The Chronic Drug Shortage

By Henry Kachaje

My experience is that sometimes when you are well taken care of as a manager you kinda ignore the plight of those less privileged. But this need not be the case, we can change and become more human.

It is obviously a challenge for those in leadership to think empathetically for the poor sick because their personal health services are outside this country. Why should they bother about prioritising medical supplies in government hospitals in Malawi when they can be air-lifted to South Africa anytime they have a flu?

Indeed, why should they care if their families are on VIP medical care? Even when they die whilst in office, their dead bodies can still be air-lifted to South Africa to receive first class embalming services.

But I believe this can change and must change. I believe there are still some leaders with a human heart. I believe we can hold any elected leader responsible to do what we employ them to do. It is our moral responsibility to speak for the voiceless, for the poor, the oppressed.

Together we can create a better Malawi for all. People need not die from common preventable diseases. Let us not get used to preventable deaths because doing so is satanic. The Son came that we might have an abundant life and not so many preventable premature deaths.

About 3 years ago Kamuzu Central Hospital (the largest referral hospital in Malawi) had a monthly budget funding of about K100m. Now it is operating on a monthly allocation of K26m!

What has changed? Do we now have less patients? Has the Kwacha appreciated? Has the government found cheaper sources of medical supplies? Or we simply don't care who dies?

People, we must all care and be very concerned. Today you are in good health and you think this is none of your business but some day you will need the services of Kamuzu Central Hospital. If you don't believe me ask the late Bingu.

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.

   

PRESS REALEASE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC PROGRESSIVE PARTY (DPP) ON THE 90 BILLION KWACHA ALLEGEDLY STOLEN UNDER ITS LEADERSHIP.

DPP issues Press statement

 That the Cashgate Scandal at Capitol Hill is of the greatest national importance is very obvious to us all. Every Malawian of good-will shall want to contribute reasonably towards its end and pray that justice prevails.

Unfortunately, what is happening in some media houses, the Peoples’ Party (PP) and in Government circles is an orchestrated attempt to demonize the Democratic Progressive Party, to tarnish images of innocent and even deceased persons. The aim is to divert the attention from the real horrors of Cashgate and shift blame to DPP. The story that K90bn was stolen under DPP between 2009 and 2012 is one of such attempts, but they will all fail.

The DPP is equally, if not more horrified at this callous looting of poor innocent tax payers’ money that’s happening in Cashgate. The plunder must stop, the DPP will leave no effort unturned to make justice prevail and have poor Malawians regain their stolen resources.

If the PP Government and their sponsored journalists are serious about the alleged theft of K90bn, the DPP challenges them to come with documented evidence of such huge sums of stolen money. As is the case in the current Cashgate Scandal, we want cheque details, vouchers, or audit queries for lack of vouchers, beneficiaries of the stolen cash, and signatories of the cheques and vouchers. If any current DPP functionaries are involved and confirmed in such creditable evidence, then we in the new DPP shall be the first to take disciplinary action against him/her and let the law take its course. We are serious. This nonsense has got to stop so that we move ahead with the development of our country.

On the other hand, if anyone, including the President continues in these reckless and undocumented demonizations of DPP, we must give warning that we will take such individuals to court. If the President were to continue insinuating or attacking late Bingu or DPP under Presidential immunity, she must know that she is abusing her executive privileges. She herself has spoken against tarnishing images of innocent people. She must walk the talk. She must also remember that her immunity is not for life.

President Banda must also not forget that she was No. 2 in the DPP Government during the period in question, i.e. 2009 to 2012. This is when the DPP allegedly stole K90bn. Now that Bingu is gone, she becomes the top culprit in this plunder if the story were true.

Moreover, when she moved to PP, she took with her many DPP functionaries, including Rt Hon Khumbo Kachali, Hon Henry Phoya, Hon Lucius Kanyumba, Hon Catherine Gotani Hara, Hon Ken Kandodo, Hon John Bande, Hon Siddik Mia, Hon Ken Lipenga, Hon Peter Mwanza, Hon Cornelius Mwalwanda, Hon Ephraim Mganda Chiume and many others who were in the DPP Cabinet. Under the principle of collective responsibility in Cabinet, they fully share the responsibility on the K90bn theft, if the story is true. In this regard, they could have perfected their stealing tricks from the K90bn theft saga to the present more callous Cashgate looting skills.

