Close-up action medeor

When you enter the Magomero Health Centre in southern Malawi, you quickly notice that Sister Juliana Kunkeani does her best to make up for any shortcomings with dedication. The director is the good spirit of the small clinic and has a smile and words of encouragement for everyone. But she lacks almost everything that a functioning hospital needs.

Dorica sits on a rickety stretcher. The 30-year-old has just given birth to a healthy baby girl. Fortunately - because Sister Juliana fears nothing more than complications. The center has neither an operating theatre for caesarean sections nor an ultrasound machine to monitor the unborn baby. Things are hardly any better on the general ward: Whether pneumonia, malaria or sickle cell anemia - women and men are in the same room. If symptoms are unclear, there is a lack of laboratory equipment to make a reliable diagnosis. When in doubt, the dedicated head nurse, Sister Juliana, has to send her patients to the hospital in the district town 1.5 hours away, provided the road there is passable.

Empty laboratory, damp pharmacy

Sister Juliana sheepishly opens the door to the “laboratory”: Anyone expecting to find a microscope or blood glucose meter here will be looking in vain. The medicines are stored in the room behind it. Two fans try unsuccessfully to bring a little coolness, and there is a large water stain on the ceiling. Conceivably poor conditions for the medicines to remain usable.

“We have to help here”, Christoph Bonsmann decides immediately after his visit to Magomero. A first delivery of aid has now arrived at the health center, with a second and larger delivery to follow soon. “We need a refrigerator to store medicines, a microscope and a haematology device for the on-site diagnosis of dangerous diseases such as malaria, as well as a basic supply of medicines and medical consumables,” Bonsmann says, describing the requirements.

We are strengthening healthcare provision in Magomero and other rural regions

The Magomero health center is located in an area where most people do not have the means to cover the costs of their treatment themselves. Without outside support, it is therefore not possible to maintain operations.

"Healthcare throughout the country is currently at breaking point. Many hospitals are struggling to keep going. It is almost impossible to obtain urgently needed medical supplies from abroad. This is where action medeor Malawi's close cooperation with Germany is helping: we still have all the important medicines in stock."

Jacqueline Dzidzi
Medical technician at action medeor Malawi

A lack of medicines, inadequate equipment and at the same time an indispensable role in providing healthcare to people - this is the case for many health centers in structurally weak rural regions. With your help, we can continue to effectively support facilities such as the Magomero Health Center!