A pregnant woman is reported dead at Mponela Rural Hospital due to a ruptured uterus following delay by authorities to refer her to Dowa district hospital for surgery due to lack of fuel.

The development comes barely month after another woman died in Mangochi while on operation due to power outages.

District Health officer for Dowa Beatrice Chikaphonya confirmed of the development in an interview with one of the privately owned radio.

According to information at hand, Dowa District Hospital was supposed to send an Ambulance to carry the woman for surgery.

The health system in the country has been hit by serious challenges such as lack of food for patients, drug shortage due to lack of funding from government.