Access to healthcare is a basic right that Malawians strive to secure every day. With a population of over 20 million, the demand for healthcare services in Malawi continues to rise. However, shortages of medical equipment and long waiting times make it difficult to meet these needs. Sometimes, it can take up to three weeks to schedule a scan, highlighting the need for change.
"When I was young, in our village, there was no hospital. My people and the people of our village were walking a very long distance and indeed, the health services there, were not sufficient. I was saying when I grow up, I should be at least a medical personnel. " Today, Dr. George Mubisa has become the chief radiologist at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, the largest and oldest hospital in Malawi. He works tirelessly to fulfill his childhood promise, but the lack of high-end medical equipment often hinders his efforts.
"We have a range of patients who visit with complicated conditions, pelvis, spine, scar, cervical spine, femur, and a lot of TB cases. They would come in the morning, and go back home in the evening due to a long queue of patients," says Dr. Mubisa. For years, the Malawi government has worked hard to gather resources to build a functional healthcare system, especially to meet the basic needs of frontline doctors.
In 2022, the "Ray" of hope arrived with a breakthrough. Partnering with the World Bank, the government introduced several advanced healthcare innovations from United Imaging, bringing Dr. Mubisa's dream closer to reality with the installation of the uDR 596i.
"This is state-of-the-art X-ray equipment and it is well-advanced and it produces wonderful images. The AI scores the probability of that patient having either TB or other chest infections as well as other pathologists, including fractures." The AI-powered intelligent device has significantly delivered high-quality images as well as, Dr. Mubisa reflected, "It speeds up the diagnostic time resulting in nearly 240 scans per day, so it's really assisting us."
To ensure the equipment performs at its best, United Imaging's engineering team provides comprehensive support. "The team from United Imaging, the engineers, they did transfer knowledge to our local engineers who are residents in Malawi. They're on call 24/7 to meet any needs,"said Eric Nasuru, CEO of e. trading Corporation, a leading healthcare provider in Malawi.
With his childhood dream now illuminated by this X-ray, Dr. Mubisa has a new goal: encouraging more young people to join Malawi's healthcare sector. "At Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, we are training many young doctors, helping them grow quickly and contribute to healthcare." Proper use of imaging equipment is a mandatory part of their training, and thanks to United Imaging's user-friendly interface and streamlined workflow, the process has become much more efficient.
International cooperation has been essential in developing and upgrading Malawi's healthcare system. "We greatly appreciate the role United Imaging has played, especially with the installation of these digital machines in 21 healthcare facilities across Malawi," said Christopher Chikaken, Deputy Director of the Malawi Ministry of Health. "Their impact on the population has been tremendous. This is a great step forward - everyone should have equal access to healthcare." Emerging from the hope brought by modern healthcare innovations, the path to better health has become broader and more promising.