African Parks (Malawi) has handed over a K122 million Mgoza Health Post at Mgoza in Traditional Authority (T/A) Khosolo in Mzimba District to improve access to healthcare services in the area.

Speaking on Saturday during the handover of the facility to the M’mbelwa District Council, Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve parks manager David Nangoma said they constructed the facility to enhance health service delivery in the hard-to-reach Mgoza.

The new health post at Mgoza, T/A Khosolo in Mzimba. I Elton Mhango

He said: “This is part of our corporate social responsibility as we want to reach out to communities we work with, especially those surrounding the reserve, with different social services, including health.

“We were rather concerned with the situation as people  of Mgoza were travelling 24 kilometres to Mikoma Health Centre to access health services.”

Nangoma commended the community for taking part in the construction process.

“I appeal to the community to take care of the facility and also to stop poaching, erecting structures and extracting minerals in the reserve,” he said.

On his part, M’mbelwa District Council director of health and social services Prince Chirwa said the facility will improve antenatal services in the area.

He said: “This area is hard-to-reach and health facilities are located far apart. Therefore, the health post will reduce the cost people spend to Mikoma Health Centre. We have already earmarked staff to run the facility.”

T/A Khosolo commended African Parks for supporting the area with different social services such as education, health, sanitation and economic empowerment.

“This facility will help our people and I promise to take a lead in taking care of it,” he said.

Among others, African Parks is running a bee-keeping and goat pass-on project to empower the communities around the reserve.

The organisation also runs a school scholarship initiative that empowers learners through provision of school fees in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions