Malawi has been an amazing place to implement our projects. Whether it is because Malawians are simply very open to change or because Elizabeth’s familiarity with the place allows us to find the right people, the institutions I have approached with the bili-lights have been absolutely excited to accept it so long as it works.

I left one bili-light unit with the head pediatrician Dr. Mwansambo at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe. I had the opportunity to meet him with the great help of Baylor PAC pediatrician Chris Buck who, in the past, had helped Beyond Traditional Borders test and evaluate the Diagnostic-Lab-in-a-Backpack. With one quick phone call, Chris scheduled an immediate meeting with Dr.Mwansambo. It is an understatement to say I was surprised. I was prepared for the long battle I had in Swaziland, the repeated meetings with hospital heads in order to push for the bili-lights. Even in the case of RFM, I could only force a decisive vote during the last week of my stay, using the fact that I had to leave as leverage. The simple heads-up phone call between Baylor and Kamuzu is a testament of the close relationship the two institutions share, which marks it the real difference from the case in Swaziland. In fact, Baylor is physically attached to Kamuzu and thus, Baylor doctors regularly round the Kamozu pediatrics ward.

Dr.Mwansambo was a heart-warming man, doctor and DJ whom I had the pleasure to meet. He possessed an open, friendly air and an impressive basic engineering knowledge. He was the first person on this trip to know what LEDs stand for and how they work. Throughout our meeting, he was bombarding me with not questions about certification, but technical questions about shock resistance and parallel/series circuits. He grew increasingly enthusiastic about the device, given its low-cost and easy maintenance. The hospital had previously experienced huge issues with high tech technologies being donated or bought, only for them to be broken and unfixable in a short span of time. If the pilot unit is well-received, he is looking forward to using more models when the maternity ward reopens at the end of this year. Currently, all deliveries and neonatal care are referred to Bwaila, an exclusive maternity center that delivers at least 1000 births per month. Once the new maternity ward is finished, most patients would then be transferred to Kamozu—an average of 30 in-labor mothers per day. The bili-lights and incubator would then be huge necessities for neonatal care based on such demand. In the meantime, the bili-lights will be used in Bwaila under supervision by Dr.Mwansambo who rounds there periodically. Moreover, Chris has been wonderfully helpful in eliciting the help of Dr.Eric McCollum, another PAC pediatrician, to check on and evaluate the device along with the Malawian staff. I feel, after the meeting, that I had established some of the most reliable contacts–people who are excited and truly interested in the success of the device. I am excited to hear feedback from them.

We have officially and completely hand over the incubator and bili-lights to St.Gabriel’s this week. Ideally, we wanted do this earlier, but the incubator took a long time to complete, both to build and to test. I am surprised to discover just how inefficient the light bulbs were; we went from 4 100 W bulbs to 4 clear 40 W light bulbs, testing tinted and clear options for each wattage. However, once we demonstrated the devices to Matron Kamera and Dr.Mbeya, they have been quick and wonderfully supportive in helping the devices settle into the hospital (there was never a doubt that the hospital would pilot the technologies since we mentioned them on our first day). Matron Kamera scheduled a maternity ward nursing/cleaner meeting—there is an amazing task shifting to the cleaners as they are very well educated—for us to briefly train the staff on the important issues of usage and safety. Dr.Mbeya helped us gather the doctors so that their knowing the presence of the devices will encourage them to use the incubator and especially the bili-lights when the time comes. We had a check list of all the tasks we had to finish for the devices and Matron Kamera and Dr.Mbeya just helped us cross each one off one after another in less a one day. The people at this hospital do their work with an incredible level of efficiency and dedication that I have not seen anywhere else in Africa. I can leave the technologies here with a peace of mind, knowing that this amazing group of people will use it well and correctly.