A one day-old baby boy has been stolen from a hospital, with police launching an urgent hunt, according to reports. The incident purportedly occured at the Neonatal Admission Ward at Kafue General Hospital in Zambia’s Lusaka Province.
At around 3am, a nurse on duty discovered that the infant, who was admitted on Friday and given oxygen, had vanished from his bed, Kafue District Health Director, Sydney Hamusonde, told the African country’s national broadcaster, ZNBC.
The baby’s father, Isaac Kalaba, “expressed shock” that his newborn son had been allegedly stolen from the hospital, the news outlet added.
Police Spokesperson Godfrey Chilabi said officers had been told of the purported kidnapping, and added that an investigation into it have started.
In 2024, Swansea University wrote that the World Health Organization had identified Zambia as having a “critical shortage of trained health workers”.
“There is less than one doctor or one nurse per 1000 people,” the university wrote, “and this chronic lack of trained health professionals severely limits Zambia’s capacity to deliver safe, quality medical care to its population.”
In June 2025, medical experts from across Africa convened in Zambia for a “high-level workshop” aimed at strengthening the implementation of a crucial project to reduce maternal mortality caused by postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) – severe bleeding after childbirth.
A Ugandan team representative said: “The meeting was very well organised and very informative. The countries are at different levels but all of them are doing a great job.
“The enthusiasm for PPH control is very palpable. All countries are very committed to the program and are looking forward to realising the outcomes.
“The sites we visited are also very committed and have welcomed the project. The impact of HSC is already being seen in just one month of use.”