THE GOVERNMENT has provided Shs. 114 million to the Mtae Health Center in Lushoto District, Tanga Region, which has been used to purchase medical equipment through the Medical Supply Department (MSD) and thus expects to start providing surgical services by the end of December 2023.

The move by the center to start providing the service is due to major improvements made by the Government to convert the Mtae village dispensary into a Health Center so that citizens can get better and closer services.

The Center's Chief Medical Officer, Shafii Makamba, speaking while receiving the equipment from MSD, began by thanking the Government led by President Samia Suluhu Hassani through MSD for facilitating the provision of these emergency equipment for providing emergency services to mothers and children.

"These equipment we received today from MSD Tanga Zone will help reduce maternal and child deaths because before that they were forced to walk at least 65 kilometers to Lushoto District Hospital to get emergency services, especially surgery, and they will no longer have to endure that ordeal and get this service right here at our facility," said Makamba.

MSD Tanga Zone Customer Service Officer, Mary Isango, speaking while handing over the equipment on behalf of the MSD Zone Manager, Sitti Abdulrahman, said they have sent the equipment after the health center built a surgical building and received the equipment worth Shs. 114 million, which will eliminate the challenges that citizens had to face in accessing the service from afar.

"Surgical services will now be carried out at this center after obtaining these equipment which are very important to us as a drug depot. Our call to the executives of this center is to maintain them so that they can last a long time and bring productivity to the citizens as they continue to use them considering that the Government has been spending a lot of money to buy them," said Isango.

Some residents of Mtae Village, Beatrice Alphonce, Disifa Mdoe and the Village Chairman, Andrew Kilama thanked the Government through MSD for sending them the equipment which will completely eliminate the harm they were experiencing and sometimes causing deaths.

"We had a big challenge, some pregnant women were giving birth on the way due to the long distance to go to Lushoto District Hospital to get services but now we will be getting it here at home. In fact, we have every reason to thank our President, Mama Samia, for seeing us and showing compassion for our fellow women and if possible, we would ask her to come and see with her own eyes the progress she has brought us," said Alphonce.

Alphonce used the opportunity to thank President Samia, the Member of Parliament for the constituency, Rashid Shangazi, and the district leaders for their great efforts to bring about this development, and he prayed to God to grant them health and long life.