Malawi has successfully performed its first open heart surgeries on Wednesday and yesterday in Blantyre which Ministry of Health has described as a milestone for the country.

A surgical team from the United States and Kenya which is in the country for a 10-day cardiac camp at Blantyre Adventist Hospital, led the mission.

One of the doctors from Kenya, Arega Fekado, said the heart has been a major killer that needed enough attention to save lives.

He hailed his fellow doctors for volunteering to fly to Malawi using their own resources.

Said Fekado: “About 18 million people die of heart disease every year. It is a neglected disease for neglected people, but it is time we started talking about it.”

Daudi cheers one of the patients after the surgery

Deputy Minister of Health Halima Daud said the surgeries to be conducted within 10 days would save K100 million that the Malawi Government could have used to refer the patients to other countries.

She said Malawi spends about K1 billion in referring patients to other countries, mainly India and South Africa.

Said Daud: “You may wish to know that cardiovascular diseases account for 13 percent of all deaths in sub Saharan Africa and 37 percent of deaths due to non-communicable disease.

“With population growth, the burden of cardiovascular diseases is growing in the region and Malawi is no exception. For instance, cardiovascular diseases alone contributed to 44 percent of all the external referrals in the year 2022-2023.”

Blantyre Adventist Hospital president Kirby Kasinja said the surgeries were a major milestone in Malawi’s medical history that needed to be celebrated.

“It is a milestone, a game changer. If you have a list of wonders in the health sector, add this to that list,” he said.

According to Fekado, the cardiac camps would be done twice a year as the hospital and the government are exploring ways of making it permanent.

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