July 02, 2025
The National Cancer Centre has capacity to treat 3000 adult patients and 250 children every month using modern, effective and holistic solutions in surgeries, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
His Excellency, Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, has officially launched one of his flagship projects, the state-of-the-art National Cancer Centre in Lilongwe.
The facility boasts of six treatment bunkers, including facilities for advanced radiation therapy. Malawi records over 18,000 new cancer cases annually, and around 200 patients are on the waiting list for overseas treatment.
The new centre which consists 80 beds, will be offering Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy locally.
This is the first public health facility in the country to offer radiotherapy treatment and this will minimize government costs which were all along being incurred when sending patients to foreign hospitals for the same.
Government has been spending up to US$15,000 per patient on cancer treatment abroad, excluding flights and accommodation. The coming in of the Cancer Centre therefore will drastically help to reduce that cost and also improve access to care.