A 10-member team of specialists in cardiovascular diseases from Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) in Tanzania will be in the country for a five-day health mission to address cardiovascular conditions from 20-25 March, 2023.
Tanzania High Commissioner to Malawi, Humphrey Polepole, announced during a press conference in Lilongwe on Monday that the team will join the local medical team at the camp established at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre for free of charge for a one week period.
“This is the first ever joint medical camp between the Institute and the hospital in order to reach out to Malawians with cardiovascular diseases,” he said.
Polepole added that through the heath collaboration, they have a great interest to see health challenges no longer troubling people.
QECH Director Dr Samson Mndolo said the camp will save many lives as well as money to those who could not afford to go to India, South Africa and other countries to seek for cardiovascular treatment.
“We are ready to host the camp so that many cardiovascular patients can be attended to during this period,” he said.
Mndolo further said the joint medical team will be attending to 30 to 40 cardiovascular patients per day.
According to him, Malawi has 448 cardiovascular patients on the waiting list for referral. The list dates back to 2016.
Mndolo added that the camp will also prepare Malawi to have its own cardiovascular unit.