The newly opened modern maternity wing at Tudor Sub-County Hospital in Mombasa. [Photo: Kenya Red Cross/ Twitter]
A new modern maternity wing launched at the Tudor Sub-County hospital in Mombasa on Thursday is set to ease congestion at the Coast General Hospital.Speaking after the official opening of the maternity wing, Kenya Red Cross Society Secretary General Abbas Gullet said that since the hospital is at the center of an informal settlement, expectant women in the area will have access to quality health services.Gullet said they expect the mortality rate within Mombasa to reduce as the new wing will be providing modern maternity services to mothers.He said the project which was implemented by different partners among them the Danish Red Cross, the Kenya Red Cross, the European Union and the Mombasa County government aims to reduce the mortality rate in Mombasa which stands at 192 out of 1000 births.Gullet said since many women within the Coast region have been flocking the Coast General Hospital for specialised treatment and maternity services, the well-equipped modern facility will ease congestion in the hospital and enable women from the informal settlement to get quality maternal health services.“Tudor is surrounded By Moroto, Kaa Chonjo, and Mburu Kenge slums, where most women in the areas did not have access to quality maternal health services,” said Gullet.Gullet also said that the launch of a youth-friendly center within Tudor Sub-County hospital was a step in ensuring that youth get better health services and reproductive health services from qualified doctors and counselors of their age.“The youth-friendly center will help many youth acquire reproductive health services in a dignified way which will encourage them to open up which will also lead to prevention of sexually transmitted diseases as well,” said Gullet.The project was funded at a tune of Sh29 million, Sh16 million is for the construction work and Sh13 million being the cost of fully equipping the maternity wing and the youth-friendly center.