【Introduction of the project】
Lusaka is the capital of the Republic of Zambia, located in south of Africa. Lusaka has many health centers that provide basic health services to the population. However, there is an absolute shortage of hospitals that can perform surgeries. There is also a chronic situation of serious congestion at the University Teaching Hospital in Zambia, which provides advanced medical services. So, there was a need to establish a first level hospital where basic surgeries, including familiar diseases and cesarean sections, could be performed.
Therefore, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Zambia planned to strengthen and expand the functions of the first level hospital facilities. The objective is to support sustainable economic growth in the five main regions of Lusaka. The Japanese government which had been promoting grant assistance to Zambia, also established two number of first level hospitals in the Matero and Chilenje districts through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The so called “The Project for Upgrading Lusaka Health Centres to District Hospitals” that took place in 2017 was the first phase. The recently completed project is the second phase that consisted of developing the remaining three hospitals in Chipata, Kanyama, and Chawama districts. Approximately half of Lusaka province residents will benefit from this hospital development.
Despite the strict constraints of construction process such as the simultaneous start and completion of the three hospitals, the existing of an operating hospital in the vicinity of the construction site and the six months construction work suspension due to the spread of Covid-19, the staffs worked hard to overcome these difficulties, and was successfully able to complete the construction in January 2021.