People of group village head Bema under traditional authority Kachere of Dedza district says the completion of Bema Outpatient Dispensary (OPD) and construction of two staff houses at the facility will ease the distance they used to cover to access quality health services.

Construction of Bema OPD begun in 2007 but stalled due to lack of funding untill in 2022 when Dedza District Council, with funding from World Bank under the Governmence to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) project, decided to complete the project.

In an interview, Funny Mathola, a community member from Bema village, said they used to travel over 30 kilometres to Mitundu hospital to seek public health services which was a challenge for pregnant women and old people.

"As a result, many [people] were dying because of birth complications and other treatable illinesses like malaria and diarrhea," she said.

She, therefore, commended government for completing the clinic and constructing two staff houses at the health Institution, saying the development will save a lot of lives.

On his part, GVH Bema said people in his area were dying at an early age because of lack of access to trained medical personnel and modern medicine.

"That is why we have been demanding this development for a long time, I'm glad there is now hope that things will turn better for my people," he said.

Dedza District Council Acting Director of Planning and Development, Lottie Makina, said they decided to complete the facility to enhance health service delivery in the district by reaching underserved communities.

"We are also looking at the welfare of our health workers. We believe that for them to deliver good health services, they need better accommodation that is why we have also constructed two modern solar powered staff houses," he said."