Malawi to have air ambulance, constructing state-of-art military hospital to commence
Malawi will this year start its plans to construct a state-of-the-art- military hospital at the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) headquarters, Kamuzu Barracks in Lilongwe, according to President Peter Mutharika.
Construction of a hospital at the Kamuzu Barracks was one of the recommendations by the Commission of inquiry into circumstances of the death of late President Bingu wa Mutharika in April of 2012.
Among others, the Justice Elton Singini inquiry observed that, referring a whole Head of state to a public hospital- as was the case with late Bingu wa Mutharika- compromised the president’s security and privacy.
Therefore, the Commission recommended that: “Government needs to construct or establish a presidential medical facility at the headquarters of the Malawi Defence Force in Lilongwe which is the seat of Government where the President regularly resides.
“Such a facility needs to be properly equipped with top of the range medical equipment dedicated to the treatment of the President incase of illness, aswell as incase of death, as is the practice in most other countries. Location of such facility within the military compound will also serve to safe guard the security and privacy of the President, unlike having the President admitted or treated at a public hospital.”
In his New Year’s message, Mutharika outlining a number of projects in the health sector to improve service delivery said construction of a modern military hospital equipped with an air ambulance will soon commence.
He also spoke of the construction of a Cancer Treatment Centre in Lilongwe located at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) will cut down the cost of sending patients abroad by at least 50 percent.
“For the first time, we are building a Cancer Centre and we are about to begin a military hospital. For the first time, Malawi will have an aerial ambulance,” said Mutharika in his message.
Aerial ambulance will save lives of people from some of the road accidents and disaster.
The cancer centre is being constructed with a loan from Opec Fund for International Development (Ofid) to the tune of $13 million (about K10 billion). The Malawi Government will also make financial contribution as per Ofid’s loan conditions.
Ofid’s senior operations officer in the Department of Public Sector Operations, Khaled Al-Zayer, expressed delight at working with Malawi Government in development projects since 1977 when bilateral relationships were established.
Since 1977, Ofid has financed 18 projects in the sectors of agriculture, education and health.
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When the construction of army headquarters in Lilongwe was completed in the late 1970s, a story went around that a state of the art military hospital would be constructed in Lilongwe to take care of serious injuries sustained by military personnel during the course of their professional work. At that time, Cobbe Barracks Hospital was found to have limited space for expansion and that attempts to build a special theater flopped despite the then Regimental Medical Officer, Major Beic Mittawa (Doctor) and the medical personnel welcoming the project. Since then the blue print for the project has gathered dust. It… Read more »
Ndimadabwatu. This is not for poor Malawian but for them. Call it stop over before going abroad. Shame. All the money these politicians have stolen and still still would have transformed Malawi big time. Add all the infrastructures used by cash gate panoramic tiling ndi zipatala zolozeka.
Helicopter yet the hospitals do not have working Ambulances.
Helicopter yet patients are dying coz of power cut.
Helicopter and yet Malawians do not have basic necessity like clean water.
Every citizen of malawi has the right to security and privavcy..so wether it is the “whole” president or just his penis or whatever you mearnt by “refering the whole president to a pub lic hospital”, WE ALL NEED SECURITY AND PRIVACY AND STATE OF THE ART MEDICARE ON AVERAGE A HELICOPTER COST $2000 PER HOUR WHEN IT IS IN THE AIR AND ALSO COST OVER $500 000 PER YEAR TO RUN IN MANTAINANCE, MANPOWER, INSURANCE ETC. THIS WILL ONLY BE BENECIFICIAL TO THE VERY VERY TOP BRASS WHO LEAVE WITHIN 100KM OF THE HELICOPTER BASE. PLEASE NOTE A MEDICAV HELICOPTER… Read more »
Zamanyi! Ati For the first time, ukudziseka kapena kutitukwana?
The only people that are going to benefit from this hospital and helicopter are the politicians, high ranking military and other elites. I doubt very much they are going send out the helicopter to pick up mama Phiri when she is drowning in floods, just incase bwana president has a heart attack. Meanwhile people in the villages in Chikwawa, Mzimba and elsewhere go to toilet in hole inside a mud hut or out in the bush. Their only real source medicine are traditional healers. Yet they get a state of the art hospital and air ambulance, IT’S OBSCENE. Pity anthu… Read more »
not nowadays, which government?thieves…..it was in those days(around 80’s that we were used to see helicopiters-kamuzu era
That’s an insult to us poor people who pay taxes! komabe olo mutamanga, ikakwana-yakwana! Ujayu Chitsiru cha Njanji uja mukuona ngati zinakakhalapo izizi sanakafa? We will all go, how and when? Only God knows. You can construct those and your president dies in an air crash….mwapindulanji?