‘The health sector is critical to Malawi’s economy but challenges faced are too large for government to tackle alone’—Standard Bank

* As it adopts Makhuwira Health Centre in Chikwawa’s East Bank with a contribution of K25 million through Nation Publications Mothers’ Fun Run

* Our hope is to see Makhuwira become self-sufficient and support the other three surrounding health centres – Mfera, Masenjele and Mapela

* For mothers to access full suite of health care services instead of travel long distances to Chikwawa District Hospital to access maternal and neonatal healthcare

By Duncan Mlanjira

From the campaign that promotes for excellent services delivery of maternal health through Nation Publications Mothers’ Fun Run, Standard Bank has adopted Makhuwira Health Centre in Chikwawa’s East Bank for expectant mothers to access full suite of health care services instead of travel long distances to Chikwawa District Hospital to access maternal and neonatal healthcare.

This was announced by Head of Legal & Governance, Norah Nsanja as Standard Bank joined joined all Nation Publications Mothers’ Fun Run  stakeholders for the official handover of state-of-the-art maternal and neonatal healthcare for Chikwawa District Hospital and all its surrounding health centres.

The various stakeholders involved in the promotion of mother healthcare campaign included: World Vision Malawi (with equipment worth K145,945 million); executives who experienced challenges faced at 14 maternity health centres through what is called ‘Sleepovers’ (K43,864 million); United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) at K38,946 million; Press Trust (K20 million); Limbe Rotary Club (K12.2 million); Malawi Gaming & Lotteries Authority (10 million); EY (K10 million); Alliance One (K8.58 million).

Gift of the Givers contributed K8 million; National Bank of Malawi (K7 million); Else Boonstra (K6.642 million) and at K5 million each were FDH Bank; Reunion Insurance; NICO Holdings; Malawi Law Society, Nations Publications.

Infraworks gave 4.692 million; Old Mutual (K4 million); Ethco (K3 million); World Bank employees (K2.771 million); Mpatamanga Hydro Power Limited (K2.6 million); National Construction Industry (K2.5 million); AirCargo (K2.5 million); EU delegation (K2 million); Deloitte K2 million) and Nation Publications staff (K790,000).

Nsanja said described the contributions made through the Mother’s Fun Run as “great acts of kindness and togetherness” that the stakeholders have all shown.

She was the guest of honour at the auspicious event whose other dignitaries included Chikwawa District Commissioner, Nardin Kamba; chief of health services-reforms, Dr. Matias Joshua; director of health services in Chikwawa, Dr. Grace Momba; UFPA Country Representative, Nelida Rodrigues and World Vision’ acting director of business development & grants management, Dr. John FosterJill Moyo.

Also present were Nations Publications Board chairperson, Masankho Banda; his chief executive officer (CEO) Mbumba Banda; Press Trust trustee, Audrey Mwala; Senior Chief Chapananga, Sleepover volunteers led by Dr. Nancy Chitera, who is Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Malawi University of Science & Technology (MUST) and several others.

Nsanja asked the gathering to give “the brave team from Nations Publications Limited a round of applause for their commitment to this agenda” — adding: “We all here bear witness of how they have diligently and relentlessly pursued supporting maternal and neonatal health across Malawi by organising the Mother’s Day Fun Run events that focus on improving quality and access of health services for mothers and their newborn babies.

“The health sector is critical to our economy, however, sometimes the challenges faced in this area seem too large for government to tackle alone. Initiatives such as Mother’s Day Fun Run remind us that it is a collective effort.

“When each of us come together and contribute towards a specific cause, suddenly it is not as big as we imagined. I want to commend you all and further reinforce that the contributions made towards this Fun Run are all far reaching.

“They will create a lasting and unforgettable impact for all the women that walk through the corridors of the Chikwawa District Hospital and the surrounding health centres.”

She quoted the great son of the African continent, former South Africa’s President, late Nelson Madinga Mandela, who said: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats it’s children and their mothers”.

She thus unpacked that through the Mothers Fun Run, Standard Bank has adopted Makhuwira Health Centre as its vision this year offering, adding that this is not the first time they have partnered with Nations Publications Limited (NPL).

“As I stand here, it gives me great pleasure to say Standard Bank has been an advocate and supporter for Mother’s Fun Run since 2008. This is our 9th event and we decided to make it more impactful on the communities.

