Partnerships with Zambia and Malawi have ‘transformed’ healthcare, says Swinney

Scotland’s health partnerships with Zambia and Malawi have “transformed healthcare in many ways”, First Minister John Swinney has said.

The First Minister visited the Blantyre-Blantyre research lab in Lusaka which has been supported by Scottish Government funding to improve health outcomes in Zambia and Malawi.

While visiting he announced £125,000 for charity Kids Operating Room to support adapting Nasa technology to generate oxygen in low-resource settings.

Ahead of arriving in Malawi on Thursday, the First Minister also announced a further £4 million funding over three years to help tackle non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and sickle cell disease.

Mr Swinney said: “Over the 20-year period of our development programme, Scotland has a strong history of supporting health systems in our partner countries, with innovative projects between universities, NHS staff and institutions, as well as support throughout the Covid crisis.

“These partnerships have transformed healthcare in many ways, such as launching Malawi’s first dental school and supporting a programme which has trained psychiatrists, established the first dedicated A&E centre, and supported on cancer.

“This latest investment of £4 million for the Malawi Health Service Joint Fund is a new, innovative approach that delivers on our commitment to partner-led development, helping establish life-saving and sustainable healthcare in Malawi.

“The work of Kids Operating Room, supported by Scottish Government funding, has helped open more than 100 state-of-the-art children’s operating rooms in 36 countries, including Zambia and Malawi.

“The charity’s groundbreaking project is another example of how Scotland is demonstrating leadership in tackling global health challenges – helping ensure that children no longer die unnecessary deaths because of a lack of oxygen.”

Delivered in partnership with other international donors and the Government of Malawi, the new approach to funding aims to align directly with Malawi’s national health priorities, to drive more effective, harmonised and sustainable health improvements.

Kids Operating Room chief medical officer Dr Maija Cheung said: “This groundbreaking technology has real incredible potential.

“At Kids Operating Room, we’re contributing because we believe this innovation could one day transform how oxygen is delivered safely to children undergoing surgery around the world.

“Oxygen is a vital medicine, yet in many low-resource settings it is unreliable or unavailable – and that makes surgery far more dangerous for children. That’s why this project is so important.”

The First Minister travelled to Zambia on Tuesday before heading to Malawi. He is set to return to Scotland early next week.