US Pop star Madonna Sunday visited paediatric surgery and intensive care unit project in Blantyre which she is constructing through her charitable organisation Raising Malawi.
A heavily guarded Madonna arrived at the project site at 14:25 pm in the company of her adopted Malawian children Mercy James and David Banda.
The single-storey building, which has been constructed on the premises of Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), will have the nation’s first paediatric intensive care unit, three operating theatres dedicated to surgery of children, a day clinic and a 50-bed ward.
Addressing the press after the tour, Madonna said she was impressed with the progress of the project which will be operational from 2017.
Madonna was optimistic that the hospital will save a lot of children’s lives.
“This new facility is the first paediatric surgery and intensive care unit in any Malawi hospital. It will have an enormous impact on saving the lives of children,” she said,
The facility will double the number of surgeries for children performed at QECH and will also provide critical pre-operative and post operative care.
She said in addition to Raising the quality and availability of health care, raising Malawi is also preparing for the future by training more Malawian medical staff in specialised paediatric care.
The US singer said she loves children because they are honest and creative.
“My children have become my teachers,” Madonna said.
Through partnership with Raising Malawi, Eric Borgstein, one of four paediatric surgeons in the country, has developed a paediatric surgical training programme at QECH, which has trained the first Malawian born paediatric surgeon, Tiyamike Chilunjika.
Apart from Raising Malawi, the project has attracted several international partners including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Oslo University Hospital, Smile Train and Beit Trust. It has also benefitted from the local support of Kamponji Enterprises Limited.
Today Madonna is expected to meet President Peter Mutharika, Minister of Health, Peter Kumpalume, and other government leaders.
On a lighter note David told the press that he wants to become a professional football player while Mercy said she is not yet decided on her future profession
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