Government for improved healthcare
President Peter Mutharika says government is committed to ensuring every Malawian has access to good healthcare to aid the country’s development.
He was speaking in Lilongwe yesterday during the launch of the Malawi Health Situation Room which was graced by United Nations under-Secretary General and executive director of UNAids Michel Sidibe.
The Malawi Health Situation Room is a tool that aims to speed up and streamline communications between policy makers and implementers to help Malawi stay on track to reach its national HIV and health targets as well as the Sustainable Development Goals on ending Aids by 2030.
Speaking during the launch, Mutharika said the new tool will help millions of Malawians access good healthcare in every community.
He said: “The Health Situation Room that we launch today is one innovation for improving the healthcare delivery system. This will improve decision making in healthcare delivery. We are embracing innovative technology in healthcare as Malawi moves into the digital generation.”
On his part, Sidibe said he was hopeful that the tool will improve further the health system in Malawi.
He commended Malawi Government efforts in improving the health sector, and specifically applauding the initiative of putting over 800 000 people on anti-retroviral therapy which has reduced the number of deaths caused by Aids and improved the health of people living with HIV.
Said Sidibe: “As a country, you want healthy people, and the Health Situation Room will help in identifying gaps in the health sector, fight inequalities and have better distribution opportunities.”
According to Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Population Dan Namarika, the tool supports the Malawi e-health strategy that allows monitoring where health systems are functioning at their best and where Malawi can step up efforts to improve the health system, including progress towards achieving the Malawi Health Sector Strategic Plan II targets.
