Sikhs of Malawi donates medical supplies to Bwaila Hospital

As the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) continues to put a strain on Malawi’s health sector, the Sikh Association of Malawi on Thursday donated assorted medical supplies and equipment to Bwaila Hospital to ease the pressure the facility is facing to provide quality healthcare services to its patients.

The medical supplies and have been channelled to the maternity wing of the facility.

Apparently, Bwaila Hospital is one of public hospitals operating an isolation centre for confirmed Covid-19 cases.

This means the Lilongwe District Health Office (DHO) needs more funding to source adequate medical supplies and equipment for treating Covid-19 patients as well as other diseases.

The donation is thus a direct response to the appeal President Lazarus Chakwera made on Sunday that all stakeholders need to pool their resources together if Malawi is to win the battle against one of the most devastating pandemics in the world.

The Sikh Association of Malawi  vice chairperson, Tarlochan Singh Brar, told Nyasa Times that their donation aims to complement the government efforts in equipping public hospitals with adequate medical supplies and equipment so that they are able to respond to the needs of their patients.

Brar disclosed that they started this initiative last year when they donated Queens Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre.

“This is an on-going initiative. Last year, we donated various medical supplies to QECH, which included pethidine injection, urine bags, polyglactin sutures, gentamicin injection, misoprostol tablets, and oxytocin injection,” he said.

“Our desire is to see public hospitals offering quality healthcare services to everyone, including the poor who cannot afford to pay for the same at the private facilities. At the same time, the Sikh Association of Malawi is giving back to the community,” added Brar.

He assured that the association remains committed to collaborating with the government in addressing some of the challenges facing the health due to limited resources.

The hospital’s medical officer, Dr Rebecca Nchocholo, commended the association for the assistance.

Nchocholo described the arrival of the medical supplies and equipment at the hospital as ‘very timely’.

“The donation has come at the right time when things are going worse in maternity wing. They have lost a lot of women in maternity and these medicines will help to prevent the death of women in Bwaila Hospital and surrounding hospitals as Bwaila Hospital only delivers 30 to 60 children everyday,” she said.

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