Madonna visits Malawi hospital

The 'Material Girl' hitmaker will tour the children's wing of Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi to see how the construction of the unit, which is scheduled to open in early 2017, is going.

In a statement, she said: "This new facility is the first pediatric surgery and intensive care unit in any Malawi hospital. It will have an enormous impact on saving the lives of children.

"In addition to raising the quality and availability of health care, we are also preparing for the future by training more Malawian medical staff in specialized pediatric care."

The new unit - funded by Raising Malawi, which Madonna set up in 2006 with Michael Berg - will become home to the country's first pediatric intensive care unit and will also offer a 50-bed ward and a day clinic.

With its three new operating rooms, the unit will be able to double the amount of surgeries currently offered to children as well as provide them with care before and after their surgery.

The 57-year-old singer has been in the country for a week and has already met with President Peter Mutharika and health minister Peter Kumpalume.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, Madonna - who has children Lourdes, 19, and Rocco, 15, as well as her two adopted children Mercy and David, both 10 - visited Africa's largest slum.

Captioning one picture, she wrote: "Striking a Pose in Kibera! Rebel Hearts (sic)"

And the mother-of-four also posted a picture of a litter-strewn river and wrote: "Imagine this is where your water comes from! @shofco is working to change this in Kibera, Africa's largest slum. (sic)"