“With that, I would like to call upon my fellow attendees here – members of the diplomatic community, INGO and private sector — that the adoption of a health centre not only supports improvements of health care access but also the improves the strength of the health system.

“This year’s theme; ‘Walk in Her Shoes’ is a powerful reminder of the struggles of millions of Malawian mothers to access healthcare. As we honour a mother’s unwavering commitment to raise the nation, we also recognise the challenges they face in accessing maternal and neonatal health care.

“In most rural areas, the journey to motherhood for mothers is daunting, with some walking over 80kms under the scorching sun and or flooded rivers to reach a disparate healthcare facility.

“Upon arrival, relief often turns into frown as they realise that these facilities are under-resourced.”

Also present were representatives of nurses and midwives from the Chikwawa health centres and Nsanja paid special tribute to them in recognition that the health care professionals “tirelessly and selflessly serve in our health facilities”.

“I call upon Government, INGOs and community leaders to continue collaborating to ensure the highest positive impact attainable for our mothers,” she said, while urging the private sector partners “to continue raising awareness on these issues and donating to this great cause”. “This year’s turnover from the private sector and the ‘He for She’ male counterparts that dared to walk in her shoes is a testament of the significance that this cause has for our country.

“At Standard Bank, our purpose remains to drive Malawi’s growth and there is no greater starting point of driving growth than at the inception of life.

“We are grateful for partners like Nation Publications Group, who share our vision for a healthier Malawi. Together, we can make a meaningful difference and help contribute to the attainment of the goal for a prosperous and inclusively wealthy country as envisioned in the MW2063 development blueprint.

“To the mothers, families, and healthcare workers here today, thank you for your tireless efforts. We stand with you in solidarity, and in working together towards a brighter future for all.”

The challenges of under-resourced health centres were attested by Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Nancy Chitera, who shared her experiences during her Sleepover at Majete II Health Centre — saying the first hurdle was the extreme bad state of the road to the facility.

“We took over an hour to access the health centre and when we arrived around 7pm, we found the facility in pitch black darkness as there was a power blackout.

“They health centre had no back-up power, the equipment was outdated and at dawn, we were alerted that there was a mother who was in labour and we dashed there. In the process of delivery, there was another blackout.

“The health professionals did not have torches, no stopwatch to record time taken over the delivery, there were no equipment to measure important health procedures for blood pressure (BP) and body temperatures.

“We assisted with torches for the delivery to succeed,” Chitera said, adding that it was such an eye opener for her and profoundly applauded NPL for the Mothers Fun Run Sleepovers.

She emphasised that if all stakeholders were to firmly hold hands together as they have done through the NPL Mothers Fun Run, “Malawi cannot be the same” and she also applauded the health workers for their dedication towards providing maternal and neonatal care despite the challenges they face.

On her part, NPL CEO Mbumba Banda — one of the founders of the media house along with her father, the legendary politician and entrepreneur, late Aleke Banda — said that for the 2024 challenge, they targeted to raise K300 million and she reported that they surpassed it by over K82 million (K382,613,179.11).

She highlighted challenges faced at Gaga Health Centre that included a non-functional water pump and they had to rely on a community borehole nearby where expectant mothers’ guardians “are tasked with making trip after trip and joining long queues in order to fetch water required for the medical team to deliver life”.

“The tragedy doesn’t stop there, the health centre isn’t connected to the national power grid although there is a transformer literally across the road from the facility.

“The solar system they have is old and has served its purpose — only providing adequate lighting for a few hours before the maternity ward is plunged into darkness, leaving staff to use their phone torches to perform different medical procedures.”

Mbumba, who was also celebrating her birthday, highlighted that Gaga is a long bumpy 3-hour drive from the referral Chikwawa District Hospital and gets cut off from the DHO by Chapananga River during the rainy season.

“It is located in the north-east of Chikwawa, close to the Malawi’s-Mozambique border and the closest referral facility is in Mwanza where they have to travel into Mozambique and then back into Malawi to access Mwanza.

“However, the border closes at 9pm. There is no running water or electricity but the catchment population is quite significant — making the need for the health centre to be as sufficient as possible.

“With our contribution, we will ensure we connect the facility to water and electricity and thus be able to provide life-saving equipment that will go a long way in reducing the need to refer cases.

“The impact will surely be felt immediately,” said Mbumba, who also assured the benefactor stakeholders that NPL will undertake impact assessments and furnish them with a report on how their contributions have impacted maternal and neonatal health outcomes in Chikwawa.