Malawi Liverpool Wellcome (MLW) Programme’s and Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH)’s celebrated the first anniversary of the first ever Stroke Unit in Malawi on 11 May 2023.

According to the Stroke Unit’s Senior Nursing Officer Neglitor Chingwalu, the stroke ward is contributing to effective management of stroke disease which is a huge burden in Malawi and whole Africa.

“Stoke is a lifestyle disease which is fueled by the type of food that people are consuming in their everyday life. Food with high sugar and fats concentration increases the risk of stroke. Since its establishment, the stroke unit has registered 85 stroke cases and 80 of the patients were cured from the disease,” said Chingwalu.

Chingwalu attributed the successful stroke management efforts at the unit to the training that University College London (UK) provided to nurses and clinicians working in the Stroke Unit.

Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme’s Assistant Clinical Manager Gloria Mwangalika Kachingwe says the Stroke Unit is paramount to answering research questions of incidence and prevalence of the disease burden in Malawi.

“The Stroke Unit came about because of a study that identified a gap in stroke management. As it continues to grow, we expect to have more research projects on stroke that will continue impacting health policies in Malawi,” said Kachingwe.

Kachingwe is optimistic that the increase in research projects at the stroke-treatment centre will unfold a training platform for postgraduate students interested in stroke and neurology.

Meanwhile, the stroke unit at Queen Elizabeth Central Unit is the first of its kind in Malawi and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) in general.

A video of the First Anniversary of the Stroke Unit can be found here: The First Stroke Unit in Malawi Anniversary