The government, through the Ministry of Health, announced on Wednesday (05) the creation of a commission of inquiry to investigate alleged cases of poor care, disappearance of newborns in the maternity ward and other irregularities at Matola Provincial Hospital (HPM).

The information was provided by the Minister of Health, Ussene Isse, after a visit to that health unit to assess the level of operation. Even so, Ussene Isse was cautious about the alleged poor service at this reference hospital in Maputo province.

"I'm very cautious about this issue, because despite this beauty I found today, there are some complaints that have come to us about this hospital linked to poor care. There's poor care, there's also the disappearance of children and everything else. As you can see, my team today is accompanied by the Inspector General of Health so that we can follow up and monitor these complaints from the population," said the governor, noting that "there is a team that has been set up, in coordination with colleagues from the province, so that we can work, monitor and have evidence of what is happening".

The health minister's visit comes days after a group of women went to Matola Provincial Hospital to protest against alleged cases of mistreatment at the facility, including allegations of baby theft and the unauthorized removal of uteruses.

According to protesters, in addition to cases of baby theft and the removal of wombs, there are also situations in which the bodies of newborns who die in childbirth are not handed over to their mothers.

"This place is no longer a hospital, it's a supermarket. They're using the hospital to make boladas", denounced one of the demonstrators.

Recently, a woman accused the hospital of having her uterus removed without her consent.

(Photo DR)