Nation Publications Limited (NPL) 2026 Mother’s Fun Run sleepover challenge participants have highlighted heartbreaking experiences that expose the harsh realities hampering delivery of safe motherhood in Mzimba North District Health Office (DHO).
The experiences include the death of a young mother and her unborn baby while waiting for an ambulance and ill-equipped healthcare workers’ desperate efforts to save a premature new-born.
Recounting the experiences of the various participants and herself, NPL chief executive officer Mbumba Banda shared the experience of an 18-year-old expectant mother at Malidade Health Centre, who was taking paracetamol at home before seeking medical attention.
She said healthcare workers noticed her pale hands and weakness, raising concerns about severe anaemia.
| Joshua Gondwe
However, the facility had no HemoCue machine to measure her haemoglobin levels and had no oxygen to support her as her condition deteriorated. She said finding transport for referral proved equally difficult.
Said Banda: “There was no HemoCue to catch her anaemia. No oxygen as she waited. It took an hour to find an ambulance because 22 health facilities in Mzimba North share two functional ambulances and five hours to battle flood-damaged roads to Malidade.
“She died just before the ambulance’s arrival. Her unborn baby’s life was extinguished with her. Improvisation was not enough.”
She described the tragedy as a stark reflection of the challenges confronting maternal and newborn healthcare in the country, underscoring the urgent need for better-equipped health facilities and reliable emergency transport.
Banda also recounted a situation at Mpherembe Health Centre where a desperate improvisation helped save two lives.
She said a premature baby boy was born without crying, forcing healthcare workers to resuscitate him using the facility’s only adult ambu bag because they had no appropriate newborn equipment.
Said Banda: “The baby’s mother also developed complications while the facility had no ambulance.
“Mzimba Heritage Association secretary-general Khumbo Soko, whose sleepover participation coincided with the emergency, stepped in and drove the mother and baby to Mzuzu Central Hospital.
“Without an oxygen cylinder for the journey, the healthcare escort carried the same ambu bag used to save the baby, leaving Mpherembe without one. Both mother and baby survived.”
Nico Holdings plc group head of marketing and customer experience Taweni Gondwe-Xaba, speaking on behalf of the 2026 sleepover champions, said they saw firsthand what happens when there are no oxygen concentrators and other equipment and how healthcare workers improvise.
The mother of three living children also shared her personal pain of losing a child, a situation she said helped her to appreciate the anguish families endure when maternal and newborn healthcare fails.
Said Gondwe-Xaba: “I had to write down my speech because it is an emotional one, so I want to control myself. I am a mother of three, three here on earth because the other one is in heaven.
“Unlike mothers in Mzimba North, I was privileged to give birth in well-resourced health facilities.”
Mzimba North DHO director of health and social services Wamaka Musopole thanked NPL and its partners, describing the stories shared at the event as glimpses into challenges health workers confront daily.
He urged healthcare workers not to surrender to despair, saying what would happen to women in remotest areas if those responsible for their care gave up.
Musopole expressed delight that the donated medical equipment and supplies will help strengthen healthcare delivery and improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.
“We expect more positive maternal and neonatal outcomes than the ones recorded before the MFR,” he said.
WaterAid director Peter Phiri, who was the guest of honour, said witnessing the conditions at Mzuzu Urban Community Hospital during his sleepover strengthened his commitment to safe motherhood.
“Every mother deserves a safe delivery, every baby deserves a safe start, and every health worker deserves a safe and dignified place to work,” he said, calling for stronger partnerships to improve maternal healthcare.
World Vision representative Charles Chimombo agreed with Phiri.
Representing Inkosi ya Makhosi M’mbelwa V, Soko also encouraged mothers to deliver at health facilities despite the challenges.
The 2026 Mother’s Fun Run raised K672 million against a K500 million target for medical equipment and supplies for public health facilities under Mzimba North DHO.
Through the initiative launched in 2005, NPL and its partners mobilise resources to improve maternal and newborn healthcare.
