Who forgot Nangalamu Health Centre? 40 years. No Electricity

By Alick Majid

In the far south of Malawi, 80 kilometers from Mangochi Town, stands Nangalamu Health Centre, a vital yet crumbling lifeline for over 32,000 people in Nkumba Zone, Chikamba Village, under Traditional Authority (T/A) Bwananyambi.

For 40 years, this government-run facility has operated without electricity. No lights. No refrigeration. No powered medical equipment. Only darkness at night and danger.

In a nation where rural healthcare already faces immense challenges, the absence of electricity at Nangalamu health centre is not a minor technical fault. It is a chronic and deadly injustice as it turns childbirth into a gamble.

It pushes health workers to rely on phone torches for surgeries and deliveries.

It disables cold chain systems for vaccines.

Preventable deaths have been recorded in silence.

Children born in Chikamba today face the same powerless care their mothers did decades ago yet funds for rural electrification remain tangled in bureaucracy.

We speak to some of the people directly affected by the situation.

Voice from the Shadows

In Chikamba Village, 32-year-old Chisomo Maliki walks into the maternity ward with a torch in her handbag—not by choice, but out of necessity.

“We’re so concerned about this electricity problem that we lack guidance and counselling at the hospital,” she said. “When we go there with small illnesses, we are told to go to a private clinic.

And the solar panels that were installed do not work properly,” she added. “We are so worried because when you’re expecting, they tell us to buy torches before the day of delivery. After all, solar energy is unreliable, which is a big problem.”

As Maliki’s words suggest, expectant mothers at Nangalamu are told to bring their own light, as the hospital has none. Even patients with minor illnesses are often referred to private clinics, while the facility’s solar panels remain inconsistent and barely functional.

In Issah Village, 27-year-old Khadija Dickson shares the indignity of having to change clothes in public, due to the lack of proper infrastructure and electricity in the maternity wing.

“The problem that we’re facing here, especially in the maternity ward, is that they tell us to go change outside where men can see us,” she said. “We need another hall—something modern. We’re urging authorities to help us with electricity and another maternity ward.”

In the same area, 33-year-old Shareef Misi voices frustration over the unreliable solar system. Windy or cloudy days plunge the clinic into darkness, shutting down critical services.

“Solar energy is not reliable at the hospital,” he said. “Whenever there’s wind or clouds, the power goes on and off. And at this hospital, we’re lacking other services too.”

Daudi Kassim, 28, from Lumeta Village, says the burden weighs heavily on men as well. When their wives are referred to distant private hospitals, they’re expected to buy supplies and cover transport costs—expenses many villagers simply can’t afford.

“As men, we’re very concerned when our wives are about to deliver,” he said. “At the hospital, they told us to go to Mulibwanji Hospital, which is private and very far from here.

They also asked us to buy other items to use at the hospital. So, as a village, it’s very difficult for us to raise the money for all those resources. We’re urging the government to help us with this.”

From Chome Village, 42-year-old Basheer Jangiya questions the logic of having power at a nearby market while the hospital remains in darkness.

“The problem at the hospital is electricity,” he said. “We have electricity at the market, which is very close to the hospital. When expectant women come at night, they find a blackout. Some don’t even have torches. It’s very worrisome.”

Local Leaders’ Response

Group Village Head (GVH) Chikamba says the community fought hard to bring electricity to the area—not for shops, but for the health centre. He claims that ESCOM and the council are fully aware of the situation, yet no action has been taken.

“We’re so concerned about this,” he said. “To get electricity here, the community worked very hard—not for the shops, but because we have a health centre. That’s why we did our best to make sure we have electricity. But now, although we tried, we are failing. The council and ESCOM know about this.”

Traditional Authority (T/A) Bwananyambi echoes the frustrations. She says electricity at the clinic is non-negotiable and must be prioritised.

“As T/A Bwananyambi, I’m very concerned about this,” she said. “Torches are unreliable. But if we have electricity, everything is possible at the hospital. During delivery, women need proper lighting—even in drug stores. So I’m urging authorities to connect the remaining parts of the facility so that doctors can work properly.”

