in Salima. We are also appealing to all development partners to join others that have already shown interest to assist the government construct such facilities,” said Chatipwa.
The Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood plans to construct at least one hundred and thirty maternity waiting homes across the country.
Barely one year after its formation, the Initiative has managed to secure funds from the cooperate world and well wishers for the construction of nineteen maternity waiting homes mainly in needy areas across the country.
Construction of maternity waiting homes aims to help reduce needless complications in labor and delivery for those who stay very far from health facilities.
The Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood was set up and launched on April 25th 2012 as full commitment to improve the uptake of maternal and neonatal health care in a quest to reduce mortality and morbidity currently at 460 per 100, 000 live births to 155 per 100, 000 live births in line with the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5.
