A call has gone to parents and guardians to seek medical attention for their children with treatable disabilities to ensure their better future.
The call from Davie Simengwa, Director of Programs and Development for Beit-CURE Children’s Hospital of Malawi comes as the hospital is conducting mobile clinics in Nkhatabay and Likoma districts.
CURE Malawi provides free reconstructive and orthopedic surgeries for children in Malawi and across the borders, among many of its services.
Simengwa told MIJ Online that the mobile clinics is part of the hospitals annual activities of reaching out to children with treatable disabilities residing in hard-to-reach areas across the country.
“We normally conduct mobile clinics district by district, so by choosing Nkatabay and Likoma we saw that there was a need to reach out to the most vulnerable children and in these districts access the services that we offer especially on the treatable disabilities on children,”
The hospital has since advised parents and guardians to bring their children with disabilities for screening and treatment, to give them a better chance at a normal life.
“What we have experienced over the years in our line of work is that some parents would hide their children because of their disabilities so we are calling on the parents and care-givers to bring these children and get them treated for free, we want them to know that there is a hospital in Blantyre where their children can be helped,” said Simengwa
Lack of access to proper medical care and treatment has left many children with disabilities vulnerable, and according to Simengwa, this is why the hospital has been carrying out initiatives including mobile clinics to reach out to children with treatable disabilities such as clubfoot, with medical assistance for their conditions.
During a recent mobile clinic conducted in Likoma district, the hospital screened about 33 children and six were booked for hospital treatment.
Beit-CURE Children’s Hospital of Malawi located in Blantyre has in operation since 2002, performing over 2,500 life-changing reconstructive and orthopedic surgeries each year at no cost to patients.