The Government of Malawi has secured a $25 million funding package from the World Health Organisation to improve national healthcare service delivery, according to Channel Africa. The agreement, announced during a meeting in Lilongwe between WHO Country Representative Charles Kuria Njuguna and Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation Charles Chilambula, earmarks $8 million to upgrade the country's laboratory infrastructure and diagnostic capacity.
In an effort to address corruption in public health facilities, Minister of Health and Sanitation Madalitso Chidumu-Baloyi conducted an undercover sting operation at Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe, Nyasa Times reports. Disguised as a patient, the minister exposed a bribery network involving security guards and clinicians who solicited money from patients to expedite medical services. Health rights activist Maziko Matemba praised the intervention but cautioned that successful prosecutions will require patients to testify against corrupt medical personnel in court.
Meanwhile, nutrition advocates are lobbying parliament to increase the sector's share of the 2026/2027 national budget, according to MBC. The Civil Society Organisation Nutrition Alliance reported that the national nutrition budget allocation has dropped from 0.6 percent to 0.5 percent this year. Experts from the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources stated that the funding decrease is alarming given that 38 percent of Malawian children under five are stunted, prompting calls for lawmakers to pass the long-delayed Food and Nutrition Bill.
On the international front, recent cuts to USAID humanitarian assistance have severely impacted malnutrition treatments in Malawi, GBH News reports. According to the medical nonprofit Partners in Health, a reduction in global funding has led to a critical shortage of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food at local clinics. Medical staff in some Malawian facilities have reportedly stopped screening children for malnutrition because the essential therapeutic food packets are no longer available in their cupboards.