Malawi hospitals urged to open paying wards after K280m boost at Kasungu

Malawi’s Health Minister Madalitso Baloyi has called on district councils across the country to set up paying wards in their hospitals, insisting the scheme is helping to raise vital funds for the struggling public health sector.

Baloyi made the appeal while officially opening a new paying ward at Kasungu District Hospital — a facility built under the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) Project, which has been up and running since December 2025.

The Minister was quick to stress that the initiative is not designed to undercut Malawi’s free healthcare system, but rather to give hospitals an extra revenue stream that can be ploughed straight back into improving services for everyone.

“Paying wards are not meant to replace free public healthcare. They are an opportunity for hospitals to generate additional revenue that can be reinvested into improving health services,” Baloyi said.

She explained that money raised through the wards would go towards buying essential medical equipment, upgrading infrastructure and even creating new jobs for health workers — ultimately strengthening the system for all Malawians, not just those able to pay.

Baloyi also revealed that the Government, working with the American government, plans to recruit 2,500 health practitioners in August and September this year in a bid to plug chronic staff shortages plaguing facilities nationwide.

Senior Group Kaomba, representing Traditional Authority Kaomba, welcomed the new facility, saying it would ease pressure on overstretched hospital wards while giving patients who can afford it access to more comfortable care.

“The opening of this paying ward will help reduce congestion that we sometimes experience in the general facility while giving patients who can pay access to improved healthcare services,” she said.

Kasungu District Director of Health and Social Services, Dr Emmanuel Golombe, hailed the launch as a major milestone for healthcare in the district — revealing the ward has already generated a staggering K280 million in revenue since opening.

That cash injection, Golombe said, has already made a tangible difference on the ground.

“The funds have helped us in several ways, including purchasing essential supplies such as gloves, which have recently been in short supply in many health facilities,” he said.

He added that hospital bosses now have ambitious plans to expand the facility further — including adding a theatre to allow for more specialised medical procedures.

The move comes as part of a broader drive to shore up Malawi’s healthcare system, with officials hoping paying wards can help ease the funding pressures weighing on public hospitals across the country.

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