Expert tells Malawi medics to utilize available coronavirus resources

A health expert has advised health workers to utilize fully the limited coronavirus materials and equipment the country has as the fight against the deadly disease continues.

Head of Community Health Nursing at Kamuzu College of Nursing Enala Thombozi said this on Tuesday.

Thombozi’s remarks come hot on the heels reports that the country is facing acute shortages of ventilators, gloves and face masks among other things.

“This is a new disease. We cannot therefore expect to have all materials and equipment used to prevent or treat the disease,” she said.

Thombozi therefore advised health workers to utilize all available resources for the prevention as well as treatment of the disease.

She said it is possible to deal with the disease with a few resources.

Some health workers have threatened to go on strike on Friday if the government fails to provide health workers with necessary protective gear against the coronavirus.

Charles Simenza, chairperson of Haman Resources for Health Coalition said the protective gear is vital for both the health workers and the patients.

“If we are not protected, we can easily spread the disease and that would be disastrous,” he said.

Meanwhile, a total of 66 junior doctors at the Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) have  started a sit-in to force the government to provide them with PPE.

One of the doctors, Flexon Ngulinga, said the doctors are also complaining that they have not been trained on how to handle Covid-19 cases.

Ngulinga added that although President Peter Mutharika directed that risk allowances for doctors be raised in the wake of Covid 19, they have not seen any raise and are not sure by how much it will be raised.

“The risk allowance we are receiving now is the one put in place in 2000 which is K1,800 per month. The other thing is that we as junior doctors are incurring high costs of transportation following the minibus price hike. So we are demanding that transport be provided to all doctors,” Ngulinga said.

Ministry of Health spokesperson Joshua Malango said , said the ministry will provide personal protective equipment to all first line health care workers who will be handling covid-19 cases in all public hospitals as one way of preventing them from coronavirus.

He added that the risk allowances will also be raised for all health workers as directed by the president.

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