Moçâmedes — The Angolan government has completed the health sector infrastructure projects built as part of the Integrated Municipal Intervention Plan (PIIM) for the south-western province of Namibe, with the last two health units coming into operation, namely a health centre in the commune of Lucira and a municipal hospital in the Bela Vista district, all situated in the municipality of Moçâmedes the provincial capital of Namibe.
These are the António João Crisóstomo Health Centre, on the shores of Luciras Bay also known as Santa Marta Bay, an important location for marine fishing and ecotourism and sports tourism, as well as the Manuel Francisco da Silva Clemente Municipal Hospital, located in the Bela Vista district, in the seat of the municipality of Moçâmedes.
According to the director of the provincial health office in Namibe, Coríntios Miguel, these two units are equipped with high-tech equipment linked to the various speciality services in the health sector, such as orthopaedics, ophthalmology, operating theatres, physiotherapy, paediatrics, gynaecology and others which she added that "are facilitating humanised care for the population".
The two units have 40 beds and 110 beds respectively, making a total of 19 projects already completed within the scope of the PIIM's implementation portfolio for the health sector.
With their completion and entry into operation, the province will now have 119 health units, including three provincial hospitals, six municipal hospitals, 21 health centres, 8 health centres and 10 health centres.
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The head of the provincial health office informed that this increase in health infrastructure has brought about a significant variation in the volume of care, in data reporting, as well as in morbidity and mortality.
He said that the health sector in Namibe, with the new infrastructure built under the PIIM, has a stable health network, which allows it to reach more of the population, with more than 100,000 inhabitants benefiting.
The increase in the vaccination coverage rate, as well as in the notification of cases, prenatal consultations and early diagnoses that can positively influence the reduction in morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases are other benefits expected for the population.
Meanwhile, with the increase in the network of health units through the PIIM, the provincial government has created the conditions to guarantee the transfer of patients, in case of need, from primary care units to speciality units, having acquired 40 duly equipped ambulances for this purpose.
FA/IZ/MRA/jmc
