By Golden Kang’oma

Salima, December 12, Mana: Minister of Local government, Unity and Culture Richard Chimwendo Banda has said he is impressed with the progress of Government to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) funded projects in Salima district. 

Chimwendo said this on Tuesday after touring Mnema health center which has been completed in the Area of Senior Chief Makanjira and the upgrade of Salima community ground.

He said: “so far the district is doing very well on the projects they are implementing, and it’s my hope that they will be completed very soon so that they can start implementing some other new projects as GESD is performance based and what they are doing now will help them when being assessed."

Chimwendo further said that the district’s progress on implementation of the projects has given government hope that GESD funds which are intended to support service delivery are being channeled towards the intended purposes.

Director of Public Works for Salima, Harris Kumwenda said the projects are progressing very well and attributed instability of foreign currency as a main challenge in the implementation.

“Mnema health center and Salima community ground are the two key projects we have been implementing and come early next year they will all be operational,” he said.

Kumwenda also said that the two constructed facilities will help to boost revenue collections at the council as well as help people not to travel long distances to seek health services.

 enior Chief Makanjira requested the minister to fasttrack installation of electricity at Mnema health center as most amenities at the facility has been completed for it to start operating.

 electricity is the main challenge and we are failing to start using this facility, so it is my plea that the minister should help facilitating speedy installation of electricity,” he said.

 So far in Salima district GESD has helped the construction of Mnema Maternity Wing, the upgrade of Salima community ground and construction of Kwambiri police Unit including two staff houses.

By Andrew Mkonda

Lilongwe, December 13, Mana: Government has reaffirmed its commitment to construct 900 health facilities across the country so that people are able to access health service delivery within their locality.

Deputy Minister of Health, Halima Daudi made the remarks at Chiponde health centre in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Chimutu in Lilongwe, Tuesday during the commemoration of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) day.

Daudi said in the first phase, government is intending to construct 55 health facilities, of which 20 of them have already been completed and they are ready for use.

“We will be completing all health facilities that were abandoned by the previous regime because we do not want people to be walking long distance to access health services,” she said

Daudi said it is sad that the country has been losing people to deaths especially pregnant women on their way to hospital for delivery.

She therefore, assured people of Chiponde that government will soon start completion works of Chiponde Health centre which stalled nine years ago.

World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Malawi Dr. Neema Kimambo said there is need for collaborated effort so that the country achieves universal health coverage.

Kimambo said according to WHO recommendation, people are supposed to be within a five kilometer radius to the nearest health facility, but currently 75 percent of the people in the country walk more than eight kilometers to their nearest health facility.

She added that WHO is committed to work hand in hand with government in all its initiatives to attain effective universal health coverage across the country.

Chairperson for Universal Health Coverage (UHC), George Jobe commended government for the initiatives it has started undertaking such as recruitment of additional healthcare workers, procurement of some medical equipment such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner and several other efforts.

However, Jobe called on government to deal away with some challenges being faced in the health sector such as stock outs of some essential medicines and supplies.

“It is pathetic that the country is on daily basis experiencing increase in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) such as cancer, diabetes and hypertension. Sudden deaths are reported almost daily. There is therefore a need to educate the people on these NCDs,” he said

Universal Health Coverage event is commemorated on 12 December every year and this year, it was commemorated under the theme: ‘Health for all: Time for Action.’

By Chilungamo Missi

Blantyre, December 13, Mana: An Economist in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Alexander Mpando says the country's new National Population Policy is set to address population growth challenges as it is advocating for sustainable population growth.

He made the remarks on Tuesday during a meeting with Blantyre District Council and other stakeholders aimed at disseminating the new Population Policy which was nationally launched in July 2023.

Mpando said that the overall goal of the policy is to have a manageable population with access to adequate, high-quality, social services and economic opportunities that can meaningfully contribute to national development.

He said it is worrisome that the population was growing at an alarming rate which is putting pressure on resources such as land for farming hence a need for concerted efforts to raise awareness in communities on the negative impacts of over population.

