The University’s Council Chairperson, Dr. Andrew Daudi, said this on Wednesday when the University donated an automated soap and water dispenser for hand washing to Thyolo District Hospital.

Dr. Daudi said Covid-19 is a science problem which needs scientific innovations to address.

“The equipment is ready for dispatch. As a university, we are facing logistical challenges of transporting it from Boston - USA, to Malawi. You all know that transport has been restricted across the globe.

“As such, we are appealing to 10 development partners that are shipping any Covid-19 related material from America to help us by including our equipment in their shipment,” pleaded Dr. Daudi.

He said the University is aware that communities have higher expectations from it for research and innovations to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Since we were running against time, we quickly realized that our quick fix contribution could only be through innovations. As such, we established a task-force to advise the university on measures that needed to be taken in our fight against the pandemic.

One of the recommendations was the establishment of a team to coordinate innovations from staff and students. We also set aside some funds to support these innovations,” he said.

Thyolo District Hospital Senior Medical Officer, Dr. Gloria Kalolo, said the innovation which was developed by the University will make a difference in their fight against the pandemic.