Minister of Health visits proposed Kuhes hospital Site

The minister of health, Honourable Khumbize Kandodo Chipanda on Friday paid a visit to the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences proposed hospital site in Chileka, Blantyre.

On her tour, Kandodo was accompanied by member of Parliament for Blantyre West Constituency Honourable Jason Isaac Kaneka, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences Vice Chancellor, Professor MacPherson Malewa among others.

Weeks ago, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences announced their plans to build a state of art KUHeS National Hospital in Blantyre and the government has allocated funds around K1Billion towards the development.

Chiponda said commended Chileka residents and chiefs for providing the land for the project which is deemed to be in line with Malawi 2063 development agenda.

“To us as Ministry of Health this is a very exciting project because it comes to solve several health challenges that we had due to lack of proper infrastructure and specialized equipment to do some medical procedures. Consequently, we ended up sending patients to India and other international countries so that they can get the required medical assistance. This is costly. As of today, my office has over 400 people on the waiting list to go outside Malawi for medical attention. The coming in of this hospital city will fix this challenge” said Chiponda.

She went on to say the importance of this hospital city in boosting the country’s economy cannot be overemphasized.

“Malawi will boost its economy through the medical tourism that will be made possible through this hospital. Not only that but also the hospital city will provide job opportunities to several Malawians so there are a lot of positives that will come out of this facility.” Emphasized Chaponda.

Speaking on behalf of the traditional chiefs, Senior Chief Kuntaja said he was very happy with the development which he said would be one of its kind in Malawi.

“People from this community used to travel to Queen Elizabeth Central hospital to receive medical assistance but the coming of this development is a dream come true to me and the people of this community. However, this hospital is not only a win for the people in this community but also the whole country, continent and the rest of the world” said Kuntaja.

Commenting on land acquisition processes, Senior Chief Kuntaja assured the gathering that everything was in place.

“This land has not only been given to government by me or the chiefs but we have followed the proper procedures through the Blantyre District council office, and everyone that has provided land will be properly compensated hence there is no need for any sort of panic” Assured Kuntaja.

On his part, Vice Chancellor for KUHeS Professor MacPherson Malewa said the hospital is a game changer. He said the idea of this hospital is to make sure Malawi is able to solve all its complicated medical issues within the country.

“This is a very exciting moment, not only for KUHeS but also the entire nation. The project will start as soon as all the necessary formalities have been made for instance feasibility studies, impact assessment studies and others. The idea is that all the components of the city namely hospital, housing, shopping complex, conference centre, recreational centre, hotel will start at the same time”. He said.