Lilongwe, Malawi … “It is impossible to imagine unless you have seen the conditions in hospitals in this, one of the poorest nations on earth. Yet, once you have been here, you can believe almost anything,” says Suzi Stephens RN, Director of Medical Services for the Malawi Project. “A recent newspaper report from the capital city of Lilongwe, reinforces this conclusion,” Stephens says after receiving the news report from the capital. “The story appeared in Zodiac Online and provides an example of the unthinkable.”
Floor Baby Deliveries in Mitundu
The article , “Floor Baby Deliveries In Mitundo“, written by Stonald Kuphunda and appearing in Zodiac Online in late July, recounts how pregnant women at Mitundu Community Hospital in Malawi’s capital city of Lilongwe are delivering babies on the floor because of the lack of mattresses in the maternity wing at the facility. The story reports the Clinical Officer for Mitundu Community Hospital Mr. George Mtambo has sent an SOS appeal for the donation of mattresses at the hospital.
Mitundu Community Hospital serves 112,000 people in its catchment area. It is also a referral hospital for eight health centres from Traditional Authorities Chadza, Masula, Chiseka and Masumbankhunda in Lilongwe; and Traditional Authorities Chilikumwendo and Kachere in Dedza districts, according to the story in Zodiak Online, and forwarded to the Malawi Project by Wilson Tembo, with the Malawi Project’s medical supply distribution site in southern Malawi.
The Problem Would Be Worse
As the story went to press, two other members of the Malawi Project Board of Directors were in Malawi assessing the needs in future shipments. Scott Gordon, the President of the Project, and Dick Stephens, co-founder, both agreed that if this is the problem in the largest city of the nation, the problems faced with the lack of supplies in the village areas are far worse. Scott, upon seeing the picture of a baby being born on the concrete floor, and reading the report commented, “This is tragic. While the world goes on about its business this poor nation is suffering in ways unimaginable in other parts of the world. It is why we are seeking funds to build a second hospital in Malawi, and to increase future shipments of medical supplies to the country.” Stephens shook his head in sadness. “How can we get the rest of the world to take note and respond? It is at catastrophic levels, and since these kind and gentle people don’t throw rocks at us that get our attention, we just pass them by without a nod or second notice. The world has to see. It has to learn what is going on in this place. It has to respond to the need. It has to.”
To contribute towards mattresses, and other medical supplies you can contribute online from our homepage at: www.malawiproject.org or mail your check to:
The Malawi Project, Inc.
3314 Van Tassel Drive,
Indianapolis, IN 46240