Anti-Bakili Muluzi / MALAWI POLITICS TODAY

Tycoon's medical aid for Malawi

Sir Tom is working with Bill Clinton and Glasgow hospitals for Malawi

A former US president and Scotland's best known entrepreneur have joined forces with Glasgow's hospitals to save lives in Malawi.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) and the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative aim to deliver desperately needed medical equipment.

Former US President Bill Clinton and Scots tycoon Tom Hunter created the new charitable foundation last year.

Heart monitors and operating theatre kit will be sent in coming weeks.

Sir Tom Hunter said: "This is a pragmatic and focused partnership that will undoubtedly make a significant and lasting difference to Malawi.

We not only have the opportunity to improve services for the people of the West of Scotland but also to make a significant improvement to health services in one of Africa's most densely populated countries Professor Sir John Arbuthnott NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

"We have much to do in the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative and welcome this type of partnership with open arms."

Among the hospitals that will benefit from Glasgow's aid package will be Bwaila Hospital, one of the country's main maternity facilities based in the capital city of Lilongwe, and Neno District Hospital, in the impoverished rural area of Neno.

Health Board Chairman, Professor Sir John Arbuthnott, said: "We are delighted to be able to support the people of Malawi, with whom NHSGGC already has strong links.

"Thanks to our own modernisation programme in Glasgow, we not only have the opportunity to improve services for the people of the West of Scotland but also to make a significant improvement to health services in one of Africa's most densely populated countries."