Africa-Press – Angola. Health posts on the outskirts of the city of Benguela will have birth rooms in the near future, in a move by the Municipal Administration to improve medical assistance to the population.
Speaking to journalists about social projects for the 2023/2027 five-year period in the district, the municipal administrator of Benguela, Paula Marisa, guarantees that the neighborhoods of Bela Vista Baixa and Navegantes will be the first to have birthing rooms.
For the person responsible, the construction of these structures will shorten the long distance that users travel, from the outskirts to the maternity wards of the Municipal and General Hospitals of Benguela, to give birth to their babies.
According to Paula Marisa, the survey carried out shows that the lack of a delivery room at the Bela Vista Baixa health center has created many constraints for pregnant women.
At the moment, he noted, the aforementioned health center registers a monthly influx that varies from 1200 to 1500 pregnant women, hence the pressing need for a delivery room to care for pregnant women.
Regarding the Navegantes health post, the municipal administrator of Benguela says that the construction of not only a birthing room, but also a nutrition center is being considered.
Basically, he explained that these social actions are included in a portfolio of more than 30 works planned for the health sector until 2027, with emphasis on the construction of reference health centers, in addition to the rehabilitation and equipping of other units.
Human Resources
Regarding human resources, he considered the situation to be difficult and very serious, as there are medical posts and centers that operate with just four to five technicians to serve more than two thousand people/month.
“One doctor for all this demand. There comes a certain time when tiredness wins” she acknowledged, visibly worried, but hopeful for better days.
In fact, he argued that there is a need for more public competitions, to provide the units with more nursing and medical technicians and, thus, counteract these difficulties.
He mentioned that, in the last public competition, the Municipal Administration of Benguela had approximately 47 vacancies open in the system, due to deaths, transfers and retirement of employees.
Paula Marisa commented that public recruitment competitions should not only involve the education and health sectors, but also other areas, such as inspection.
“What we have to work on in terms of human resources does not correspond to the real need at all levels”, he considered.
According to administrator Paula Marisa, the Municipal Inspection Department has only 70 staff, compared to the 150 needed, to provide a minimum response.
The activities of the Inspection Department, he highlighted, affect the municipal administration’s own services, basic sanitation, health, education, but also the business community itself.
Education
Former Benguela provincial delegate for Justice and Human Rights, Paula Marisa said that the municipality, under her supervision since 2021, also has projects that include the rehabilitation, expansion and construction of seven-room schools.
Another bet is the construction of multi-sports fields in existing schools or those to be built, with a view to practicing school sports in the locality.
In his opinion, schools need these fields, so that students do not have to study in one place and do physical education in another place, as is usually the case.
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