Malawi
Embangweni Hospital
Embangweni Hospital is a 130-bed hospital located in northern Malawi, near the border with Zambia. Embangweni, founded in the early 1900s by the Free Church of Scotland, is one of five hospitals operated by our partner church, the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian (CCAP). It serves a rural population of about 100,000 people.
The hospital expanded from a rural clinic in the 1920s to a small hospital. A maternity ward was added in 1966 and during the next 20 years the facility doubled its number of beds and expanded its services to include pediatrics, male and female general care, surgery and caesarian section deliveries. There are more than 2,000 deliveries each year; more than 50,000 outpatients and more than 4,000 patients are admitted annually. The most frequent illnesses are malaria, pneumonia, tuberculosis, malnutrition and HIV/AIDS. Almost half of all children under the age of 5 are stunted in their growth due to malnutrition.
The scope and size of the Primary Health Care Department has been greatly enlarged and includes malaria, TB, AIDS control programs and a Nutritional Rehabilitation Unit for malnourished children and their mothers. A voluntary counseling and testing project for HIV/AIDS has been expanded, as has the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission project. An extensive outreach program coordinates four remote health centers and mobile clinics in 23 villages.
Relatives of patients are responsible for cooking for hospitalized family members. Photo by J. Hite.
The Child Survival Program includes immunizations, growth monitoring, antenatal visits for pregnant women, family planning, malaria prevention (bed net distribution) and a Drug Revolving Fund that distributes basic medicines for routine illnesses. Other development work in the area includes education in agriculture, provision of protected wells for clean drinking water and income generating schemes for the villagers.
Services provided through Embangweni Hospital are carried out with a strong Christian witness. A morning chapel service and prayers in the outpatient department begin each day.
The work of Embangweni Hospital is assisted by grants from the PC(USA) Extra Commitment Opportunity (Acct. #862149) funds. The Medical Benevolence Foundation also provides support for capital projects and equipment.
