We decided to make a trip to the Baylor Pediatric Clinic in Lilongwe. One of the PAC Doctors, Dr. Chris Buck, has been extraordinarily helpful to both Rice University and St. Gabriel’s Hospital, so we decided to stop by for a visit. We “chatted” for a while – discussing the challenges Baylor is facing with their outreach budget, the shift to start newborns with infections on ARVs during their first few months of life, and the bravery with which the women of Malawi face AIDS.

Soon after, we met with Dr. Mwansambo, the neonatal pediatrician at Kamuzu Central Hospital, located right next door to the Baylor Clinic. Dr. Mwansambo is a wonderful, dedicated, enthusiastic physician. We soon discovered that he is not just a pediatrician. By night, he is a DJ (no, not Dr. Mwansambo MD JD … Dr. Mwansambo MD DJ). He is one of a kind.

Almost before we started talking, he agreed to test the bililights, and was busily chatting with Yiwen about the physics of the LED lights. The bilirubin lights will be incredibly helpful in the new neonatal ward that will open by the end of the year. Currently, 1000 mothers a month (30 a day) are giving birth at a maternity hospital down the road. By the end of the year, at least half of those mothers will be channeled to the Kamuzu Central Hospital maternity ward to deliver.

Both Dr. Buck and Dr. Mwansambo were enthusiastic about the other projects going on at Rice. They just received funding for several oxygen concentrators, but have to hire someone to come test them every 3-6 months, and have no way to determine how much oxygen is actually reaching the patient. Perhaps, Dr. Richards Kortum and Dr. Oden will be able to bring them more bililights, an oxygen sensor, and a pediatric pulse oximeter in October.