On 30th June, the long-awaited Idugo Health Centre was officially inaugurated on the remote Island of Idugo. The opening ceremony was presided over by the Governor of Zambezia Province, representatives from the Government of Japan in Mozambique, and the Director of Fundação Zalala.

The speeches delivered highlighted the huge importance of the health centre for the estimated 10,000 inhabitants of the island. This new facility  – comprising consultation and treatment rooms and a pharmacy – will provide general and paediatric medical consultation and services, including vaccinations, malaria treatment, and more.

As in the case of the Maternity Centre, the general health centre has been co-funded by the Government of Japan and the Zalala Foundation with staff and equipment provided by the Government of Mozambique. In future,  the services of the Maternity Centre will be focussed exclusively on maternity and sexual and reproductive health services. Privacy for women in labour and young people seeking contraceptive and sexual health services will be restored.

In recognition of the many beneficiaries of the Maternity Centre, Angela, the name given to the first baby to be delivered in the Maternity Centre who was given this name in honour of Angela Hadjipateras, the Founder of the Zalala Foundation which spearheaded the funding and construction of the Maternity Wing, stood before the gathered crowds and spoke a few words of gratitude.

The doors of the new Health Centre are now open for all the island’s inhabitants. This marks a new era in the story of the development of health services for the people of this far flung island in a remote corner of Mozambique which will be closely followed over the years to come.

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