Pediatric unit built by Madonna in Malawi to open July 11

NEW YORK – Madonna says the children’s wing at a hospital in Malawi she has been building for two years completed its first surgery last week and will officially open July 11.

The Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care, located at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in the city of Blantyre, had a soft opening and is the first of its kind in Malawi. It was built in collaboration with the Malawian Ministry of Health.

Madonna adopted four children, David Banda, Mercy James, Stelle and Estere, from Malawi. The pop star’s charity, Raising Malawi, has funded the new pediatric unit, which began construction in 2015.

The children’s unit will enable Queen Elizabeth hospital to double the number of surgeries for children and will provide critical pre-operative and post-operative care.

___

Corrects that Madonna has adopted four children from Malawi, not two.