The Children’s Ward at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe. The closest beds are in the “Red Zone,” with the sickest children and getting the highest attention from staff.
Beyond the central hospitals and district facilities of Malawi, there are “Healthy Centers.” These rural outposts serve thousands in extraordinarily resource-challenged settings. Yesterday’s visit to Migowi was to a Healthy Center, where just a handful of nurses and staff are the only healthcare providers available for a catchment area of hundreds of square kilometers.
On the front lines of tuberculosis, healthcare workers have varying degrees of personal protective equipment. Around the world, N95 respirators (masks) are becoming more common amongst staff, but still not nearly ubiquitous.