MALAWI: Archbishop of Blantyre Joins the Cholera Fight
Fr. Frank Mwinganyama
The Metropolitan of Blantyre Archdiocese in Malawi, Most Rev. Thomas Msusa has said the Catholic Church in Malawi is committed to join with other stakeholders in the fight against the current cholera outbreak in Blantyre. He said this on Thursday at his residence when he handed over hospital kits to health centres operating within the Archdiocese.
“I did not stay idle when I learnt about the extent of the cholera outbreak. I did not hesitate to contact collaborators in Netherlands for help. And I was privileged to receive a donation of about 6,000 Euros from a Danish group. This is what we have used to buy necessary kits for our health workers in the field to fight the outbreak.”
Archbishop Msusa was quick to ask for accountability of funds received to fight the cholera outbreak. He said he was aware that there are donors who are willing to assist in dealing with various health challenges but they want to see that the money is channelled to the intended purposes.
“Let us, as a country, desist from corrupt practices; people lose lives in hospitals because of few greedy individuals”, he added.
Archbishop Msusa who belongs to the Montfortian family was also thankful to the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) for a donation of state-of-the-art Haematology and Chemistry Analyser, which was donated to St. Joseph Hospital in the Archdiocese of Blantyre. The machine was also handed over to the hospital the same day.
Sister Mercy Kanyumbu the Principal Administrator at St. Joseph Hospital said the gift has come at the right time as they are fighting the outbreak of cholera and other diseases. She lauded the leadership of the Church in Malawi for their interest in addressing health issues and taking responsibility in the actual operations of Christian hospitals in the country.
Malawi has over the past months experienced cholera outbreak, a situation which had been worse in the suburbs of Blantyre and Lilongwe cities.
Schools in these cities opened two weeks late after Christmas break due to the same health emergency.
