The Japanese government initialed two agreements in Maputo on Friday (10), one for the rehabilitation of the Fishing School and the other for the construction of a leprosy ward at the Alto Molócuè District Hospital in Zambézia province. 

The rehabilitation work at the Fishing School, located in the city of Matola, in the southern province of Maputo, is budgeted at 47500 dollars (3 million meticais) and includes the fishing workshop, improvement of a training room, improvement of water and energy facilities, bathrooms and storage rooms, covering a total of 333.2 square meters.

The Japanese ambassador accredited to Mozambique, Hamada Keiji, said that "the two projects go far beyond simply building facilities, but strengthen education and health and represent an excellent opportunity to further deepen cooperation between the two countries".

For the director of the Fishing School, Estela Maússe, "the donation represents a historic milestone in the institution's history", since, with more than 45 years of existence, "it has never been the target of an intervention of such magnitude as the one planned".

In an AIM publication, she praised the Government of Japan which, between 2002 and 2007, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Overseas Fisheries Cooperation Organization (OFCF), generated impact interventions at the Fishing School, culminating in the donation of two boats for practical classes at sea, which are still in use today.

"Today, with this new gesture of solidarity and cooperation, the Government of Japan is reaffirming its commitment to sustainable development and to enhancing technical and professional training in the fisheries sector. This partnership is a living testimony to the friendship between our peoples and an example of how international cooperation can make a concrete contribution to strengthening our institutions," he said.

As for the project to build a leprosy ward at the Alto Molócuè District Hospital in Zambézia province, valued at 50,000 dollars, it will result in a 184.5 square meter block comprising consultation rooms, an administrative room, a waiting room and a bathroom.

The national director of the Mission against Leprosy in Mozambique, the institution that will implement the rehabilitation, Pedro Safrão, says that the construction of the new infirmary represents hope, access and dignity, as it will be a space for treatment and rehabilitation and a symbol of solidarity between peoples and a commitment to the most vulnerable.

It adds that thousands of people in rural and endemic areas will have access to quality services, humanized care and the opportunity to rebuild their lives.

In fact, more than 2,800 people were diagnosed with leprosy last year, more than 1,0% of them children under the age of 15, figures that "confirm international reports that indicate that Mozambique is the second most endemic country on the African continent and that the disease is far from being just a problem of the past".

 

(Photo DR)