Business tycoon Thomson Mpinganjira has said the Blantyre Cancer Hospital was established to address gaps in cancer care rather than to generate profit, as the government moves to begin referring patients to the private facility under a new partnership.

The comments came after a delegation from the Ministry of Health, led by secretary for health and population Dr Dan Namarika, visited the hospital ahead of signing a Memorandum of Understanding that will see government-referred patients treated there.

Mpinganjira said the hospital was born out of his own experience of seeking treatment abroad, where he said patients often faced high costs and, at times, poor treatment.

"This facility was not built to make money but from experiences, whereby when you go out you have to spend a lot in hotels and face some very bad nurses," he said.

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

He went further, alleging that some patients travelling for treatment encountered discriminatory attitudes overseas.

"Xenophobia is even practised in hospitals, where they do not like foreigners. I thought of coming up with this facility to take care of such challenges," he said.

Dr Namarika described the partnership with the hospital as an important step in reducing the burden faced by cancer patients in Malawi and improving access to treatment.

He said the arrangement would help address the difficulties associated with the government's current approach, under which critically ill cancer patients are referred to hospitals abroad, including in South Africa and India.

The agreement marks a shift toward greater use of domestic private healthcare capacity for cancer treatment, at a time when demand for such services in Malawi continues to outstrip what the public health system alone can provide.