KASI clinics will now have maternity wards.
Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said the move is to help alleviate pressure at provincial hospitals.
Phillip Moyo Community Health Centre in Etwatwa, Ekurhuleni had its maternity ward unveiled on Thursday, 27 July.
The MEC said instead of mothers going to Far East Hospital in Springs, they will receive help close by. Phillip Moyo Clinic is the main health facility in the area. She said the unit is the first model of its kind and one of the best.
"We are going to take this model to other clinics in Ekurhuleni," she said.
The MEC said the unit will give the young mothers and their children the privacy they need, adding that the residents should protect it.
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"Protect it. It's your own. Don't burn it or vandalise it during protests," she said.
Nurses at the clinic said they were happy they would have a space to attend to mums and children, away from the rest of the patients.
Residents who came to witness the unveiling vowed to protect their clinic.
"Instead of travelling long distances to give birth, mothers will be going nearby. It is something we really appreciate," said a community member, gogo Elizabeth Mahlangu.
A pregnant young mum, who came for a check-up at the clinic, she said she was relieved that she didn't have to travel hospital anymore to give birth.
