HEALTHCARE
Providing accessible, quality care in Balaka
Through Andiamo Comfort Community Hospital and its outreach services, Andiamo works to make healthcare more accessible for children, women, families, and vulnerable people across Balaka District. Our approach combines essential clinical services with maternal and child health, prevention, and community outreach. Healthcare is one of the central pillars of Andiamo Youth Cooperative Trust. Supported by over 15 years by our main Orizzonte Malawi Onlus partner (link it), in a context where access to quality medical services remains limited for many families, Andiamo helps bring care closer to the community through a hospital-based model linked to rural outreach and preventive services.
Our work in health is rooted in the belief that dignity begins with access to safe, timely, and reliable care. By investing in health services for all ages, we help strengthen resilience, protect vulnerable lives, and support healthier futures in Balaka.
56,146
Patients accessed our services in 2025
200
Villages served
60%
Of our patients are poor
35%
Are ultra poor
Our healthcare work includes:
- Outpatient care
- Neonatology
- Under 5 immunization and child health services
- Maternity services
- Paediatrics
- Rural outreach clinics
Together, these services respond to both urgent medical needs and longer-term health challenges. They are designed to support continuity of care, especially for mothers, newborns, children, and families living far from major health facilities.
Andiamo Comfort Community Hospital
Established in 1997 as a small outpatient clinic, Andiamo Comfort Community Hospital has grown into an accredited community hospital and an important health reference point in Balaka. Today, it provides general and paediatric outpatient care, pharmacy and dental services, a dedicated paediatrics ward, and a fully equipped operating theatre.
The now accredited CHAM Facility reflects Andiamo’s wider commitment to integrated community development. It is not only a place of treatment, but also a space where access to care, continuity, and human dignity come together in daily practice.
Maternal and Neonatal Care
2,168
Newborn in 2025
199
Caesarian Sections
3,804
Antenatal Checkups
126
newborn HIV exposed but uninfected
311
Complex Neonatology Cases managed
Maternal and newborn care are among the most important parts of Andiamo’s health work. The maternity ward includes 24 beds and an operating theatre for caesarean sections, while the neonatology service supports premature and low-birth-weight babies who need specialized care at the beginning of life.
This work is especially important in a setting where mothers and newborns often face serious health risks linked to distance, poverty, and limited access to quality services. By strengthening maternity and neonatal care, with the continuous training by Zero Piu Medicina per lo Sviluppo (Link the website), Andiamo helps improve survival, safety, and healthier beginnings for families in Balaka.
Paediatrics and Child Health
Children’s health is another key priority within the hospital. Through paediatric consultations, treatment, and vaccination services, Andiamo supports the health and development of children during their most vulnerable years.
This service works alongside maternal care and under‑5 support, helping families access regular care for illness prevention, early treatment, and follow-up. In this way, healthcare becomes more continuous and more responsive to children’s real needs.
17,389
Under 5 Immunizations in 2025
28,396
Accesses to OPD
1,152
Accesses to Dental Clinic
2,438
patients reached in our rural clinics
Remote Health Centres and Outreach
To reach families living further from Balaka town, Andiamo also manages two rural health centres in Kapandatsitsi and Toleza, where medical teams provide regular services closer to remote communities. These centres focus especially on mothers and children who might otherwise face major barriers in reaching care.
This outreach model is important because healthcare access is not only about the quality of services, but also about distance, transport, and affordability. By extending care beyond the hospital itself, Andiamo helps reduce exclusion and strengthen access where it is needed most.
Why healthcare matters
Healthcare affects every part of community life. It protects mothers during pregnancy and childbirth, gives newborns a safer start, supports children’s growth, and helps families face illness with more security and dignity.
For Andiamo, healthcare is not separate from development. It is part of a wider commitment to equity, inclusion, and opportunity, because healthier lives create stronger foundations for learning, work, and long-term wellbeing.
Healthcare affects every part of community life. It protects mothers during pregnancy and childbirth, gives newborns a safer start, supports children’s growth, and helps families face illness with more security and dignity.
For Andiamo, healthcare is not separate from development. It is part of a wider commitment to equity, inclusion, and opportunity, because healthier lives create stronger foundations for learning, work, and long-term wellbeing.
Care that stays close to people
Andiamo’s healthcare work combines hospital services, maternal and child health, and rural outreach to respond to the realities of life in Balaka. By bringing care closer to the community and strengthening essential services, we help build healthier and more resilient lives.