By Sheminah Nkhoma and Lesnat Kenan

Lilongwe, February 20, Mana: Members of Parliament (MPs) have urged the government, through the Ministry of Health, to prioritize the completion and upgrading of stalled health projects that have remained unfinished for years.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, MP for Nkhotakota South, Brainax Kaise, expressed concern over the construction of a health post and the rehabilitation of other health centers, emphasizing the need to improve patient care and the working environment.

“People in our Constituency  do not have access to health services nearby. We appeal to the government to finish up constructing facilities which are underway so that people have the ability to get good medical services easily,” he said.

In his response , Deputy Minister of Health, Noah Chimpeni, has assured all MPs that government is committed to ensuring access to health care in all districts across the country.

Chimpeni said government has already started opening health posts which have been completed in some areas so that people start accessing health care services within a walkable distance.

"This is an ongoing exercise which government is doing. So many of them have been constructed, opened for use and some to be opened soon and new sites have been handed over to contractors to continue construction of health posts and everything will be done according to plan," he added.

He further stated that some of the health posts under construction are 80 to 90 percent complete, with only painting and bulb installation remaining before they can begin offering services.