Pope donates ventilators to Catholic hospital in Malawi

By Vatican News

Pope Francis has made a generous donation of several ventilators to the Likuni Mission Hospital, which lies 9 kilometers from Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe.

The gift was made in the Pope’s name by Archbishop Gianfranco Gallone, the Apostolic Nuncio to Malawi and Zambia.

Archbishop Tarcisius Ziyaye of Lilongwe delivered the ventilators to the Missionary Sisters of St Francis of Assisi, who staff the facility.

Sign of Pope’s caring concern

“The Holy Father is indeed concerned about this deadly pandemic which has shaken the whole world,” said Archbishop Ziyaye.

“As a token of our gratitude to the Holy Father, let us continue to pray for him,” he added.

Sr Agnes Lungu, the hospital’s administrator, received the Pope’s donation, and expressed her gratitude.

“On behalf of the hospital we are very much grateful for the donation and that the Holy Father thinks of us and comes to our assistance,” she said.

Struggling to cope with Covid-19

The Likuni Mission Hospital is owned by Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malawi, and is reportedly underprepared to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

Malawi has registered over 5,300 cases and 168 deaths from Covid-19.

Thanks to an influx of donations from abroad, the local Catholic Church has mobilized her network of missionary hospitals to deal with the health crisis.