Dambe Clinic Grand Opening

Dambe Health Center Celebration

We are excited to announce that the Dambe Clinic in Malawi officially opened its doors to a community of 30,000 on April 25th, 2016! During the first day of operations Partners in Health staff were able to see and treat 108 patients. This Dambe clinic was the first medical facility that the 30/30 Project funded with the Indiegogo Campaign in 2014 and was featured in the launch video produced by Ryan Lewis.Dambe is home to vulnerable and hard-to-reach patients and is plagued by prohibitive user fees and little access to care except for those able to walk many hours the the hospital. The physicians at Partners in Health shared with us that “when really sick patients are presented during morning hospital rounds, and the nurse mentions they are from Dambe, everyone nods their head in recognition and respect of the reasons for late presentation and severe illness.” This community has been affected by floods, drought, typhoid and a destructive fire - all in just the past year. With the addition of this new clinic, physicians are hopeful that they will be able to give adequate healthcare access to those living in the community. The facility includes a lab, dispensary, treatment and consultation rooms, as well as office space. Programs like integrated women’s health services and integrated screening for chronic conditions for all patients will work towards making this clinic a Model Health Center for the community. The PIH staff also plans to implement Universal Health Coverage, which will target 100% coverage for HIV and child malnutrition.On their opening day the clinicians at the Dambe Clinic tested 32 of the patients for HIV. In a true testament to the previous lack of access, two-thirds of the patients tested for HIV had never previously been tested. This project would not have been possible without our partners from Construction for Change, Partners in Health, Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo, and Malawi's Ministry of Health. The Dambe clinic will serve thousands of people in the years to come providing access to free, basic primary care, and lowering the barrier to accessing health care. Thank you to everyone who gave to this incredible project! Progress like this is only possible through your support.