Music against Malaria donates equipment to Chikwawa Hospital
After hosting a number of activities including Stories of Malaria Art Exhibition and Music against Malaria Festival where they raised funds, non-governmental organisation (NGO) known as Music against Malaria, spearheaded by musicians Code Sangala and Annemarie Quinn, finally donated equipment to Chikwawa District Hospital on Friday.
Having donated equipment and other items to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre in their first outing, this time around after an assessment they made, they decided to assist Chikwawa District Hospital.
With several partners helping them out including Total Malawi, Thofu Investment, Toyota Malawi, Farming and Engineering Services, Music Against Malaria managed to raise funds that helped them purchase some of the needs of the hospital which included trolleys, oxygen concentrators, mosquito nets and beds.
It was all but pomp when the equipment was being donated.
The sounds of Ndirande-based group from Blantyre, singing volumes of sleeping in nets among others, to avoid being beaten by mosquitoes which carry the plasmodium that causes Malaria disease was a clear testimony that music was not only for entertainment but rather it was key in disseminating important messages to the society.
Code, a former Big Brother Africa (BBA) representative and musician, has indicated now and then that he once suffered from malaria disease which nearly killed him hence using music to fight the disease.
“We are happy that what we have been doing, this is the result. We would want to help the government in the fight against malaria. We want people to take various preventive measures to fight malaria and we are mostly targeting children,” he said.
He said they would be working with the National Malaria Control Programme to identify another hospital before drawing a budget to embark on activities with the climax being the Music against Malaria festival that last year was held at College of Medicine Complex attracting a number of artists.
Quinn from United Kingdom, who plays the guitar and has been working with a number of local artists, said they were happy to finally present the donation.
“Two things, music and football bring people together and we are happy to use it to disseminate key messages apart from entertainment. We would like to thank all partners for helping us in this cause. Apart from the equipment, we will also be fixing ceilings in the wards,” she said.
Director of Health and Social Services for Chikwawa District Hospital, Dr Stanley Zinkanda, said they were excited with the timely donation.
“The equipment Music against Malaria and partners have donated is what we critically needed at the hospital. Chikwawa is one of the districts that has high incidences of malaria and 40 percent of the cases is malaria. So the equipment will help in fighting the disease,” Zinkanda said.
Total Malawi Human Resources Manager, Atupele Kadokera, said they believe in giving back to the society hence working with Music against Malaria.
“We sponsored Music against Malaria through a festival they organised in October last year. We value the health of our customers and all stakeholders at large. We are satisfied with the donation and looking forward to working with Music against Malaria in more programmes,” Kadokera said.
