The Ministry of Health has expressed strong support for the Zambia Correctional Service’s ambitious plan to convert the former Ebola Treatment Centre in Mwembeshi into a modern correctional hospital that will serve both inmates and surrounding communities.
During a tour of the facility, Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary for Technical Services, Dr. Kennedy Lishimpi, commended the initiative and noted that the project has the potential to significantly improve healthcare delivery in the rapidly growing Mwembeshi correctional complex.
Dr. Lishimpi observed that the existing structure presents a unique opportunity to address healthcare challenges affecting thousands of inmates while simultaneously strengthening healthcare services for local communities.
Zambia Correctional Service Director of Health, Senior Assistant Commissioner Dr. Moolah Malimba, emphasized the importance of the project, describing it as a transformative intervention that will help bridge critical healthcare gaps within the correctional system.
He noted that Mwembeshi has become Zambia’s largest correctional complex, housing approximately 5,000 inmates, while the surrounding community continues to rely on limited health facilities.
Once operational, the proposed hospital is expected to provide specialized correctional healthcare services, emergency care, disease management, diagnostic services, mental health support, and other essential medical services to both inmates and members of the public.
The project seeks to convert the former Ebola Treatment Centre into a fully-fledged hospital equipped with admission wards, a theatre, diagnostic facilities, a mother and child health centre, mortuary services, and other critical healthcare departments.
The initiative forms part of the Zambia Correctional Service’s commitment to providing quality correctional services through enhanced healthcare, rehabilitation, and inmate welfare programmes.
The proposed hospital is expected to become a centre of excellence in correctional healthcare and a landmark development in Zambia’s efforts to improve access to quality health services for all.