MALAWI’ HEATH SITUATION WORSENS AS KAMUZU CENTRAL HOSPITAL STAFF HARMONIZED AND PRESENTED PETITION TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.

Opposition DPP parliamentarian Nicholas Dausi recieved the petition for the Speaker

Just 3 days after it was observed that Staff at Kamuzu Central Hospital in the Capital City of Malawi were obligatory to close the Main operating theatre as well as the Casualty department due to lack of essential drugs and being forced to use expired medical items at this institution contrary to the medical practioners Act.

It has been established that concerned medical personnel from Kamuzu Central Hospital on Tuesday, 29^th October, 2013 teamed up and paraded to the National Assembly to present a petition seeking the intervention of the government on the on going Health Crisis that has locked almost all the Central and District Hospitals in the Malawi with basically underfunding problems, lack of essential  drugs, food and other equipment, in the later hours of the day the petition was successfully delivered to the National Assembly  where parliamentarians are meeting  through Nicholas Dausi an opposition Members of Parliament for Democratic Progressive Party .

Kamuzu Central Staff on the way to parliament

In an interview with one of the Senior Staff at Kamuzu Central Hospital, the Doctor lamented that “It’s very painful to note that we all pay tax to have better social services but now as you can see we are failing to work and serve innocent people as we have nothing on the ground, these people are dying and government seems note to care for its people. We all  know that these   government and Peoples Party Officials are sent abroad to seek medical attention when the general populace suffer to access medical treatment in government hospitals and such being the case, these problems become none of their concern.”

According to the copy of the petition in our possession, the petition has also exposed the Peoples Party government of trimming Kamuzu Central Hospital’ ORT budget from a minimal of 80 and maximum of 100 Million Kwacha per month which they used to be allocated with 3 years ago to 26 Million Kwacha a month currently representing a nominal difference of 54 Million Kwacha which is failing to meet the demands and operational costs for the hospital. It has also been observed that this problem of underfunding is also being experienced by many other hospitals as well as government department and the query remains to where these excess funds are going.

KCH staff at Parliament in Malawi

This is happening at a time that senior government and ruling party officials have been caught up in an act of siphoning Billions of Kwacha for non provision of service to the Government in what has been labeled as “CASH GATE SCANDAL” in Malawi, it is depressing to note that the lives of innocent Malawians are at risk with hospitals running without drugs and medical equipment. This is a violation of Human Rights as our constitution clearly empowers the government under the principal of National Policy “To provide adequate health care, commensurate with the health needs of Malawian society and international standards of health care.”  Health but the Malawi government through the Ministry of Health seems not to care.

Copy of Petition.

The concerned citizens in Malawi have expressed their lost of public trust in the leadership of Joyce Banda who is also a SADC chairperson with her Peoples Party and are calling upon the CSOs, international community, donors and others agencies to intervene and bail out Malawi in this  scenario which  is becoming unbearable to Millions of Malawians.

By: Magede Si Wandale.