Mimosa completes US$4.1m upgrade of Mberengwa District Hospital

Mberengwa District Hospital’s bed capacity has increased from 20 to 104 following a five-year refurbishment funded by Mimosa Mining Company. The approximately US$4.1 million project also added maternity, theatre and ward infrastructure at the district referral facility, The Herald reports.

The hospital serves more than 200,000 residents alongside a network of 31 rural health centres and mission hospitals. The works included a modern maternity wing, an operating theatre, expanded wards, a mortuary and an upgraded admissions unit, with improvements to water and electricity infrastructure.

At the commissioning, Vice-President Kembo Mohadi linked the expansion to maternal care and the management of emergencies closer to patients’ homes. He described the hospital, which has served the area since 1922, as an important connection between rural facilities and higher-level referral centres.

Staffing and recurrent support were central to his remarks. Mohadi called on the Ministry of Health and Child Care to ensure the hospital was adequately maintained, stocked with essential medicines and staffed by doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, technicians and support personnel. The expanded buildings and equipment form part of the service platform; their operation requires that continuing clinical and technical support.

Mohadi said private-sector investment should complement the state’s responsibilities. Mimosa managing director Fungai Makoni described the project as part of a longer-term community-development programme spanning healthcare, education, water, sanitation and social welfare.