President of Malawi visits Scotland

Scottish Government funding is assisting the Malawian College of Medicine make vital improvements through collaboration with the University of Glasgow.

The College of Medicine identified two priority areas which would benefit from Scottish support, on governance and their dental school.

The College of Medicine will shortly become a fully independent university. The University of Glasgow, which already has successful partnerships in place with the College, has agreed to establish a formal mentoring and support link to assist them with this new phase in their development. To help fund this, the Scottish Government will invest £100,000 over the next two years.

Their dental school requires a pre-clinical skills facility known as a ‘phantom head’ unit. This allows students to learn operative techniques before they begin to treat patients. The Scottish Government is providing £50,000 to fully refurbish the phantom heads unit at the College’s Lilongwe Dental Skills facility.

These announcements have been made as President Peter Mutharika of Malawi visits Scotland to strengthen the long-standing relationship between the two countries.

During his time in Scotland the President will also undertake a visit to the Scottish Water facility at Glencorse in Midlothian.

Scottish Water are working with colleagues in Malawi to share technology and water management excellence, already providing access to clean and safe water to over 33,000 people, as well as training over 4,000 people on new irrigation techniques and improving agricultural practices.

The President of Malawi is visiting Scotland between Monday 23^rd and Thursday 26^th April 2018.

Speaking ahead of the President’s visit, International Development Minister Alasdair Allan said:

“Scotland and Malawi have long-standing bonds of friendship and shared history. From the work of David Livingstone to the development partnerships we see today, our countries have a long record of working together to improve global health.

“This latest collaborative work between the Malawian College of Medicine and the University of Glasgow, supported by the Scottish Government, will further improve health outcomes for the people of Malawi.

“I’m especially pleased that we are able to make this commitment while welcoming President Mutharika to Scotland.”

Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said:

“The University is delighted to have the opportunity of working in collaboration with the current University of Malawi College of Medicine as it moves to become a fully independent university in its own right. 

“We have developed a number of partnerships and links with the College of Medicine in recent years, including a joint healthcare project supporting clinical research into inflammatory and cardiac diseases in the communities of Malawi and Scotland, which has also received Scottish Government funding. 

“A number of the University’s leading researchers and clinicians already work very closely with colleagues in Malawi and as an institution we look forward to deepening further our long-standing relationship with Malawi.”