Malawi Develops First English-Chichewa Medical Dictionary to Bridge Communication
The dictionary aims to simplify medical communication, enabling patients to understand complex medical terminology better and improve overall healthcare understanding.
BLANTYRE, MALAWI — Malawi is set to launch its first medical dictionary translating 2,000 medical terms from English to Chichewa, addressing critical communication barriers in healthcare, writes Aminah Harrid.
The Malawi Liverpool Welcome program (MLW) has completed the dictionary after an eight-year development process, coordinating with multiple stakeholders including the Ministry of Health.
Funny Kapakasa, a senior translation coordinator at MLW, said the project was initiated to address translation gaps in medical vocabulary.
The dictionary has been printed and awaits launch early next year.
Ministry of Health Public Relations Officer Adrian Chikumbe praised the initiative.
"Patients will now be able to understand medical terms translated into our vernacular language," he said.
Media practitioner Chriss Mainjeni noted the dictionary's potential to improve information accuracy, while citizen Janet Kamasho emphasized the importance of public awareness about the new resource.
The dictionary aims to simplify medical communication, enabling patients to understand complex medical terminology better and improve overall healthcare understanding.