National News

Medical referrals cost K2bn annually—Minister

Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda has told Parliament in Lilongwe that Malawi Government is annually spending about K2 billion ($2 million) to foot medical bills for cancer patients and other cases abroad.

Delivering a ministerial statement on the first day of the Mid-Year Budget Review Meeting of Parliament on Monday, she lamented that foreign referrals were also a drain on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Said Chiponda: “Currently, there are over 400 patients on the waiting list to be referred for treatment in hospitals abroad. Half of the people on the waiting list are cancer patients.”

Chiponda: By January radiotherapy will be available locally

The minister said the National Cancer Centre in Lilongwe, whose construction started in 2018, was yet to be fully completed, as such, patients still access radiotherapy services outside the country.

However, she said currently bunkers are being put in place to have cancer patients access radiotherapy services abroad.

“By January, patients should be able to access radiotherapy services locally,” said Chiponda.

She also announced plans to have a cardiac centre to provide specialised services for patients with heart conditions. Currently, such patients are also referred abroad for treatment.

Malawi Government is also constructing trauma centres in districts that experience high number of road accidents, she said.

To promote access to quality health services and ensure that health facilities are within five kilometres radius, the minister said her ministry is embarking on a number of projects including the construction of 900 health posts.

Chiponda said JTI Leaf (Malawi) Limited, Malawi Red Cross Society and others have helped with the construction of 23 health posts while the ministry has moved to construct 250-bed capacity district hospitals in Dowa, Rumphi and Chikwawa.

The minister also said there are plans to have six urban hospitals built in Blantyre to ease pressure on Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, the country’s major referral hospital.

To ensure that more health posts are constructed to improve access to quality health services, Chiponda called on members of Parliament (MPs) to utilise the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to construct health facilities.

But some MPs were not comfortable with the proposal. They argued that  they have done that before, but the ministry has been unable to provide healthcare workers and equipment such that the structure have ended up being white elephants.

Machinga East MP Esther Jolobala said people in her constituency walk over 20 kilometres to access health services.

She also asked the minister to give an update on the status of Muammar Gaddafi Hospital at Kameza in Blantyre, which has stalled for at least 15 years.

In response, Chiponda said government is in discussion with some potential investors to construct the Gaddafi Hospital to provide specialised services.

The Muammar Gaddafi Hospital was conceptualised in July 2002 when the former Libyan leader visited Malawi. However, apart from a perimeter fence that has, over the years, had some sections razed down, there is nothing to show for it.

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