Category: UNC Project-Malawi

Palliative care improves the quality of life for patients (adults and children) with life-threatening illness. It prevents and relieves suffering through the early identification and correct assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, whether physical, psychosocial or spiritual. Early delivery of palliative care can also reduce unnecessary hospital admissions...

It’s a sweltering November morning, and the Bwaila Hospital complex is abuzz with activity. Amidst the bustle, a newly constructed building stands out – the Reproductive and Sexual Health (RuSH) Clinic, a beacon of hope for reproductive and sexual healthcare. As the clinic opens its doors at 8 a.m., clients...

Cervical cancer is a preventable disease, yet one of the most common causes of death among women globally, despite screening measures proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). In Malawi, efforts have focused on scaling up cervical cancer screening programs, as well as vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV). Still,...

Michaela Tse is a Senior at UNC-Chapel Hill majoring in Global Studies and minoring in both Business and Japanese. This past summer, she spent eight weeks in Malawi to do research for her senior thesis, mentored by Professor Irving Hoffman, PA, MPH, UNC Project Malawi’s International Director. The opportunity came...

In Sub-Saharan Africa, deaths occur in 5-10% of people living with HIV during the first year after initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART), and the causes for these early deaths are not clear. Matthew Painschab, MD, member of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, and an assistant professor of hematology,...

Lameck Chinula, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was awarded the Constance B. Wofsy Award at the recent Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally (ACTG) Network Meeting, recognizing his contributions to women’s health. “Dr. Chinula is a wonderful and charismatic person and leader, with an upstanding character who has...

The Malawi Government has a strong commitment to caring for its citizens, often sending patients abroad, to countries such as India, for cardiac procedures that aren’t available at home. But these opportunities are limited, compared to the needs of the country’s population of 21 million, and follow a process much...

Led by Mina Hosseinipour, MD, MPH, the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), has funded the project “Preventing Infant Infections with Implementation Science in Malawi.” (PRI3SM). The program, in partnership with the Republic of Malawi’s Ministry of Health, comprises three studies to address gaps in prevention services,...

The Malawi Cancer Program, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, UNC Project Malawi, the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, will be hosting the 5th Annual Malawi Cancer Symposium (MCS 2023). This year’s symposium will be held September 6-7, offering a...

UNC’s urologic surgery partnership with Malawi started with Charles Mabedi, MD, the sole urologist in Malawi, who received his urology training in Tanzania and came to UNC as a visiting professor in 2017. Since then, Mabedi has been working with Anthony Charles, MD, the Surgical Director for the Institute for...

Tisu Mvalo, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics and in-country pediatric director of UNC Project Malawi, has been appointed Lancet Global Health Commissioner for Oxygen Security. Medical oxygen security refers broadly to all the policy, economic, infrastructure, technology, supply chain, logistics, clinical guidelines and health workforce required to ensure that pulse oximetry and...

The Malawian Program for Mental Health Research Training (WARMHEART) is accepting applications for two-year postdoctoral fellowship positions in Malawi, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center. Administered by the UNC Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, interested applicants are invited to attend an information session...

Hematological malignancies, including leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, are cancers that affect the blood, bone marrow, and lymphatic system. In Malawi, these cancers account for a significant proportion of cancer cases, and their treatment requires a multidisciplinary approach. To answer this need, UNC Project Malawi, Baylor Global Hope and Kamuzu Central...

Friday Saidi, MBBS, MMED, is first author of two papers published in 2021, that received Scientific Achievement Awards at UNC Malawi. The papers include: Term gravid uterus in a congenital umbilical hernia: a case report, published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports. Contributing IGHID authors include: Maganizo Chagomerana, PhD, Lameck Chinula, MD,...

Cecilia Kanyama, MB, BS, is a physician-scientist with UNC-Project Malawi who teaches at the University of Malawi College of Medicine, and her work is changing world health guidelines and policy. She completed her first years of medical school in Australia and her postgraduate training with the University of Cape Town in South...

Dr. Bongani Kaimila of Lilongwe, Malawi, tragically and unexpectedly passed away at the age of 36 on November 4, 2022. The accident also claimed the life of his father. He is survived by his wife Eunice Kaimila, principal of the Adziwa Christian School, and their four young children. A GoFundMe...

The First Annual Global Health Scholars Symposium took place November 11, sponsored by the Institute of Global Health & Infectious Diseases (IGHID) and the Gillings School of Global Public Health (GSGPH). The symposium showcased over 30 investigators from UNC and global sites around the world, featuring MD/PhD students, doctoral candidates, postdoctoral...

  A five-year training grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute expands the capacity of UNC’s Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center to train the next generation of cancer researchers in Malawi, Africa. The Malawi Cancer Outcomes Research Program, or M-CORP,...

  By Mina Hosseinipour, MD, MPH Officials announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Malawi on April 2, 2020. At UNC Project Malawi, we’d been working for a month to carefully review and prepare for the virus. We established COVID preventive procedures and clinical management guidelines and planning for...

“Mina sees beyond what I see. She gives me the ‘aha moment,’ and I always ask myself how did I not see that. I keep aiming to do more and be the best in what I do because of her,” Mitch Matoga, MD, PhD, a senior researcher with UNC Project-Malawi,...