Madonna opens pediatric surgery center in Malawi

Madonna is taking her philanthropy to a whole new level as she prepares to gift East African country, Malawi a pediatric surgery center on July 11^th. The clinic which is situated at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre is to be called the Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care. It is named after her 11 year old adopted Malawian daughter, Mercy James.

The state-of-the-art facility is said to be the first of its kind in the country and it is expected to help the hospital double the number of surgeries performed on children each year while also increasing the chance of survival for children after critical surgeries. It will also be a training center of excellence for Southern Africa, with more local doctors acquiring the skills needed to perform pediatric surgery.

The choice of a pediatric clinic is significant as there are only three pediatric surgeons and 50 per cent of the population is under 15 years and siting the pediatric clinic in Malawi is coming as no surprise considering that all of the singer’s four adopted children are from Malawi. Besides Mercy, there are David, 11, and 4-year-old twins, Estere and Stella. Her biological children are Lourdes, 20, and Rocco, 16.

Her reason for giving back isn’t farfetched.
“Malawi has enriched my family more than I could have ever imagined. It’s important for me to make sure all my children from the country maintain a strong connection to their birth nation, and equally important to show them that together, humans have the power to change the world for the better,” Madonna said in a statement.

The 58 year old acknowledges that putting up the facility wouldn’t have been possible without the ample co-operation and collaboration of the Malawian Minister of Health.   
“What started out as a dream for Malawi and her children has become a reality, and we couldn’t have done it without your support,” she concluded.

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