Malawi News

Lilongwe, on 19 April 2013 -- In commemoration of 2013 World Health Day, the Minister of Health, Honorable Catherine Gotani Hara, MP was the guest of honor when Kasungu District Health Office (DHO) led all District Health Offices and the Ministry of Health to commemorate World Health Day with the theme: “High blood pressure” and the slogan “act now to prevent high blood pressure.” The main event took place at Kasungu community ground but some activities started at the district hospital.

Activities for Malawi will focus on raising community awareness on importance of immunization, and the knowledge of the general population of the New EPI schedule for Malawi. 

The African Vaccination Week will be celebrated by disseminating messages to the general public on the importance of immunizing children against childhood illnesses and the value of immunization. The messages will be disseminated through health talks by health works in under-five clinics throughout the country, the radio, newspapers and the television.

Over the past decade, Malawi has made significant progress reducing deaths in children under five. Still, pneumonia is the single biggest killer, taking the lives of an estimated 1000 babies and young children in 2010. Diarrhoea is another major threat, causing the deaths of 600 Malawian children per year.

The good news is, these diseases are both preventable and treatable, and Malawi is making good progress tackling them.

New vaccines

22 February 2014, Lilongwe,Malawi: Dr Eugene Appiah Nyarko, the new WHO Representative (WR) to Malawi, on 28 January 2014 presented his credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Honorable Ephraim Ng’ande Chiume MP, at the Minister’s Capital Hill office. Dr. Nyarko, served in the Republic of Botswana prior to his new assignment in Malawi.

14 June 2014, Gymkhana Club Ground, Zomba: The Malawi Blood Transfusion Services (MBTS Trust) on 14 June 2014, led all partners and Malawians in commemorating the World Blood Donor Day. The ceremony was held at Gymkhana Club ground in Zomba. The theme this year “Safe blood for saving mothers” focused on raising people’s awareness about the critical need for safe blood and blood products to be available for everyone, but especially for women suffering from severe bleeding during delivery or after childbirth.

From 24 to 25 July 2014 at the Bingu International Conference Center in Lilongwe, the Ministry of Health convened a meeting of partners that collaborated in the implementation of the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine demonstration project in two districts. The aim of the meeting was to share the experiences and the lessons learnt during the one year of implementation and plan for the second year. By the end of the meeting, the participants developed the year two activities for dosing, integration and activity timelines.

Lilongwe, Malawi, 28 November 2014: The Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization on 28 November 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airtel Malawi, a mobile phone operator to launch the Ebola Disease Virus hotlines. The Principal Secretaty, Mr Kandonje was the guest of honour who received the two mobile phones donated by Aitel Malawi for the hotlines. The WHO Representative Dr Eugen Nyarko, Principal Secretary and the Director of Airtel Malawi, Mr Heicko Schlittke signed the MOU in the presence journalists.

On 30 January 2015, the Minister of Health, Dr Jean Kalilani and WHO Representative (WR) Dr Eugene Nyarko visited the worst flood affected districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje. Accompanying the Minister and the WR were the Secretary for Health and the Ministry of Health Directors. The purpose of the visit was to assess the health situation of displaced people living in the camps.
 

After intense flooding, WHO Malawi Country Office has been in the field supporting health care delivery to flood disaster victims. This flooding has made 230 000 displaced persons live in temporary shelters, schools, churches and tents and presents complex challenges for many Malawians.

Brazzaville /Lilongwe, 3 March 2015 – The WHO Regional Office for Africa is intensifying country support to prevent cholera from reaching internally displaced person (IDP) camps along the border of Malawi and Mozambique. Since January 2015, extensive flooding has caused 230 000 IDPs to live in opportune refugee camps and temporary shelters.