Work has started on the rehabilitation and extension of the Republic of Congo's sole maternity hospital, funded mostly by external donors, at a cost of US $13 million.
Work on the Blanche Gomes Maternity Hospital - which should last almost three years - started on Saturday and will include the renovation of four floors and the construction of a pavilion that would enable the hospital to double its bed capacity to 200.
New equipment will also be acquired for the hospital, which was looted and heavily damaged during the civil strife that rocked Brazzaville in 1997.
"We are moving towards our main goal, which is to provide quality public health-care, particularly for mother and child," Alphonse Gando, the minister of health, said on Saturday.
He said maternal and child health in the oil-rich nation was linked to poverty and had worsened. He said infant mortality had risen from 85 per 100,000 live births in 2004 to 123.8 per 100,000 now. In addition, he said, there was a low frequency of antenatal and postnatal consultations.
Blanche Gomes is capable of handling an average of 30 deliveries a day, according to its chief consultant, Augustine Bahamboula.
"The death rate is relatively low, between 1 percent and 2 percent, because we take our emergencies to the University Teaching Hospital," he said.
The effort to upgrade the hospital is aimed at making it a modern regional referral facility. Of the $13 million needed for the work, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa has provided $9 million, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries $3 million, and the government $1 million.
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Work on the Blanche Gomes Maternity Hospital - which should last almost three years - started on Saturday and will include the renovation of four floors and the construction of a pavilion that would enable the hospital to double its bed capacity to 200.
New equipment will also be acquired for the hospital, which was looted and heavily damaged during the civil strife that rocked Brazzaville in 1997.
"We are moving towards our main goal, which is to provide quality public health-care, particularly for mother and child," Alphonse Gando, the minister of health, said on Saturday.
He said maternal and child health in the oil-rich nation was linked to poverty and had worsened. He said infant mortality had risen from 85 per 100,000 live births in 2004 to 123.8 per 100,000 now. In addition, he said, there was a low frequency of antenatal and postnatal consultations.
Blanche Gomes is capable of handling an average of 30 deliveries a day, according to its chief consultant, Augustine Bahamboula.
"The death rate is relatively low, between 1 percent and 2 percent, because we take our emergencies to the University Teaching Hospital," he said.
The effort to upgrade the hospital is aimed at making it a modern regional referral facility. Of the $13 million needed for the work, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa has provided $9 million, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries $3 million, and the government $1 million.
lmm/oss/jn/mw
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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