Chakwera appeals for more US support in health sector

Malawi President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, who is currently on a tour of duty in the United States of America (USA), has appealed to US donors and philanthropists to collaborate with local health facilities to improve access to quality healthcare services in Malawi, writes Watipaso Mzungu.

Chakwera made the appeal on Friday night at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, during a reception co-hosted in his honour by the Chikondi Health Foundation and the Sarah Walker Foundation.

This was Malawi's first engagement after arriving in the United States for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Summit.

The event aimed to mobilise resources for Malawi's health sector, following the Chikondi Health Foundation's successful work in mobilising financial and technical support for the operations of Lilongwe's Blessings Hospital over the past decade.

President Chakwera emphasised the importance of US donors partnering with more health facilities like Blessings Hospital in pursuit of that vision in his keynote address at the function.

He praised the Blessings Hospital project, which was founded by one of Malawi's most enterprising sons, as the embodiment of self-sufficiency.

He also stated that investing in Malawi's health sector contributes to the country's human capital development, which he described as one of the enablers of Malawi's national vision, ensuring that the people of Malawi, whom he described as Malawi's greatest treasure, are empowered to leverage the natural resources bestowed upon them for their own advancement.

Both the Founder of Blessings Hospital, Dr. Napoleon Dzombe, and the Director, Mr. Harold Banda, attended the event and spoke about the impact this collaboration is having on tens of thousands of people in rural Malawi, reinforcing Chakwera's call for continued partnership between his government, which supports CHAM facilities like Blessings Hospital with staffing resources, and partners like CH Foundation, SW Foundation, and Lipscomb University.

The leaders of the two Foundations, Wes Gunn and Dr. Chelsia Harris, as well as the President of Lipscomb University, Dr. Candace McQueen, praised the Malawi President for ensuring that their collaboration in the service of Malawians received the necessary support and direction from the Malawi Government.

President Chakwera and the First Lady were accompanied to the reception by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Nancy Tembo, Minister of Health Khumbize Chiponda, and Malawi's envoy to the United States, Ambassador Justice Esme Chombo, among others.

Prior to the reception, the delegation was taken on a tour of Lipscomb University's Schools of Nursing and Engineering, where the President and First Lady met with students who travel to Malawi on a regular basis to conduct mobile clinics alongside Malawian health workers.