The opening of a new K2.4 billion maternity and newborn care facility in Makanjira has been hailed as a significant step towards tackling maternal and infant deaths in one of Mangochi’s most isolated areas.
Speaking at the commissioning of the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) facility on Monday, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Ben Phiri said the centre would bring life-saving services closer to more than 120,000 people who have long faced difficulties accessing care at Mangochi District Hospital because of the poor state of the Mangochi-Makanjira Road.
Funded and constructed by the Embassy of Iceland, the facility is expected to strengthen emergency obstetric services in a region where distance and transport challenges have often delayed access to critical healthcare.
Phiri argued that the impact of the facility would extend beyond health outcomes, saying it would help attract wider development to the area while improving the quality of life for local communities.
Senior Chief Makanjira welcomed the investment but cautioned that inadequate road infrastructure remained a major obstacle to accessing essential services.
He urged the government to prioritise rehabilitation of the Mangochi-Makanjira Road, arguing that improved connectivity is necessary if residents are to fully benefit from new public investments.
Ministry of Health Principal Secretary Bestone Chisamile said the new facility would help ease pressure on Mangochi District Hospital by decentralising emergency maternal and newborn care.
He also pledged that the ministry would support the centre through staff deployment and operational funding.
For Iceland, the project represents the latest chapter in a development partnership with Mangochi that stretches back more than three decades.
Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Þórarinna Soebech said the facility builds on over 35 years of collaboration with the Mangochi District Council aimed at improving public services and reducing preventable deaths.
The new centre reflects a broader effort to address persistent inequalities in access to healthcare in remote communities, where geography and weak infrastructure continue to shape health outcomes.
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