Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda has asked Private Hospital in the country to refrain from turning away Cholera patients calling the act as ‘unfortunate.’
Speaking on Saturday during a Press Conference at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Lilongwe, the Minister lamented the dire situation at Bwaila Hospital where a special Cholera camp is being congested as some private clinics are refusing to treat patients.
Chiponda said much as the Malawi Ministry of Health (MOH) is there to provide critical health services, it is also the responsibility of those stakeholders who were accredited to privately run medical facilitices.
“I am asking private hospitals to take care of cholera patients because when we give you licenses, we expect you to treat all kinds of diseases including Cholera, COVID-19 and Malaria,” Chiponda said.
Chiponda, who earlier toured the Bwaila facility on Friday, lamented that some Cholera patients are being brought on Ambulances from private hospitals whilst seriously sick.
Currently, Area 36 township and Malangalanga area (near Lilongwe Depot) are some of the hotspots for Cholera in the capital city a development which Chiponda described as worrisome.
Also at the press conference was Mayor for Lilongwe City Council Richard Banda who announced swift measures constituted after a consultative meeting with all councilors and lawmakers within Lilongwe.
Banda said by powers vested in the Council’s by-laws, some restaurants in Malangalanga have been closed and bans have been imposed on cooked foods; in town, at funeral vigils, church gatherings, schools and wedding receptions.
Reported by Andrew Magombo
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