On the penultimate day of the study tour, the EPF parliamentary delegation was joined by Hon Bertha Ndebele, Hon Olipa Chimangeni, Hon Roseby Gadama, Malawian parliamentarians from the Women’s Caucus and the Population and Caucus for a field visit to the Kamuzu Central Hospital. During this meeting with the Director of the Hospital, Johnthan Ngoma and the Deputy Director, Mable Chinkhata, an emphasis was placed on development funds being directed to the hospital over prevention-based programmes for communities.
After the meeting, the MPs were introduced to nurses, councillors and clinical officers working at the One Stop Centre. This centre focuses on providing holistic care to survivors of sexual assault. Every aspect of a survivor's story - physical, emotional and legal - is funded by the Malawian government. Although these services are free, there are still barriers to accessing them as there is only one One Stop Centre for the whole of Malawi, as well as concerns about survivors not wanting to come forward as perpetrators are often family members.
In the afternoon, EPF’s parliamentarians met with the Secretary of Health, Samson Mndolo, and the Deputy Director of Reproductive Health, Juliana Kanyengambeta. The parliamentarians highlighted the intersection of youth and SRHR and the importance of funding youth-led organisations.
