By Ireen Kayira, MANA
Lions Club District 412B has donated assorted items to Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) paediatric cancer ward in Lilongwe worth K1.5 million to supplement the nutrition status of the ward.
The club donated items like peanut butter, eggs, milk and sugar on Monday, December 9.
Speaking with Malawi News Agency (MANA) during the presentation of the donation, Lions Club District Governor for Malawi and Mozambique (412B), Abraham George said the donation comes after the club conducted a Lake Cruise specifically for the cancer ward.
He said Lions Club District 412B donated to the ward because children suffering from cancer undergo chemotherapy hence they need nutritional food to sustain their bodies when drugs are being injected in them.
“The chemotherapy usually weakens their bodies and if they don’t get good nutritional support the recovery process is affected,” he said.
He added that doctors from the ward told them that the challenge they face at the children’s cancer ward is inadequate nutrition food for children, who are receiving treatment hence the donation.
Head of department for KCH paediatric cancer ward, Chiume Kayuni said the donation will go a long way in helping children with cancer.
“Childhood cancer is on the rise internationally and that has not spared us as a country, as we also have an increase of children with cancer,” she said.
Kayuni added that KCH, through the Baylor project, is able to serve Malawian children from the Central Region as well as the North sufficiently in terms of treatment but one area that is lacking is nutrition.
“Without good nutritional support, these children are bound to be malnourished and die of complications that are related to the same,” Kayuni said.
She said with this donation they will get one year supply of nutrition food which is a stepping stone for accurate management of the patients.
She further said KCH admits about 25,000 children per year and a third of these children are in the cancer wards.