Malawi has been enveloped in a nationwide blackout since Wednesday, plunging the southern African country into total darkness and severely disrupting crucial services, especially in public hospitals.
The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), the state-owned power provider, has been unable to supply electricity to its 20 million residents, leaving the nation in a state of complete blackout.
Energy Minister Ibrahim Matola confirmed the situation and assured that the government, in collaboration with ESCOM, is working urgently to restore power.
“We are making every effort to resume electricity supply by the end of the day,” Matola stated, highlighting the need to investigate the cause of the outage.
The blackout has had a profound impact on healthcare services, with John Kapito, head of the Consumers Association of Malawi (CAMA), raising alarm over potential risks to lives due to disruptions in medical equipment and services. “We urge the government to resolve this issue swiftly,” Kapito said.
