Eastern province top official, Thole, claims health facilities fully stocked, maternal mortality declining

Eastern Province Permanent Secretary, Paul Thole, has assured that all health facilities in the province have sufficient medical supplies, with maternal mortality rates significantly reducing.

Thole also announced that 98 health facilities were currently under construction in the province, with 21 already completed and 10 fully operational.

Addressing Minister of Health, Dr. Elijah Muchima, who paid a courtesy call on the Eastern Province Provincial Administration on Wednesday, Thole emphasized the need for proper equipment and staffing to maximize the impact of healthcare services.

“Talking about drugs, I wish to state that access to essential medicines has improved with over 90 percent availability at health centers and 85 percent in hospitals,” he said.

Thole said this in a statement issued in Lusaka on Wednesday.

He noted that the maternal mortality rate had significantly dropped, reflecting improvements in maternal and general healthcare services across the province.

Thole also expressed gratitude to the government for deploying additional health workers to various districts, reinforcing service delivery in rural and urban areas alike.

Speaking during the same meeting, Eastern Province Health Director, Dr. Mathews Ng’ambi, hailed the introduction of health center kits as a major breakthrough in improving medical supply distribution.

“In fact, Honourable Minister, the problem that we see when we visit facilities is kind of different—we have too much drugs, and we start worrying at times to say, ‘Are we going to consume all of these?’ But this is a good problem to have,” Ng’ambi said.

He further highlighted how technology was enhancing efficiency in delivering medical commodities to areas experiencing shortages.

“In places where we experience shortages, we are able to move commodities very quickly. But I wish to say that we don’t have any challenges with that, and I wish to say we have not heard of such shortages in a long time,” he said.

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