The Kidney Research Foundation on Thursday donated medical equipment worth over K250 000 ($460) to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), to help in the fight against Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
Among the donated items are urine test kits, sample bottles, vacutainer needles, vacutainer needles holders, calmug supplements and carotenoid complex tablets.
Speaking during the hand-over ceremony, chief executive officer of Kidney Research Foundation, Lucy Msungeni said the Government of Malawi has shown greater interest in tackling NCDs from the grassroots.
Said Msungeni: “We recognize that it will take concerted efforts from a multisectoral perspective in order to move towards containment of the diseases. One of the highlighted NCDs of concern is kidney disease.
“Here we are challenged by limited data in the area of renal disease which often obscures efforts to establish some control of the disease.”
Chief hospital administrator at QECH, Themba Mhango, thanked the foundation for the donation, but expressed concern over the lukewarm attention NCDs get from the citizenry.
“This donation will help us to make some changes at national level as of policy on how we can deal with non communicable diseases. Earlier on in our nation policy these diseases were somehow silent they were not coming out open.
“Non communicable diseases don’t receive much attention as compared to malaria and other diseases and you find that at national level these diseases have national programs like malaria programs, TB program but when it comes to diseases like diabetes, people think it’s a disease for rich people,” bemoaned Mhango.
