In Kanawolo pregnant women no longer need to travel several kilometres to receive medical care. This is because the maternity clinic in this town, located 490 km north from Abidjan, has been renovated and equipped with funding from the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The keys to the building were handed over to local administrative authorities by the Principal Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General Côte d'Ivoire, Simon Munzu, on 26 June 2015.



Highlighting the United Nations support to Ivorian authorities with regard to the protection and promotion of people's fundamental rights, Mr. Munzu, said that the objectives of UNOCI'S Quick Impact Project (QIP) were to provide a health centre which is accessible to people and ensure medical care for newborn babies, which it is hoped, will in turn lead to a reduction or eradication of maternal and neonatal mortality.



Mr. Munzu, urged people to encourage women to go to maternity clinics in order to preserve their lives and that of their babies. He also asked them to make good use of the clinic and ensure that conditions in the buildings are clean and that the medical equipment are used for the appropriate function.



For his part, the Representative of UNFPA, Dr. Pierre Ange Dakouri, decided in addition to biomedical equipment the institution offered to support the population by providing for quality health services.

"We suggested to the heads of the district health authorities to make every possible effort to provide for a midwife for the efficient use of this material," he said.

Presiding over the ceremony, the Prefect of Niakaramandougou Ya N'Guessan thanked UNOCI and UNFPA for their development action. He also pleaded for the UN to help find solutions to the diverse problems in the department.



"We want to continue the partnership with the UN for the well-being of our people who still need you during this peacebuilding and post-crisis reconstruction process" he said.



At an overall cost of 12.2 million FCFA, the health centre was rehabilitated and equipped at the initiative of UNOCI's Human Rights Division, in collaboration with the Association for the Development of Kanawolo (AMVK) and will improve the lives of some 4,000 women and babies in five villages.



Many local and administrative authorities of Niakaramandougou and the UNOCI's UN Police Commissioner took part in the ceremony.