Reports from Malawi over the past month have highlighted the severe impact of cyclone Freddy on people’s health and livelihoods in Malawi. Access to health services have been disrupted by damaged roads and bridges, and there is an acute shortage of staff as some health workers have also been displaced and lost property. Reports confirm that many local health centres have lost some or all their supplies, leading to a critical shortage of supplies in these facilities. Many people lost their lives and livelihoods, and thousands of families have been displaced as they had to relocate to higher ground.
APCA’s key partner in Malawi the Palliative Care Association of Malawi (PACAM) also reports that the lives of many people on palliative and comprehensive chronic care programmes have been affected directly and indirectly. Some have lost access to their caregivers and the CBOs where they normally get both material and psychosocial support while others have lost their homes that are suitably adapted to their needs for mobility. PACAM has many members in the south whose operations and access to patients has been drastically disrupted. According to the UN, the cyclone’s destruction increased public health risks including a surge in the spread of cholera, malaria, malnutrition, COVID-19, and other vaccine-treatable diseases.
The Palliative Care Association of Malawi (PACAM) is, therefore, appealing for support to enable its members who have been affected by the cyclone to meet basic needs that include food and medicines, as well as basic equipments for those on palliative and chronic care.
To donate towards this cause, please follow this link.
The African Palliative Care Association works with national associations of palliative and hospice care organisations across Africa to ensure that palliative care is widely understood, and that it is integrated into health systems at national and local levels to improve access for all and reduce health-related suffering.
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