Mzuzu Central Hospital appeals for help

Mzuzu Central Hospital (MCH) officials have urged Malawians living in Diaspora to raise funds to buy equipment for health facilities in the country as government alone cannot meet their needs.

The call follows a donation of medical equipment to MCH by a Malawian living in South Africa Nezalla Phiri and his friend Gaffar Hassam.

The donation, an oxygen concentrator and health monitoring machine, follows a similar gesture the two made to Kamuzu Central Hospital in 2015.

Speaking during the handover of the equipment on Monday, MCH head of medical department Dr John Chipolombwe commended the two for the donation.

He said the health sector is facing challenges which need concerted efforts from various stakeholders.

Dr Chipolombwe also said there is need for Malawians living outside the country to raise funds to buy equipment for hospitals back home.

“One machine can save lives of many people. So we should not look at the money or the number of items but what these will do,” he said.

A statement issued by Phiri and Gaffar said they thought of helping Malawi after Phiri developed a heart problem in July 2014 and was treated at a hospital in Gaborone, Botswana.

For the MCH donation, the two raised over K3 million to buy oxygen concentrators and health monitoring machines that detect oxygen circulation.