Pregnant Women in Maniamba die due to lack of ambulance for Hospital transfers

 

The Administrative Post of Maniamba, in the Lago district, has three health units located between 30 and 70 kilometers from the district headquarters, making access to the district’s main health facility extremely difficult due to the lack of an ambulance.

The local population has raised the alarm, appealing to the new administrator for the allocation of an ambulance to that administrative post to facilitate the transfer of patients especially those in critical condition from rural health posts to the district headquarters.

Rosa Domingos, a resident of the administrative post’s headquarters, revealed that there have been cases where people have died in their homes due to the lack of transport to reach the Matangula Health Center, the largest health facility in the district. “Here in Maniamba, we are very concerned about the lack of an ambulance. When someone is seriously ill, they are referred to the district headquarters, but no vehicle is provided. Each person must find their own money for transportation. People have died at home because they couldn’t get transport. That’s why we are asking you, Mr. Administrator, to allocate an ambulance,” said Rosa.

On another note, the community also expressed concerns about the health sector transferring staff to other health units without notifying the community. They claim that often the most competent professionals, who work well with the population, are removed and replaced with less capable public servants.

José Assane Achida, the district administrator, acknowledged the concerns and promised to work with the provincial health department to find ways to address the issue. Regarding the transfer of healthcare staff, he stated:

“As for the transfer of health personnel, we will seek more information. We will see if the health sector can inform the local community about the reasons behind a staff member’s transfer, as some leave to pursue further studies. For this reason, we will be visiting the health unit.”

José Achida also took the opportunity to give a talk on the prevention of Mpox, which broke out in the district last month. So far, 28 cases have been reported. (Davide  Muianga)