Zomba Central Hospital is located in the south of Malawi in one of the three poorest districts in Malawi. We paid a visit to the Hospital, to see the patients that occupy the 326 beds in one of the largest hospitals in Malawi. The utilization of the hospital is 184%, which means it is always under strain.

The Malawian city of Zomba, is home to around 80,000 inhabitants, including the surrounding areas, this figure increased to 730,000 people. For these people, the Zomba Central Hospital is the only hospital district.

Annually takes the Malawi Central Hospital on around 17,000 patients. Of these patients, each year about 1,000 (6%) patients die due to lack of medical care. The most common causes of death are malnutrition and malaria (20%), anaemia (15%), pneumonia (14%) and diarrhoea (9%). These diseases are increasingly attributed to the immune deficiency disease AIDS – however an accurate diagnosis is hardly ever possible due to the fact that medical equipment is non-existent. Currently it is assumed that two out of three patients in Central Hospital are already are HIV positive in Zomba.

The supply of Zomba Central Hospital with medical objects of all kinds is limited. Often even simple-looking medical equipment such as beds, wheelchairs, drip holders can decide on life and death. The younger patients, infants and babies, also have a need for clothes.