"To achieve this, there are six priority areas that the Population Policy contains, the areas are; managing population growth, inclusion of vulnerable and marginalized groups, climate change adaptation and resilience, Information management, financing, capacity strengthening, linkages, and coordination," he said.

The economist said Population Policy is key to development as it focuses on harnessing the demographic dividend, and youth needs saying this takes a critical step towards achieving Malawi's 2063, adding that this require taking a whole of society and cross-sectoral approach to addressing population growth.

Finance and Administration Assistant for United Nations Population Fund, Mathews Gondwe urged local authorities to consider population growth as a crosscutting issue when undertaking development activities adding that communities should be fully sensitised about it to ensure they take the necessary actions to address it.

In his remarks, Blantyre District, Principal Planning Officer, Innocent Simakweli said the council will ensure to sensitise communities on the new Population Policy adding that the policy will be crucial in informing development activities.

This is the third National Population Policy as the first one was developed in 1990 and revised in 2012. The new policy was launched in July 2023 and has a five-year implementation plan.

By Martha Simchimba

Lilongwe, December 13: Mana. United Nations International Children Funds (UNICEF) has been commended for improving hygiene, sanitation and nutrition in primary school under Malembo Zone in Lilongwe which has assisted in reducing airborne diseases among learners.

Lilongwe District Director of Education, Youth and Sports Sofia Mtiko made the remarks Tuesday at Kataya primary school in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Chiwawula during an open day of Living School Project.

Mtiko said the project has assisted many schools in Malembo Zone by among other things providing hand washing amenities and introducing back yard gardens where schools have planted different fruit trees which will in due course assist them in improving the nutrition of the learners.

"Good environment helps learners to concentrate on their studies since they are not disturbed with any unclean surrounding. As learners are practicing hygiene and sanitation at school, I am optimistic that they will also practice that at home," she said.

Mtiko then urged school management to maintain the standard that UNICEF through the project has brought in schools by among other things taking care of the back yard gardens and hand washing facilities.

Lilongwe District Director of Planning and Development, Willard Chirwa said apart from addressing nutrition issues among the learners, the project will also address climate change effects in schools by providing protective cover to the schools’ infrastructure during rainy season.

Chirwa said in recent years many schools have been experiencing disasters such as hailstorms that blew-off roofs of many classroom blocks simply because they do not have natural protective cover.

One of the learners at Kataya primary school Shira Malembo whose school got a trophy because of keeping the school surrounding tidy said they will keep on working tirelessly by sweeping the surroundings and maintain the standards that the project has imparted in them.

Among other things, Living School project is empowering community, stakeholders and learners to conserve the environment.

The project was implemented in Malembo Zone at Chilima, Kawalika, Kataya, Malembo and Mpondamwala schools with financial support from UNICEF to the tune of $300 (Approximately K500,000)

By Vincent Khonje

Mchinji, December 12, Mana: The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has welcomed the successful installation of a state-of-the-art smart gates truck parking system at the Mchinji One Stop Border Post (OSBP) facility.

The installation has been made possible through collaborative efforts with the European Union (EU) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

The smart gates truck parking system aims to address one of the major challenges faced by border posts – congestion resulting from prolonged stays of trucks in parking yards.

Agnes Katsonga Phiri, MRA’s Executive Director of Corporate Services, highlighted the adverse impact of truck overstays on trade facilitation.

She said: "Transporters sometimes overstay at the border, limiting spaces for officers to execute their work properly. With the smart gates, we can control the period trucks can stay, ensuring that only those that have not been cleared remain at the parking yard."

MRA officials anticipate that the implementation of the system will enhance border efficiency and minimise illicit activities associated with overstays, including theft, smuggling, and damage to goods.

The equipment was procured with support from the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), through the COMESA, as part of the Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) which covers various member states in the region.

COMESA TFP supports the upgrading of various targeted border posts in the region, and in Malawi the target is Mchinji OSBP.

