Focus on saving lives, not the dead—Kwataine

The Malawi Health Equity Network (Mhen) has said there is need for authorities to put more resources on saving people’s lives.

Mhen’s position in an interview on Tuesday follow an outcry over the closure of Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) mortuary due to broken down cold rooms, which saw rotten bodies being taken to a mass grave in Lilongwe on Monday.

Mhen executive director Martha Kwataine said the KCH incident should not let authorities to lose focus instead of being more worried about the welfare of the sick in hospitals.

“The role of the hospitals is to save the lives of people, not dead bodies. We should focus on spending our resources on the sick, not the dead,” said Kwataine.

She claimed that some of the bodies were unclaimed; hence, they overstayed in the mortuary after being brought by the police.

She also asked authorities to put the minimum number of days for corpses to stay in the hospital’s mortuary.

Kwataine also condemned reports of possible demonstrations over the issue, arguing it would make sense if people would demonstrate because of shortage of medical drugs in hospitals.