A waiting shelter for expectant mothers and newborns was inaugurated at the Katima Mulilo clinic in the Zambezi Region.

The shelter is financed by the Social Security Commission and can accommodate 80 expectant mothers at a time.

It has an indoor and outdoor kitchen, courtyards, and a multi-purpose room to be used by mothers for crafts and other activities.

Inaugurating the facility, former First Lady and Patron Penehupifo Pohamba said the shelter will help vulnerable mothers who are often left to explore unsafe options.

"Expectant mothers and mothers of new-borns are often forced to take shelter in temporary makeshift structures or even in open spaces and under trees near hospitals while waiting to get maternal care."

The shelter, which was completed in 2020, will provide easy and safer access to antenatal care and assist in the reduction of life-threatening pregnancy-related complications.

Handing over the facility to the Health Ministry, Deputy Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations, and Employment Creation, Hafeni Ndemula, urged mothers to use the shelter.

"Take ownership of this building with this key, and Katima Mulilo community, this is ownership; it's like your house, so guard it jealously. We don't want to come back here next year and find it vandalized. It's your money; it's our money, so take good care of it."

The construction of the shelter is part of the Social Security Commission's social responsibility in assisting pregnant women coming from faraway places to have decent shelter while awaiting to give birth.