Lindi — HEALTH services at Kimambi Dispensary in Liwale District, Lindi Region, have been improved significantly since the facility began collaborating with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in 2022.

The partnership has increased access to healthcare services, particularly maternal and child health and emergency care, while also encouraging more community members to use health services.

Priority areas include reproductive health, child health, vaccination and community health promotion. MSF has supported the provision of an ambulance, nurses, medical attendants, clinical officers and Community Health Workers (CHWs), who provide health education to communities in different areas.

Kimambi Dispensary Nurse Midwife and In-Charge, Mohammed Abdallah Mtende, said the partnership has brought significant changes to service delivery, particularly through community education on the importance of delivering at health facilities, attending antenatal clinics, breastfeeding and vaccination.

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Mtende said that before these services were strengthened, the dispensary attended to an average of five to six women giving birth each month. The number has now increased to between 35 and 40 women per month.

He said the increase is largely attributed to awareness activities carried out by CHWs, who travel to remote areas to encourage pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics and deliver at health facilities.

In addition, the number of women attending maternal and child health clinics on time has increased from 35 per week in 2023 to 200 and 240 per month in 2026.

Mtende said children, particularly those living in pastoralist communities, are benefiting more from routine vaccine due to transport support provided by MSF.

He explained that some of these communities live far from health facilities, which previously resulted in some children reaching the age of five without receiving vaccinations.