At issue are the various reports on social networks about alleged abuse to women, especially during childbirth in that hospital unit
Mozambique Minister of Health, Ussene Isse, secured the investigation of alleged abuse and disappearance of babies on Wednesday at Matola Provincial Hospital in Maputo.
“There are some complaints that have come to us from this hospital, linked to the poor care and disappearance of children (…), so there is a team that is already created, in coordination with colleagues in the province, so that we can work, monitor and have evidence of what is happening,” USSENE ISSE, on the sidelines of a visit to the hospital, told social communication today.
At issue are the various reports on social networks about alleged abuse of women, especially during childbirth in that hospital unit, the most popular being the “case Leila”, a woman who had the uterus taken after a caesarean section, in which the baby was given dead, but the body was never delivered to the family.
“Everything that comes from the population, which are complaints, we have to value, we have to understand and respect (…), my team is accompanied by the health inspector of health to continue and monitor these complaints,” explained the minister.
USSENE ISSE also appealed that deliveries are assisted by members of pregnant women in the unit.
“It is a recommendation for the whole country, not only for this hospital,” he added.
On Monday, a group of just over a dozen women spoke in front of the Matola Provincial Hospital in Maputo against alleged “abuse” and “medical negligence” during childbirth in that hospital unit.
“We are outraged by abuse, theft of our babies, withdrawn from our uteros without our consent,” Lusa Lodovina Michel, activist of the resilient women, who led the demonstration.
Capulanas (traditional fabric), black clothes, whistles and a doll in their arms, women sang hymns and wielded posters, with critical messages to the Provincial Hospital of Matola for alleged obstetric violence, with at least one case in trial in Maputo’s court involving that unit.
According to the 2017 population census, the maternal death ratio is 452 per 100,000 living swimming, which continues to put Mozambique among countries where women have a higher risk of death during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum period.
