Malawi
World Patients Alliance member from Malawi, The Women’s Coalition Against Cancer (WOCACA) organized an event to commemorate World Patient Safety Day at the Malawi National Cancer Centre.
The event was organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and was held in conjunction with a session organized to acknowledge a donation received to help cancer patients live a life with dignity despite the physical side effects and symptoms of the disease. This donation, from Brustkrebs Deutschland e.V., aided women cancer patients through the Malawi National Cancer Centre and further achieved WOCACA’s objectives of supporting and caring for cancer patients. The event provided an opportunity to hear lived experiences of women cancer patients whom mostly are poor and struggle in life.
The patients were informed about the healthcare safety issues faced by the patients and what could the families and carers do to reduce the chances of any adverse events during seeking complicated treatment for cancer. The participants of the event included cancer patients, mostly from rural communities in Malawi, who are receiving treatment at Cancer Centre, the Director of National Cancer Centre and staff, WOCACA Executive Director and Staff, Malawi Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance, members of the media, and Kamuzu Central Hospital staff. The women patients were very happy to be recognized and felt honored by the donations, which they called very precious. They also showed their gratitude on information an awareness provided to them related to patient safety.
