According to Doctors with Africa CUAMM, a health charity operating in Angola, there has been a significant drop in the number of deliveries performed at the Hospital da Missao Catolica do Chiulo, one of the biggest in Cunene, in recent years – from 1,891 in 2021 to 1,517 in 2022. The scarcity of food and water in the area has also been another incentive for pregnant women to make it past these challenges and head to Casa de Espera, now seen as the last resource in the region. So queues of expecting mothers waiting to be admitted are now common there. In 2022, Canal do Cafu, a water distribution channel built by the government for $137m, opened in Cunene to provide water to the population and boost the region’s agriculture. But many local activists say the ambitious initiative seems not to have worked.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA