Home to around 16,000 people, this had a serious impact on patients’ access to care, especially HIV positive patients, pregnant women, people with malaria and people following up for nutrition support. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) worked closely with the Malawian Ministry of Health to respond to the emergency and provide medical help to people affected.
MSF facilitated the reopening of the health centre of Makhanga peninsula three days a week, thanks to the support of the World Food Programme, who lent us a boat. This enabled MSF to ferry health staff as well as drugs and medical goods to the peninsula. Incentives were also presented to the staff to help resume activities as soon as possible.
-
Makhanga Health Centre, on the east bank of the Shire River in Nsanje District. © Badre Bahaji/ World Food Programme
In mid-March, the first case of cholera was reported in the Nsanje district as a result of the floods. MSF set up a treatment centre for people infected with cholera and supported their medical treatment. The team will also participate in a vaccination campaign to prevent further outbreaks.
-
MSF built a cholera treatment centre in Ndamera to treat patients. © Fabrice Weissman/ MSF
MSF teams kept a close eye on diseases reported and rolled out measures to prevent any epidemics. This included case investigations, contact tracing and the disinfection of water points. We also trained community health workers from the Ministry of Health and enabled health promotion activities within communities.
-
In Ndamera (Nsanje district), MSF provided emergency support in response to the cholera outbreak that followed tropical storm Ana. © Fabrice Weissman/MSF
Donate
