Update: Following recent reports of severe surgical backlogs and drug shortages, the Ministry of Health announced positive results from a surgical outreach programme conducted by experts from Tanzania's Benjamin Mkapa Hospital. The medical camp assisted over 700 patients at Mzuzu and Kamuzu Central hospitals. According to MBC Online, Tanzanian High Commissioner Agnes Richard Kayola proposed establishing a formal patient referral arrangement and joint pharmaceutical supply chains between the two nations to address ongoing medicine deficits.
In a related effort to secure medical supplies, the Ministry of Health has stepped up inspections of pharmaceutical companies contracted to supply government facilities. MBC Online reports that the monitoring campaign comes as the health sector faces continued foreign exchange shortages that affect drug procurement.
In medical technology, the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) released early findings from its MOOVE study, which evaluates Artificial Intelligence for clinical decision-making in primary healthcare. According to the university, Principal Investigator Dr. Chiyembekezo Kachimanga confirmed that selected Large Language Models are generating safe diagnostic responses that match the performance of human medical experts in Malawi.
To improve civil registration across the health sector, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) donated 152 certificate printers to the National Registration Bureau, according to Malawi24. Fifty-two of the printers will be installed directly in health facilities to print birth and death certificates on site. Homeland Security Minister Peter Mukhito stated that the equipment builds upon an initial rollout at 60 health centres, aiming to reduce travel distances for citizens needing vital documents.