Japanese Toyota company donates K36m worth of drugs to Malawi

Japanese Toyota Tsusho Corporation on Monday donated a consignment of antibiotic drugs worth MK36 million to the Malawi government which was received by President Mrs. Joyce Banda at Sanjika Palace in Blantyre.

Receiving the donation, President Banda said the drugs would help improve lives of children and women through infection prevention which she reiterated was a priority area for her government.

“Malawi as a country is grappling to improve among others, two poor health indicators namely, maternal and under-five mortality rates which currently stand at 675 per 100, 000 and 112 per 1000 live births respectively and this donation will help us improve in these areas,” Banda said.

The Malawi leader thanked Toyota management for doing a thorough research on the area that was needy.

Japanese Ambassador to Malawi, Fujio Samukawa: Timely donation

She said: “The drive to save lives of mothers is intertwined with the cause to save lives of the children. I commend Toyota Tsusho Corporation for having done good research on the area of need and rightly targeted the children. I call upon all those of good will to emulate this approach whenever they can.”

President Banda then urged the Ministry of Health which is going to handle the drugs to put in place sustainable systems to maximize the current support government is getting and ensure that Malawians have uninterrupted access to essential medicines.

She also assured Toyota officials that her government would ensure the donation is put to full and intended use.

Japanese Ambassador to Malawi, Fujio Samukawa said the donation symbolized the strong bonds of relationship existing between the people of Japan and Malawi.

He described the donation as timely because the country’s health sector was in need of both technical and material support.

“I understand that since last year, Malawi has been facing a lot of challenges in delivering quality health services due to shortage of drugs in most public hospitals.

“I would like to commend the government of Malawi for its effort in sourcing some drugs which have helped to ease the situation but there is still need to stabilize the same,” said Samukawa.

General Manager for Toyota Tsushi Africa in the automotive department, Yoshitaka Shinhara thanked the Joyce Banda administration for providing a platform that allows private sector to perform their corporate social responsibilities.

He then pledged continued support to Malawi, especially in the health sector to achieve the global vision 2020.

Also in attendance were Principal Secretary of Health, Charles Mwamsambo, Toyota Malawi Managing Director, Rosemary Mkandawire, teams from Central Medical Stores, Ministry of Health, Toyota Corporation and Mlambe Hospital which is one of the beneficiaries of the drugs.

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