Contract Signing Ceremony with ROCINANTES for the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects by the Government of Japan (Project for Improvement of Maternal and Child Healthcare in Mwapula Catchment, Chisamba District)

          On 26th February 2021, H.E. Mr. MIZUUCHI Ryuta, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Zambia and Mr. TANAKA Yuta, Project Manager of ROCINANTES, a Japanese NGO, signed a grant contract, amounting to up to 357,377 US dollars, for the implementation of the project titled “Project for Improvement of Maternal and Child Healthcare in Mwapula Catchment, Chisamba District”, under the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects (GANP).

          Through this project, ROCINANTES is going to construct a mother’s shelter at Mwapula Health Post which will accommodate pregnant women whose expected delivery dates are near, and provide operational support for the health post staff and the Safe Motherhood Action Groups (SMAGs) in the Mwapula Catchment. At the same time, the NGO plans to extend its support to strengthen SMAGs’ and health post staff’s perinatal knowledge and skills through trainings by Japanese experts in the medical field.

          This project aims at contributing to the increase in the number of facility deliveries through the promotion of the appropriate use of the shelters, in addition to facilitating expectant mothers in the Mwapula Catchment to receive appropriate prenatal and postnatal services, as well as safe delivery at the health post. It is expected that this project will reduce the risks on the safety and health of the mothers before, during and after childbirth in the target area.

Note:  To read the speech by Ambassador Mizuuchi at this ceremony, please click here.