2026 is our 25th Anniversary in Malawi!
When our organization was founded as World Camp for Kids in 2001, it was hard to envision what we’d be doing 25 years in the future. And yet, here we are, continuing to bring life-changing surgeries and vital support for our Malawian colleagues.
Thank you for continuing to support our work in Malawi! 2026 has already been a busy year, with a local goiter camp in February, a Maternal and Infant Health camp in April, and a Surgical Camp in May. We’ve worked together with our Malawian colleagues to serve many patients, expand the skills of Malawian clinicians, and improve the operating room and hospital spaces at our partner facilities.
All of this is made possible through your generous donations and support.
ZIKOMO! (Thank you!)
When AHA was World Camp for Kids
The Early Days…
Throwback to the early days of World Camp: camping on the Lilongwe Golf Course, driving to villages in an old white minivan, and making hundreds of PB&J sandwiches each night.
Save the date!
Patient Story
Meet James, a 61 year old man who lived with a large lipoma on his forehead for many years. The growth of the lipoma affected his left eye and caused persistent headaches that made daily life difficult. Since receiving free lipoma removal surgery in May 2026, James is relieved of pain and is deeply grateful to the dedicated surgical team that changed his life. His message is simple:
“Thank you for a painless procedure carried out with skill and expertise.”
To James, the doctors were not only professional, but were also people who restored his comfort and peace of mind.
Supplies necessary to complete surgery for James, that were either donated or purchased with donated funds:
Local anesthetic
Gauze
Surgical supplies
Bandages
Post-surgery pain medication
We purchase as much supplies as possible in Malawi to support the local economy. If we are unable to source items in Malawi, we purchase them or have them donated in the US and our volunteers carry them to Malawi in their checked bags. We couldn’t do surgery without these vital supplies!
Mitundu Surgical Camp
May 2026
From May 10-14, Access Health Africa conducted a surgical camp in partnership with Mitundu Community Hospital. The primary focus of the camp was the surgical management of hernias, while also addressing select minor surgical conditions such as lipomas and cysts. The camp successfully brought together a multidisciplinary team of visiting surgeons, anesthetists, and nurses who worked alongside local clinicians, doctors, and nurses to provide safe and effective surgical care.
A total of 120 surgical procedures were successfully performed!
50 of those cases were hernias and 70 were minor cases!
Together with Mitundu staff, AHA successfully provided free, accessible, high-quality surgical services to patients with hernias and other minor surgical conditions. We reduced the burden of untreated surgical conditions and strengthened the skills of local clinicians through skill exchanges with visiting medical volunteers.
Zikomo to the whole May Surgical Camp team of volunteers and local staff, who improved the lives of so many people!
Special Project: Door Repairs
April 2026
For months the doors between Mitundu’s Waiting Room and Operating Room hung open on their hinges. This caused issues with cleanliness, security, and patient privacy, and was a priority for the hospital’s maintenance department. What should have been an easy fix became a months-long project made impossible by a lack of the correct type of hinges anywhere in Malawi.
Fortunately, one member of the AHA team planning to go to Malawi in May was an engineer! Before the trip, AHA staff members sent photos of the broken hinges to volunteer engineer David, who purchased heavy duty hinges in the US and brought them to Malawi to assist with this special project.
When David arrived, he was introduced to Mitundu’s Maintenance Officer, Steven. David and Steven worked together to replace the hinges on the outer doors (which required drilling into the metal door frames), and then took a trip to Mitundu Village’s door maker to purchase two new wood doors to be fit into the existing metal frames.
By the end of the second day of camp, Mitundu had beautiful new wooden doors, held securely in place with heavy duty hinges!
Zikomo David and Steven for your outstanding work to get the doors fixed… entering and leaving the theater is now smooth thanks to your hard work!
Help our rural partners:
Maternal and Infant Health Camp
(formerly Midwifery Camp)
April 2026
AHA Nurse Midwife, Emily Stallings, returned to Kabudula Community Hospital in April for her fifth Maternal and Infant Health Camp. The week focused on team communication, decision making, and managing bleeding in pregnant women. Emily worked with staff in the ward and presented Continuing Education classes for two sets of local nurses, clinicians, and midwives.
We always invite two rural health center nurse midwives to join Maternal and Infant Health Camps so that the information makes its way to more people. In April, Emily was joined by nurses from Chikowa Health Center and Chilobwe Health Center.
The team expressed a desire to improve their communication around patients who are in active labor. Through discussions via What’s App prior to Emily’s arrival, they decided that a whiteboard for the wall would be a nice way to track patient information. Emily brought a whiteboard with her to donate to the ward. They worked together to find a good place to hang it, and to decide on what important information needed to be documented for each patient, to make continuity of care more smooth. The Kabudula team is thrilled with the result and has been reporting back how much they are using the whiteboard!
Always eager to measure impact, Emily and AHA Program Manager Beatrice devised a new method to track the activities during Maternal and Infant Health Camps. Since much of what happens during camp is centered around monitoring the mother and the baby with less of a focus on quantitative data, tracking can be tricky. During this camp, Beatrice tracked specific activities such as:
Mentoring staff with labor assessments
Consulting with staff on patients to rule out eclampsia
Advocating for lignocaine for women in need
Mentoring staff in proper completion of paperwork
Participating in hemorrhage management
Mentoring student nurses on labor evaluations
Discussing benefits of skin-to-skin contact and delayed cord clamping
Discussing the benefits of self tear versus episiotomies
Our Maternal and Infant Health program continues to be a wonderful collaboration between Kabudual Labour and Delivery staff and our visiting volunteer Nurse Midwife, Emily. Are you a Labour and Delivery nurse, OBGYN who does gynecological surgeries, or other neonatal provider who would like to join one of our Maternal and Infant Health camps? We’d love to talk to you!
Please email Info@AccessHealthAfrica.org to begin the conversation.
Click Here to Donate to the Maternal and Infant Health Program
DONATIONS IN ACTION: Supplies That Make A Difference
THANK YOU!
Thank you to the patients, visiting healthcare providers, partners, donors, supporters, and advocates who make our work possible! We are so thankful and could not do this without your support!
WE NEED YOU!
We are always looking for more donations of medical, office, and household supplies! Please consider buying an item from our Amazon Wish List that we can carry to Malawi and put to good use! Or, if you work for a company that donates used or excess supplies, please reach out to Info@AccessHealthAfrica.org to discuss an in-kind donation!
There are so many ways to support AHA’s work in Malawi!
Attend our fundraiser event each summer in Hickory, NC
Follow us on Facebook & Instagram (& send, share, like, & comment on our posts to increase reach)
Forward this email to like-minded friends who should know more about AHA’s work!
Zikomo (Thank you) for your support!
This work & impact isn’t possible without your investment.
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