Such reasoning and accusations however would amount to no more than kindergarten politics. This is not the kind of wrong-doing that Malawians are looking for. They are looking for the kind of evidence and documents that have come out in the Cashgate thefts. We demand similar evidence and documentation in the K90bn alleged theft. Failing this will force us to take legal action because it will mean that there is no such evidence.

We must also repeat our demand that the President and her PP government must substantiate their repeated accusations that the DPP Government stopped the investigation on the K400m scam. We want the name of the authority that stopped the investigation and documentation of the order to do so. The name of the agent or agents that were stopped from doing the inquiry must be stated as well. There must be some documentation of such communication on a matter of such national importance. That is why we are insisting on documentation to come out. We made this demand a few days ago in Parliament, but we have had no response up to now. Failure to substantiate these accusations leaves the DPP with no option but to believe that there is no such evidence.


We know that many former DPP functionaries now in PP are involved in this looting of taxpayer’s cash, although they are shouting like Political Saints in PP. We were disappointed that they were still left in the new cabinet after the dissolution. We are nevertheless confident that the credible forensic audit, when it finally comes, shall flush them out of their hiding cabinet cages.

The PP have been in government for over 18 months and they are only coming up with 90bn Kwacha theft allegations now. The President said she smelt a rat regarding Ifmis about 5 months ago but did nothing to prevent the most recent looting of 20bn Kwacha of taxpayer’s money. She and others are coming up with 400m Kwacha scam accusations after Cashgate. They are also talking about the dubious and unsigned contract of the Ifmis contract when many of them have been in the very DPP government since the onset of that Ifmis system. All this shows us how desperate they are to divert attention from Cashgate. They are behaving like a cornered mouse.

We must inform the public that the current DPP is a new and different political organization especially with the departure of the above-named individuals who moved to the Peoples’ Party. We want evidence of any specific wrong-doers in our new DPP if there are any. We shall readily let the law deal with them. But we shall no longer stand by as the culprits and wrong- doers of Cashgate try to orchestrate the tarnishing of our image and in the process hope to bury Cashgate. We shall expose their deceit in court whenever it is necessary.

We urge the PP and government together with their sponsored journalists to take Cashgate seriously. Stop politics for a change this time, bring out evidence, and tell us who has enough credible evidence against him and has been arrested. Stop smearing mud against anyone before he or she has been convicted in a competent court of law. Trial and conviction in the media or on a political platform shall not work for anyone this time. Malawians know better and they are tired of being treated like half-wits.

SECRETARY GENERAL DPP

TISAIWALE ZIFUKWA ZOMWE AMALAWI SITIDZAVOTERA PEOPLES PARTY MU CHISANKHO CHA 2014.

TISAIWALE

(This is just apart of an audio documentary which is available for free, you can request your copy by emailing magedesiwandale@gmail.com )

Mongokumbutsana:

1. Peoples Party  siyikuikila kumtima pa chitetezo cha ife a Malawi pomwe mtchitidwe wa uchifwamba,kuba  komanso kuphana  zafika poyipa moti  ngakhale a president athu alibe chitetezo Kamba koti adaliuza dziko kuti iwo akumaospezedwa kuti aphedwa  kusonyeza kuti chitetezo mudziko muno mulibe tsono ngati presidenti wathu alibe chitetezo ife a Malawi ndife otetezedwa?

2. Peoples Party yatengapo gawo  lalikulu pakubedwa kwa ndalama ku likulu la dziko lino kudzera mwa akuluakulu a chipani chawo monga a Osward Lutepo  pomwe masukulu ndi zipatala zikusowa ndalama ife a Malawi mkumavutika.