The MP’s Silence

Attempts to get answers from the Member of Parliament for Mangochi South Lilian Patel were met with silence. A questionnaire was read via WhatsApp, but no reply followed. Calls went unanswered. Follow-ups were ignored.

For residents, the silence from their elected representatives only fuels a sense of abandonment.

Health Sector Struggles

Geoffrey Makawa, the In-Charge at Nangalamu Health Centre, calls electricity the biggest barrier to effective healthcare delivery.

“The issue of electricity is affecting services at the facility since we operate 24/7. At night, we rely on backup power like solar, but it’s not reliable—it often goes off around 9 or 10 p.m. After that, nurses have to use their torches to assist patients in the labour ward. So, yes, the electricity problem is seriously affecting us,” he explained.

Harold Kabuludzi, Health Promotions Officer HPO for the Mangochi District Health Office, admits they are aware of the crisis and that they are waiting for funds.

“We know those problems, and currently we are waiting for funding,” he said.

The Principal Secretary for Health says Nangalamu Health Centre currently depends on a 3KVA solar power system, which supplies electricity to both the facility and its staff houses, including essential equipment such as autoclaves.

“Nangalamu has had power at both the health facility and its staff houses, using a 3KVA solar power system that powers even autoclaves,” said Principal Secretary for Health, Dr. Samson Mndolo.

He explained that when ESCOM deployed a transformer to the area, the Mangochi District Council proceeded to carry out full electrical installations across all the buildings, including the staff residences.

“ESCOM only connected the staff houses to the grid, not the facility,” he said. “The delay for the facility was because it required underground armored cables, which ESCOM didn’t have.”

Ministry of Energy’s Position

Interestingly, the Chief Energy Officer in the Ministry of Energy, Golden Nyasulu, confirmed the development, saying they are aware that the facility has no electricity.

He explained that when the Ministry provides electricity, it does not target individual institutions.

Nyasulu further revealed that their database does not list the health centre in question as a beneficiary of the Malawi Rural Electrification Project (MAREP).

“In our database, we do not have that particular hospital listed among the facilities we have connected,” he explained. “This is mainly because of how we approach connections—we typically do not connect a single institution in isolation. For example, we connect a trading center if there are multiple public institutions in the area. But we are aware that the hospital is not connected to electricity.”

“Shortly—or within the next two years—it should be connected,” he added.

Beyond the policy pledges and budget speeches lies a disturbing truth: women giving birth in the dark, sick children being turned away, and caregivers watching helplesslynot due to a lack of skills, but a lack of power, the situation now drawing attention from public corridors.

Expert Analysis

Moses Machaka, a public health expert, says the issue is so serious that it needs to be handled with urgency.

“When a woman is experiencing postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), she needs immediate attention from the staff on duty. However, due to the lack of lighting during nighttime deliveries, it becomes difficult for the staff to manage the situation properly, which can lead to maternal deaths,” he explained.

Social commentator Sheriff Kaisi says the situation is a direct violation of the right to health.

“This is a problem because having good health is a fundamental human right by the Creator and again emphasized by all international and local institutions, and in fact by the constitution, it is clear that every Malawian has the right to good health,” he said.

Conclusion

For four decades, the people of Chikamba have waited in the dark. And still, the power switch has not been flipped.

Every year, the costs rise. Every delivery in darkness, every vaccine that spoils, every life that could have been saved, it all adds up to a national failure.

If Malawi is serious about achieving Sustainable Development Goals -SDGs, particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), then rural health centers like Nangalamu must be more than an afterthought.

Generations have come and gone since this facility was built. Yet its most basic need remains unmet.

Healthcare, a fundamental human right, has been turned into a privilege of geography.

How can we speak of progress when women still give birth by candlelight?

The people have done their part. They have spoken, written letters, and pleaded for help. Now it is the turn of the government, ESCOM, and Parliament to act.

Nangalamu Health Centre stands as a symbol of resilience, but it should not stand in the dark any longer.