Holy Family Mission Hospital

The hospital is part of the Phalombe Association of Christian Hospitals in Malawi (Christian Hospital Association of Malawi, CHAM). To appreciate the problems it is important to understand the cross financing between CHAM and the Ministry of Health. In the past all salaries of CHAM employees were paid for by the Ministry of Health. Under the new government, these payments were becoming more and more irregular and sometimes were stalled. Thus, the government hospitals offer more attractive jobs with higher and regular pay. As a consequence the hospital staff migrated away from the CHAM hospitals.

With 220 beds, the hospital Phalombe serves as a catchment area of about half a million inhabitants. Each year about 6500 inpatients and 9500 outpatients are treated. Because of the dire economic situation it is not possible to cover the cost of treatment by the patients. The annual hospital budget is € 385'000.–, of which € 185'000.– is used as salaries for the 300 employees.

Therefore the hospital is dependent on financial support from third parties. Pro Phalombe is a vital part in the running of the hospital, it works jointly with the hospital management, defines priorities and prepares the most urgent projects.