Lilongwe, Malawi … As the Covid pandemic continues to overwhelm healthcare systems around the world and reduces diagnosis rates for dealing with infectious diseases such as the flu, the impact is felt especially acute in nations with the lowest GDP. Already desperately short of medical supplies, PPE’s (personal protective equipment), beds, and trained personnel nations like Malawi have suffered more than other nations because of the lack of needed resources. Shortly before the pandemic entered the world scene the Malawi Project and Action for Progress (the non-profit that carries out the joint programs for the two groups in Malawi) completed a large distribution hub near the capital city of Lilongwe. As the influence of the spreading virus began to close international borders the two organizations were in a position to continue their work without the need for American personnel to be on-site in the country. In fact, they had already been functioning with that goal in mind for some time. Now everything was functioning successfully under the AfP umbrella. Through their cooperative efforts, supply distribution did not slow as the pandemic spread around the world. 2020 saw an increase of supplies up to nine forty-foot shipping containers, and 2021 has recorded the shipment of eight containers. (In most cases a single shipping container can deliver over a million dollars in medical assistance.)
Through the support of the Walmart Corporation from its Indiana distribution center, two container shipments of protective face masks were sent to Malawi in the third quarter of 2021. Distribution is well underway nationwide, and recent pictures reflect the turning over of several cases of masks at the largest hospital in the country, Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe. Dr. Jonathan Ngoma, the hospital administrator expressed his deep appreciation for the masks and reminded the audience of the long-standing relationship between the hospital and the Malawi Project dating back to the early 1990s when the Project started supporting the hospital. Kamuzu Central serves primarily the central region with a population of 7,523,340.