More non-state actors join Coronavirus control efforts

Malawi News Agency

A lot more non-state actors in Malawi are joining hands with the government in containing the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has shaken the globe.

Ecobank Malawi in conjunction with World Vision Malawi, donated K24 million worth of material aid to Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe as part of Pan African Bank’s social responsibility.

Ecobank contributed K5.4 million while World Vision on items that are clinically COVID-19 related in nature.

Rehema M’bang’ombe, Ecobank’s senior local account manager for international organizations said the bank values its customers because its success is in their hands.

“So if the customers are affected in any way, the services that we render will consequently be affected.

“We believe that putting our efforts together as a nation is the only way to cushion the impact of this global pandemic, so we decided to donate through World Vision in this gesture,” she said on Friday during the handover of the donation.

World Vision’s director of programmes, Charles Chimombo told Malawi News Agency (MANA) they chose Bwaila Hospital because it is one of the quarantine centres the country has provided.

“After surveying, we discovered that this facility lacks a lot of support materially to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which is a very serious problem the world is facing and Malawi is hit too.

District Environment Health Officer for Lilongwe, Paul Chunga thanked the two institutions for “the timely donation”, saying the centre lacks resources materially, in kind and financially to mitigate the situation. 

“At this facility we have two patients admitted related to the COVID-19 disease,” he said. “We are in need of 12 ventilators, but currently we have only one which is a very big challenge for us.

“Lilongwe has registered six cases of Coronavirus with five live cases which need serious attention. We need more protective equipment that each and every health worker has to wear as they conduct their daily work,” Chunga added.

Malawi had, by April 18, 2020 registered 17 cases of the Covid-19, including two deaths. 

In Kasungu, Plan International Malawi donated 100 buckets to Kasungu District Hospital in support of hand-washing interventions that the Ministry of Health is promoting.

While in Ntchisi, Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) donated sanitary items like basins, pails and soap to Ntchisi District Hospital in the same mission to help it fight the Coronavirus.

Plan International Malawi, has put in about K10 million to support the district in its COVID-19 prevention drive in form of trainings, provision of hand-washing buckets, awareness and also surveillance of suspects.

The organisation’s Program Area Manager for Kasungu, Christopher Katutu said on Friday that the donation has been made to support prevention of the pandemic considering that a lot of people flock to the hospital as well as health centres.

“We have targeted eight Kasungu-north health centres and the district hospital,” Katutu said. “We want the facilities to be well equipped to support large number of people who will be coming to seek medical help during this period.

Plan Malawi, which is represented in the district’s Public Health Emergency Management Committee (PHEMC), said the organisation would continue sourcing more funds so that the efforts by the district are supported.

“We are working hand in hand with the District Council through the district health office (DHO), just to ensure that we support and protect our community from the Coronavirus.

“We provided over 4,000 posters a few days ago and we will come back with other materials. Currently, we are supporting the awareness campaigns in rural areas,” he said.

Director of Health and Social Services for Kasungu District Council, Dr Emmanuel Golombe hailed Plan Malawi for the donation, saying it would help the ongoing hand washing exercise.

“We appreciate that Plan Malawi is always there in support of most of our activities even before the COVID-19 broke out,” Dr Golombe said.

The organisation is also supporting Kasungu District Hospital on surveillance and contact tracing of people who have just come in the country.

Speaking after handing over the items to the district health office, Ntchisi Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) chairperson, Gerald Mafosha said the fight to contain the pandemic is not for the government only but also every individual and stakeholder.

“If we are to contain this pandemic, we need to join hands with government as the private sector,” he said. “That is why,as Farmers Union under the project Adolescent Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture Pilot [ANSA], thought it wise we should be among those helping government fighting the pandemic.”

Mafosha further said since ANSA Project is about the youth, they have also donated the items in all village development committees (VDC) so that the youth should also be protected from the virus.

Ntchisi District Council representative, Solomon Mbewe said since they did not have enough resources after launchingbtheir strategic plan to combat the spread of Coronavirus “but with the coming in of our partners like Farmers Union, World Vision Malawi and Light House, we will enhance the fight against the virus”.

However, Mbewe said there was need to do more as they do not have enough resources like hand washing facilities, personal protective equipment for the health personnel and that awareness campaigns on COVID-19 have just began.—Reporting by Mphatso Nkuonera, Samuel Phiri and Sydney Chaima, MANA