AMECA and The MalDent Project launch a fundraising campaign for Chilomoni Dental Clinic

Regular followers of the blog will be aware of the partnership between the charity AMECA and The MalDent Project to establish an exemplar dental clinic at Chilomoni Health Centre, just outside Blantyre. The development of the dental clinic is one component of a much larger programme of work by AMECA at Chilomoni Health Centre which also includes:

• A new physiotherapy clinic
• A complete refurbishment of the maternity unit
• Replacement of the roof and a refurbishment of the outpatient department

The physiotherapy clinic, beautifully decorated with hand-painted colourful murals by a local artist, is already completed and in use:

The following two photos show early stages of the construction work on the maternity unit, which has been making excellent progress:

The replacement of the roof of the outpatient department is also underway, ahead of the refurbishment work required inside:

The origin of the work to provide a functional dental clinic is described in an earlier post. What began as an initial request from Wisdom, the dental therapist, to assist with installation of an existing dental chair into a sub-optimal space has transformed into a much larger project to establish a two chair dental clinic that can act as an exemplar for other healthcare facilities in Malawi.

As a reminder, this was the original dental surgery with its un-installed dental chair and leaking ceiling:

A much larger structure was subsequently identified with sufficient floor space to develop a two-surgery dental clinic. Dr Gift Kawalazira, District Health Officer for Blantyre, gave his approval for the space to be re-utilised for this new purpose.

The establishment of this exemplar dental clinic at Chilomoni Health Centre will:

1. Deliver the first fully equipped dental clinic in a Malawian Health Centre, integrated with other co-located primary care facilities.
2. Provide a model for demonstration to the Ministry of Health and other key stakeholders, who could replicate the core components in other District Hospitals and Health Centres across Malawi.
3. Improve the working conditions for Wisdom Maize and his colleagues delivering dental care within Blantyre District.
4. Increase access to high quality dental treatment for the 63,000 Malawians living in the catchment area of Chilomoni Health Centre.
5. Deliver the potential for outreach teaching of BDS Year 5 students from Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, since it is located very close to Blantyre. This model is widely used in the UK to provide a ‘stepping stone’ for students from clinical practice in the Dental School to a more realistic primary care setting.
6. Provide a facility for collecting accurate oral health data.

Construction work

AMECA has generously agreed to fund the construction work required to convert the space, at a cost of £15,000. That work is currently in progress as shown in the following video and photos:

The outlines of some of the new spaces that are being formed are illustrated by this initial course of bricks:

This photograph shows the very significant changes to the existing structure to convert it into a functional, two surgery dental clinic:

The contractor, Mr Mbewe, produces items such as door frames, window frames and security doors at his own premises then transports them to the site:

Once the construction work is completed, the facility will be decorated and will then be ready for installation of equipment. A later blog post will provide an illustrated description of the facility at that stage.

The Chilomoni AMECA / MalDent Project Dental Clinic Campaign

The dental chair that lay un-used in the previous surgery is brand new and a second dental chair is also available for installation. In addition, Henry Schein Dental has donated a new autoclave for the decontamination room in the facility.

However, funding is required for additional equipment including a compressor, suction motor, ultrasonic cleaner, X-ray units, handpieces, scalers and hand instruments. We have, therefore, launched a fund-raising campaign for the purchase of these items, which are required to allow the clinic to become fully operational.

If you would like to contribute to the campaign and make a donation that will help us to equip the new Dental Clinic at Chilomoni Health Centre you can do so here

Many thanks in advance to those who decide to contribute to our fund-raising. Your donations will help us to make a further significant step towards our goal of ‘Oral Health for All‘ in Malawi.