Kamuzu Central Hospital

Kamuzu Central Hospital is a tertiary referral hospital in the city of Lilongwe, (capital of Malawi). It is estimated to have 780 beds,[1] although the true number of patients always exceeds the number of beds. It serves approximately 5 million people, referred from five district hospitals and from other parts of Malawi and parts of neighboring Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.[1][2]

Kamuzu Central Hospital
Location of Lilongwe
Geography
LocationLilongwe, Malawi
Coordinates13°58′37″S 33°47′11″E
Organisation
Affiliated universityUniversity of North Carolina
Services
Emergency departmentYes
Beds780
HelipadNo
History
Opened1977 (1977)
Links
Other linksList of hospitals in Malawi

Location

The hospital is located in an area of the city of Lilongwe called Area 33 (also Nangwagwa), south of the Lingazi Namilomba Forest Reserve and the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre; adjacent to Kamuzu College of Nursing. The geographical coordinates of the hospital are:13°58'37.0"S, 33°47'11.0"E (Latitude:-13.976944; Longitude:33.786389).[3]

Overview

Kamuzu Central Hospital is a large referral hospital that serves as the referral hospital for the Central Region of Malawi. It is the referral hospital for about 5 million people. As of May 2020, it had about 60 doctors and about 300 nurses.[1] As of 2019, the hospital admitted as many as 25,000 children annually. That is an average of about 70 children daily.[4]

In April 2012, the late Bingu wa Mutharika (24 February 1934 – 5 April 2012), the third President of Malawi was admitted to Kamuzu Central Hospital and was diagnosed with cardiac arrest.[5]

History

The hospital was built in 1977 by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), with money provided by the government of Denmark. Political problems cropped up before the hospital was complete. Only the first phase was finished.[6]

The departments that were left out included (a) Obstetrics & Gynecology including Antenatal care (b) Orthopedics (c) Psychiatry and (d) Tuberculosis unit.[6]

From 1977 until 2004, the hospital was known as Lilongwe Central Hospital. In 2004, it rebranded to its current name.[6]

Collaboration and partnerships

Kamuzu Central Hospital has a partnership with the University of North Carolina. The objective of the collaboration is to "identify innovative, culturally acceptable, and affordable methods to improve the health of the people of Malawi, through research, capacity building, and care".[7]

The hospital also receives support from Baylor Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI).[8] Additional support came from the German Hospital Partnership MAGNET, administered through the German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ). Funding continued until 2015, having started in 2008.[9]

See also

References
  1. World Health Organization (May 2020). "About Kamuzu Central Hospital". Geneva Switzerland: World Health Organization. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  2. The Electives Network (12 May 2020). "Profile of Kamuzu Central Hospital". Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom: Electives.net. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  3. Google (12 May 2020). "Location of Kamuzu Central Hospital" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. UNC School of Medicine (15 November 2019). "UNC Project Malawi Celebrates Opening of Kamuzu Central Hospital Pediatric Laboratory in Lilongwe, Malawi". Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States: University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  5. Agencies (6 April 2012). "Malawi president 'in critical condition'". Doha: Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  6. Tarek Meguid and Elled Mwenyekonde (January 2005). "The Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Kamuzu Central Hospital and Bottom Hospital, Malawi: A Situation Analysis" (PDF). Lilongwe: World Health Organization. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  7. UNC School of Medicine (12 May 2020). "About UNC-Project Malawi". Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States: University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  8. Devex.com (12 May 2020). "Collaboration Between Baylor College of Medicine And Kamuzu Central Hospital". Devex.com. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  9. Esther–Magnet Organisation (4 July 2011). "Esther–Magnet: Malawi German Networking for Capacity Building in Treatment, Training and Research at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH), Lilongwe, Malawi". Esther–Magnet Organisation © Institute of Public Health, University Hospital Heidelberg. Archived from the original (Archived from the original on 1 August 2015) on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
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