Salima District Hospital appeals for fuel support

Salima District director of health and social services Jones Chise has appealed to well-wishers to support the district’s hospital with fuel for backup generators.

He said in an interview on Wednesday that the district hospital was affected by a high voltage last Wednesday due to an unstable supply of electricity leading to the damage of a changeover switch.

Chise said some equipment was damaged and it became difficult to switch to either a generator or to Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) power.

He said: “Fortunately, on May 26 we managed to bypass the changeover switch and connected to Escom supply.

“However, we still face challenges due to intermittent power supply. That is why we are appealing for support in form of fuel for backup generators to save people’s lives.”

Ministry of Health spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe admitted that district hospitals are struggling to sustain generators because of high cost of fuel.

“Lives are being put at risk. We ask Escom to find a lasting solution to the frequent blackouts,” he said.

Escom spokesperson Kitty Chingota said at the moment, it is not possible to spare district hospitals from load shedding and has advised authorities to find alternative sources of power.

“The demand for electricity is high and our supply cannot sustain everyone without load shedding. We are trying to save the system because it is not stable,” she said.

At the moment only Kamuzu Central, Queen Elizabeth and Mzuzu central hospitals are spared from load shedding.