Chikwawa District Hospital Struggles with Adequate Water Facilities Amid Cholera Outbreaks

Malawi: Patients and guardians at Chikwawa District Hospital must fetch water from sources up to a kilometre away due to severe water shortages at the facility, writes Comfort Bulangete.

A cholera outbreak makes the situation especially bad and puts patients and guardians at risk of getting sick.

Magret Kholera, a guardian at the hospital, said, "Sometimes when we are busy looking for water, doctors fail to reach us to let us know about the situation of our relatives who are sick."

The previous instance involved a guardian who went outside the hospital to find water and returned to find her beloved daughter dead, said Kholera.

Fighting among guardians occurs because there is only one water tap available at the hospital, according to a hospital employee who asked to remain anonymous.

The employee stated that the hospital had been experiencing water issues for at least eight months.

Additionally, there isn't enough shelter for the growing number of guardians, the water supply is insufficient, and some guardians are forced to sleep in hospital hallways because of this lack of shelter.

The health promoter at the Chikwawa District hospital, Seth Piliminta, asked for more time before responding, but earlier stated that everything was going well and that the hospital only had water shortages when there were power outages.

In order to get water to cook and wash clothes for their sick relatives, guardians, including pregnant women, are required to walk up to a kilometre from the hospital, as we saw during our visit.