3. Peoples Party  ikutinamiza kuti mudziko muno muli chakudya pomwe tikapita ku ADMARC tikumabwelako chabe chifukwa chakuti chimanga kulibe ife mkumagona ndi njala zomwe zikusonyeza kuti anthu awa samatiganizila ife a Malawi.

4. Peoples Party  idanamiza mtundu wa a Malawi ndi  achinyamata kuti apita Ku South Korea kukagwira ntchito pomwe izi zinali zabodza pofuna kutipusitsa ife a Malawi kuti tikopeke nawo zomwe zidaonongetsanso ndalama zaboma pachabe .

5. Peoples Party  idaoletsa chimanga  chambiri kunkhokwe za dziko la  Malawi munthawi yomwe  amalawi  tinkavutika ndi njala koma mpaka lero komwe chimanga chowolachi chidakatayidwa ngati dziko ife sitidziwa.

6. Peoples Party ikunyalanyaza kutsegula  sukulu monga ya  Chancellor college,Polytechnic,College of Medicine komanso masukulu ena a ntchito zaunamwino Kamba kosowa ndalama zokozera zofuna aphunzitsi  ndi zofooka zina kupangitsa ife makolo komanso ana athu kukhala odandaula chifukwa tsogolo lawo silikuoneka pomwe iwo ali kalikiliki kuba ndalama za boma.

7. Peoples Party yasonyeza kuti iwo saganizira ife a Malawi maka osauka chifukwa mu nthawi yomwe adagula magalimoto oyendera nduna ndi mabwana aku ESCOM ndi nthawi yomwe a Malawi timasowa mankhwala muzipatala komanso ma dotolo kumagwilitsa ntchito zida zomwe masiku ake ogwilitsila ntchito adatha chomwe ndichiopsezo kumiyoyo yathu kuonjezera apo,kutseka kwa malo ena ogwilira ntchito ya opaleshoni komanso kungozi ngati a Kamuzu Central Hospital komwe ife aMalawi osaukitsitsa timapezako thandizo.

8. Peoples Party mu ndondomeko ya fetereza wamakuponi ya chaka cha 2012/2013 idatigulitsa ife a Malawi mchenga mmalo mwa feteleza zomwe zidapangitsa amalawi ena kuluza ndalama komanso kusapindula ndi ndondomekoyi,kuonjezela apo,mundondomeko ya chaka cha 2013/2014,amalawi ena omwe timapindula ndi ndondomekoyi atichotsamo chomwe chili ngati chipongwe kwa ife polingalira kuti ife ndife anthu osaukitsitsa omwe sitingathe kugula feteleza pa mtengo wa 15,000 kwacha.

A malawi anzanga, ine simunthu  Wandale ayi, iyi ndi mbali ya pologalamu yanga (Documentary) yofuna kuti ife amalawi tisanamizidwe ndi anthu andale koma tidziwe zowona zenizeni ndikupanga chisankho chabwino chosankha  mtsogoleri odzalamula  dziko lino mu chaka cha 2014.

By: Magede Si Wandale

IMPROVING MALAWIANS ACCESSIBILITY TO SOCIAL SERVICES IS WORTHY IT THAN THEIR VOTES MADAM PRESIDENT.

Think of Malawians welfare

Esteemed observers, sometimes I wish I could keep quiet but the state in which our country is remains another story. It gets boring when you go through our news papers only to quote the president and senior ruling Peoples Party officials waging a war against social commentators, the opposition as well as media houses when indeed there is more than enough work in their offices tackling crucial matters of national significance for the common good of the underprivileged rural masses.

In a time that our leaders are busy politicking, its an insult to Malawians integrity for the ruling People Party and Joyce Banda to make a public statements on state run MBC-TV and radio stations that as a country we have enough stock of maize to get us going till next years harvesting season when surprisingly visiting some ADMARC depots in Ntcheu, Thyolo, Balaka, Nkotakota, Dedza, Karonga Mwanza, Mangochi and some parts of the country ended up finding no maize in these depots. How then do we need to trust our president bearing in mind that she has ever reclined to millions of Malawians on the South Korea labor deal? This is a serious matter of ensuring that food is available at a national level and it’s really the government responsibility to make sure that maize is available in ADMARC depots.

