Ministry of Health to sign new agreements

Malawi’s Ministry of Health is expected to sign new agreements with health facilities under the Christian Health Association of Malawi (Cham) which will see Malawians getting HIV and Aids and tuberculosis services at no cost.

Minister of Health Catherine Gotani Hara told Parliament that the current Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with Cham were limited to maternal and neonatal services.

But Hara admitted that her ministry has been defaulting on payments to Cham which has resulted in a sour relationship between the ministry and the organisation.

Some Cham facilities are reluctant to provide services to patients due to non-payment by the ministry.

“We had 54 Cham facilities in the pilot phase of SLAs when we agreed they would provide maternal and neonatal services. We want to increase the type of services they provide to include HIV and TB,” said Hara.

About 40 per cent of health facilities in Malawi under Cham and 160 of these facilities have signed SLAs with the Ministry of Health.