Often women are the ones who suffer in a crisis like this
Malawi’s Minister of Health Catherine Gotani Hara has disclosed that public hospitals, especially district and referral centres, in Malawi have run out of 95 per cent of essential drugs.
The Nation newspaper of Wednesday, 30 January 2013 the minister says currently the government of Malawi has only five per cent of all needed medicines and supplies for the public hospitals.
Speaking in Lilongwe on Tuesday, 29 January, the Minister disclosed that the major contributing factor is that the largest procurement of medicines and medical supplies for this country was done in October 2009. According to Hara, this was enough consignment to last 12 months.
This situation has put pressure on private clinics like Comfort “Community Hospital” in Balaka.
The Administrator of Comfort Community Hospital, under Andiamo Youth Cooperative Trust (AYCT) Jill Claus says as of 29 January 2013, the Paediatric ward was full to capacity and they had to use the isolation rooms and that the Outpatient Department has recorded an increase in the number of patients.
By Our Reporter