8 foreign medics in for surgeries
Islamic Health Association of Malawi (Iham) and the Physicians Across Continent (PAC) have brought in eight surgeons to conduct surgeries at Kamuzu Central and Bwaila hospitals in Lilongwe.
The United Kingdom and Pakistan-based medics are expected to conduct the operations from today to Friday, according to Iham chairperson Hafiz Faizal Kassam.
Speaking during their welcome reception in Lilongwe, he said: “The team will conduct a series of surgeries in urology and general surgeries at Kamuzu Central Hospital [KCH] as well as fistula repairs at the Bwaila Fistula Centre.”
Kassam added that the initiative seeks to ensure that Malawians are provided with “the healthcare they deserve”.
PAC chairperson Matin Sheriff, who is leading the delegation, said they are targeting to conduct 100 surgeries.
This is the fourth time that a team of surgeons brought in by Iham and PAC partnership has carried out surgeries in the country.
Meanwhile, KCH director Jonathan Ngoma has said besides the patients that benefit from the surgery, the surgeons also help to improve health service delivery as they impart knowledge and skills to local medical officers.
“Doctors need to interact and there is something that you learn from your colleague. In that process, we are also training doctors and specialists,” he said.
Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola, who represented the Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, said the surgeries save the country foreign exchange, saying that some of the patients that might have been listed for treatment abroad.
The clinic comes barely two weeks after specialists from Jakaya Kikwete Institute of Cardiology in Tanzania conducted a heart-screening operation alongside their Malawian counterparts at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.
