Mozambique: New Ibo advanced health care centre offers essential care to 41,000 people in Ibo and coastal areas
Refurbished by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in support of the Ministry of Health, the advanced care health centre (Type II) has in-patient rooms and an operating theatre, an upgrade and expansion of the reference health centre damaged by Cyclone Kenneth in 2019.
"The combined impact of the armed conflict and extreme weather on the most vulnerable has been devastating," said Valentina Torricelli, head of ICRC Mozambique's Pemba sub-delegation.
Bringing healthcare closer to affected communities ensures life-saving care reaches those most in need, especially pregnant women, those with conflict-related injuries and also helps reduce the spread of communicable diseases, such as cholera.
In the past years, the effects of armed violence and climate change have severely undermined the provision of essential services, including water and healthcare, in coastal areas of Cabo Delgado. At the same time, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people created additional pressure on already fragile public infrastructure.
The ICRC today handed over to the health authorities the second phase of the health centre upgrade, consisting of a maternity ward with nine beds, an operating theatre, in-patient rooms with expanded capacity, sterilization, and other services. An earlier phase of the project was completed in 2022.
After the inauguration, the health centre will continue to be administered by the health authorities of Cabo Delgado province and supported by the ICRC. The support will consist of provision of medical supplies during the first half of 2024.
Between 2021 and 2023, the ICRC supported eleven health centres in Pemba, Montepuez and Ibo, one mobile health unit and three hospitals in Mueda, Montepuez, Pemba with medicines and consumables. For 2024, the ICRC will focus its support on seven health centres in Mueda, Nangade, Muidumbe, Mocímboa da Praia, two hospitals in Pemba and Mueda, as well as the advanced health care centre in Ibo, Cabo Delgado province.
The rehabilitation and material support to health centres in northern Mozambique is one of the ICRC's priorities in the province, which seeks to guarantee access to quality health care for the population affected by the armed violence.
For further information:
Sophie Ncube, CICV, Maputo, sncube@icrc.org, Tel: +258 873 433 900.