Restoring Privacy and Trust: Community Advocacy Transforms Care at Chicuque Rural Hospital

As the reference health facility for Maxixe District and the second-largest hospital in Inhambane Province, Chicuque Rural Hospital serves thousands of patients seeking essential care. Yet since September 2017, a critical problem was driving patients away: the lack of privacy during medical consultations.

Due to inadequate space, two healthcare providers routinely attended to patients in the same room simultaneously. The consequences were severe: patients regularly left without receiving care, too afraid to discuss sensitive health issues in front of strangers who were often their own neighbors.

“Whenever I met someone in the room, I was ashamed to say what I had and how I felt ... I had sores on my sexual organs but preferred to say instead that I felt headaches and go to another health center to be attended to… My health was steadily getting worse, and I spent a lot of money on transport.”
Ana, 37 years old, patient, Chicuque Rural Hospital

This patient's experience wasn't isolated. Across the community, people were choosing silence over treatment, enduring worsening conditions rather than exposing intimate health concerns to public scrutiny.

The community and health committee, supported by Namati's health advocate, took action. They met with the head of the triage department, who acknowledged the problem but recommended escalating to facility management. The advocate and committee members then brought the issue directly to the Director of Chicuque Rural Hospital, who committed to finding a solution.

Hospital management identified an unused space that could provide the privacy patients desperately needed. Within just one month, the room was rehabilitated and equipped for confidential consultations. Simultaneously, the facility launched training to sensitize healthcare providers about the critical importance of patient privacy in building community trust.

The transformation was immediate and profound.

“Almost every day we were receiving complaints about privacy. When the Director said that we had another room for consultations it was such a relief for us.”
Maria Francisco, 48 years old, member of health committee, Chicuque Rural Hospital

Today, patients at Chicuque Rural Hospital can seek care with dignity and confidence, knowing their most personal health concerns will remain private—as they always should have been.

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