By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Strategic Communications Adviser (MOICE)
More than 1,300 pregnant women in Tombo and surrounding communities are set to benefit from improved maternal healthcare following the rehabilitation of the maternity unit and patient waiting areas at the Tombo Community Health Centre.
The facility, which serves a catchment population of nearly 32,000 people, was officially handed over to the Ministry of Health following rehabilitation under the SHAPE Project implemented by Solthis.
The upgrade is expected to strengthen the capacity of the health centre to provide safer deliveries, improve maternal and newborn care and offer women a more dignified experience when accessing healthcare.
Tombo, a major fishing community on the Freetown Peninsula, also has more than 7,000 adolescents within its catchment area, making the facility an important frontline institution for maternal and reproductive health services.
The rehabilitation has increased the number of postnatal beds from three to six and introduced a dedicated dignified childbirth unit equipped with birthing balls and yoga mats to support respectful, woman-centred care.
The antenatal care unit has also been improved, alongside the provision of a protected waiting area for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
The facility has further received essential equipment designed to improve the safety of mothers and newborns, including an autoclave for sterilising medical instruments, a fetal Doppler for monitoring foetal heartbeats, neonatal resuscitation equipment and a radiant warmer to help prevent heat loss in newborn babies.
The improvements come as Sierra Leone intensifies its efforts under the Government’s 300 Days of Activism Campaign, which is targeting the country’s Triple Zero ambition of eliminating preventable maternal deaths, preventable child deaths and zero-dose children.