The Congolese government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched in 2022 a program called “Mavimpi ya Mboté” in other words “good health”, intended to correct the weaknesses of Integrated Health Centers (CSI) in in the fight against infant and maternal mortality. Saturday, November 25, they took stock and presented a certificate to a CSI who had distinguished himself in Pointe-Noire, the economic capital.
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With our correspondent in Brazzaville, Loicia Martial
Preschool consultation point of the Loandjili CSI in the fourth arrondissement of Pointe-Noire. These crying infants are given a vaccine or weighed. In this center, for five years, no deaths have been recorded, neither among mothers nor among newborns. Progress made possible thanks to the “Mavimpi ya Mboté” project. This center was therefore issued a certificate for having achieved more than 80% quality performance in maternal, neonatal and child health care.
“ For me, I can say that this is not a surprise. I earned this certificate. I can say that in 2024 we must continue (the work) to achieve 100% performance », rejoices Mouko Nzama, the first manager of the Loandjili CSI.
Progress made possible thanks to better control of the health of newborns, as well as better environmental sanitation. But for Chantal Umutoni, Unicef representative in Congo, there are still many efforts to be made. “ You know that Congo has made a lot of progress in reducing child mortality. But what we have noticed is that in the neonatal mortality of children under 28 days old, the mortality does not decrease as it should.t,” she points out.
The Mavimpi ya Mboté project focuses on the fight against neonatal mortality. Congo has a neo-maternal mortality rate of 47% per 1000 live births, below the average for the sub-region.