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Kunene infants enjoy world-best healthcare

Spanish Ambassador, H. E. Mrs. Carmen Díez (middle right) with Mr. Tomas Shapumba (middle left), Dr. Oye, Opuwo State Hospital nurses and staff members.

Spanish Ambassador, H. E. Mrs. Carmen Díez (middle right) with Mr. Tomas Shapumba (middle left), Dr. Oye, Opuwo State Hospital nurses and staff members.

Reducing infant mortality in the Kunene region is a key objective of the new maternity ward that was built at the Opuwo State hospital and inaugurated early this year.
The once derelict state health facility now operates a modern incubation and care room bringing much relief to mothers and infants in distress.
 The project, sponsored by the Spanish Cooperation, will be completed with the construction of a maternity waiting home under the patronage of the first lady, Madame Penehupifo Pohamba. Last week the Spanish Ambassador to Namibia, H.E. Carmen Díez, paid a visit to the maternity ward integrated in the Opuwo State Hospital.
The ward is part of a project financed by the Spanish Cooperation to strengthen the Kunene regional health system and to reduce maternal and newborn mortality.

The ambassador visited the hospital to monitor the impact of the new modern maternity ward on the local population. The Ambassador was welcomed by the Director of the Kunene Regional Health Directorate, Mr. Tomas Shapumba and the Acting Principal Medical Officer of the Opuwo District Hospital, Dr. Oyesmo Angumbwike. They explained that since the opening of the new maternity ward, the number of deliveries in the hospital has increased. Since the ward provides safer maternal and neonatal health services, the number of still births has decreased and there has only been a single maternal death.  Dr. Angumbwike expressed his satisfaction with these results saying that the staff members are very motivated. Several women who had recently delivered in the ward expressed their satisfaction with the new facilities. Some of them had given birth to premature babies who survived due to the incubators.
The medical staff said that having more incubators has contributed enormously to the prevention of infant mortality.

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