Last week, organisers of the awards donated hospital equipment to the Oncology Ward to fulfil the pledge they made during the inaugural awards last year. The equipment include BP machines, thermometers and clothes.
Speaking in an interview on Friday after donating the equipment, one of the organisers Chifundo Maganga said it is their responsibility to support the hospital.
“We recognise the artists for their achievements but art is enjoyed by a lot of people. Without people, there will be no art and we must recognise that a lot of people have at some point sought help from the hospital. As we recognise artists, we should also do something by donating to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital,” he said.
Maganga said this year, they intend to support maternal health because it is also one of the important areas.
“We decided to be focussing on selected areas where we can assist. After appreciating the challenges that the Oncology Department face, this year we want to do something on maternal health,” he said.
Clinical In-Charge at the Oncology Ward Marclean Mpinganjira, who received the equipment on behalf of the department, said not many people can appreciate the challenges patients face at the hospital.
“People might not really appreciate the importance of donating to the hospital until they become patients only to find out there are no resources at the hospital,” Mpinganjira said.
He said without resources, it would be difficult to help the patients effectively.
“Health workers are the best friends for patients and we really feel stressed to work in an environment without resources.
“On average we have about 90 patients, with only three thermometers to use, imagine how tedious it is, with the additional 17 thermometres, you have made our work easier. Similarly, we only had four BP machines, so the contribution you have made will have a great impact on our work,” he said.
The awards were inaugurated in 2017 attracting a huge response from both sponsors and the majority of stakeholders in the entertainment industry who witnessed one of the most successful awards in the recent years.
This year’s awards will take place at the Comesa Hall on May 4. There are a number of pre-show events that will take place and the first one being the African Print Party that will take place at Fifteen Sports Bar on February 3.
The sponsors during last year’s awards were Malawian Airlines, Castel Malawi Ltd, Capital Radio, Times Group, Nico General Insurance and Dusk Till Dawn.