Furthermore, it’s very sad to note that some hospitals are having no drugs or being underfunded which has affected service delivery in almost 80 % of the government hospitals in Malawi posing a big threat to our lives. The situation at hand with Kamuzu Central Hospital and other district hospitals as well as clinics is unbearable and a threat even to the medical practitioners as medics are being forced to use expired items just to save peoples life which is totally unacceptable ,unprofessional and contrary to the Malawi poisons body Act. This is happening at a time that some ruling party officials are being implicated in the CASH GATE SCANDAL for the massive looting of billions of kwacha through payments that had been made for delivering nothing to the Malawian government when our hospitals run without drugs and operating theatres for a Central hospital like Kamuzu being closed,.

In addition to that, it’s very pathetic to note that our leaders seem not to care for future of Malawians youths by ensuring that Polytechnic, Chancellor College, College of Medicine, St Jones College of Nursing and other institution of higher learning are back to business by either funding them or meeting other requirements that have been demanded. It is not making sense that these colleges are continuing being closed for lack of funds when some officials have pocketed Billions for nothing. This is not making sense and sounding more of trash.

I suggest this could have been a time that our ruling Peoples Party could concentrate much on the welfare of Malawians than play a game of votes. The welfare of Malawians is more important than our votes Madam President and the entire Peoples Party team. This is not a smear campaign aimed at vindicating people’s party but rather a real practical situation on the ground. Provide us maize in ADMARC depots, open these colleges and make sure that hospitals have drugs and other items then Malawians will be quiet.

By: Magede Si Wandale.

KAMUZU CENTRAL HOSPITAL USING EXPIRED MEDICAL ITEMS AS MAIN OPERATING THEATRE AND CASULATY DEPARTMENT CLOSES.

Kamuzu Central  under crisis-using expired gloves

Esteemed Observers, if the ruling Peoples Party proclaims and preaches that there is no crisis in the country then I guess CRISIS has never existed. We have critical situations at hand in almost every ministry and government department putting government business to a halt and people’s lives and future at risk. It’s very unfortunate that our leaders are so arrogant to swallow their pride and accept the fact that things are turning worse everyday just for the good sake of our nation. Together as Malawians we can come up with long lasting and sustainable solutions to these never ending catastrophes in the Economic, Health and Education sector only if our leaders stop thinking that this country belongs to the ruling class alone.

In case you don’t know, as you are reading this epistle, Kamuzu Central Hospital has stopped carrying operation as the Main Operation Theater has been closed for lack of medical items. It’s an insult to Malawians to learn that the government is failing to procure even simple things such as the surgical blades, gloves, spirit and plastics. Imagine a situation where   medical staff at this central hospital was having no option but forced to use expired blades and gloves which are back dating to an expiry date of 2011. Not just that but also the casualty department has also faced closure for the similar problem.

As  millions of Malawians are suffering and dying in government hospitals for lack of medical supplies, staff strikes and unavailability of other services, this is  the same time that few individuals of high caliber are enjoying first class medical treatment  in South Africa from the same tax payers money which can’t afford to procure enough drugs, gloves, surgical blades and other medical supplies in government hospitals such as Kamuzu Central Hospital for the majority of Malawians who are far from affording medical services at private hospitals or benefit from the privileged of being a senior party official, relative to the president, Cabinet Minister, PS or an Orange intellectual.

In a situation that our politicians are busy looting Billions of kwacha at CAPITAL HILL and  travelling almost everyday when  ADMARC depots are  having no maize, citizens having no security not only that but also education institution staying closed for lack of funds to get them going. It’s very regrettable to learn that Kamuzu Central Hospital operations have turned this worse and access to Health services is no more a constitutional right rather a privilege. Our government through the Ministry of Healthy is just quiet and watching as Malawian lives continue being in danger. This is the right time as Malawians we must put this leadership to task, fuel and forex government claims is available  alone is useless if they can’t contribute to availability of better health services in our government hospitals. This is CRISIS.

By: Magede Si Wandale.