Other items handed over include equipment for mini laboratories and rapid testing kits for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) to the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Mshuka Kamwela, Programme Manager for EDF, said COMESA signed a sub-delegation agreement with the Government of Malawi in January 2020, worth over €3 million.

The agreement is aimed at upgrading the Mchinji border post, which includes the procurement of equipment to enhance effectiveness as well as transforming traditional border crossings into an efficient and modern OSBP where multiple agencies collaborate to facilitate travellers crossing the border.

“By leveraging advanced technologies and coordinated processes, this equipment will contribute to the optimisation of cross-border operations,” Kamwela said.

Christina Zakeyo, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, expressed gratitude to the COMESA Secretariat for its continuous support in ensuring timely procurement and funding disbursement.

She also thanked EDF for its financial backing.

"All these developments and structures would not have been possible if it were not for the EDF's assistance. Malawi does not take this for granted, and the government is highly grateful for the support,” said Zakeyo.

Bartek Studiniarski, EU's Team Leader (Economy, Trade, and Public Sector), emphasised the EU's commitment to trade facilitation and economic growth.

"The equipment we are officially handing over to the Government of Malawi entails the smooth flow of goods across borders, minimising delays and administrative burdens, fostering economic growth and job creation in the country,” he said.

The smart gates truck parking system at the Mchinji border post will enable real-time monitoring and automated check-in and check-out processes for trucks, leading to a substantial improvement in traffic flow and operational efficiencies.

Additionally, laboratory testing equipment for SPS will facilitate rigorous testing, ensuring compliance with international standards and preventing the introduction of harmful substances.

The smart gates parking system and the laboratory equipment are valued at a combined total value of €519,457.

By Steve Chirombo

Dedza, December 12, Mana: Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working towards nutrition interventions under Dedza District Council have been commended for their support for the year ending, saying their usual coordination with government departments has been a landmark in ensuring nutrition levels in the district are enhanced.

The council’s Nutrition HIV/AIDS Officer Juliet Jinazali made the remarks on the sidelines for the year end presentation for the District Nutrition Coordinating Committee (DNCC) meeting on care group evaluation study by GIZ, which Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources conducted from five sampled districts of Salima, Dowa, Zomba, Ntchisi and Karonga.

Jinazali said apart from government, which also supports nutrition interventions, at times there could be more Traditional Authorities that require such interventions and that funding may not be adequate.

“As DNCC, we work with partners to financially support where there are gaps in order to cover up all the nutrition indicators in the district.

“Let me also emphasise that the year 2023 has been good in terms of implementing nutrition activities in the district because as DNCC, we have been having DNCC review meetings throughout the months and sometimes we have had these meetings right in communities,” she said.

Reacting to the revelations from the study by GIZ, the district’s Nutrition HIV/AIDS Officer said the study reflected issues in Dedza surrounding the care group model structures while adding that other cluster leaders or volunteers were dropping out or worked reluctantly because they were not being motivated in one way or another.

She was quick to say that the district’s DNCC is working towards ensuring that people are motivated through inviting them to review meetings and that her office is talking to partners to work towards provision of incentives to the community volunteers, such as t-shirts, wrappers and many other materials.

“The study will also be shared to other players in nutrition sector in the district so that they can as well adopt some of the recommendations like implementation plan and proper phasing out strategies which will help us as DNCC not to disturb the care group model structures,” she stated.

However, Jinazali further said partners had challenges on livestock pass-on programmes where most of the animals were not sustained, making them to suspect unkind weather conditions or poor management.

By Joel Phiri

Mzimba, December 12, Mana: At least 30 fish farmers in Mzimba District have heaved a sigh of relief following M’mbelwa District Council’s start of rehabilitation works of their fishponds.

The rehabilitation of the fish ponds in Mzimba south is being funded to the tune of K40 million grant from Catholic Relief Services (CRS), as part of Afikepo’s Performance Based Incentive (PBI) Programme which is aimed at promoting nutrition among communities.

One of the farmers, Rose Ndawandawa from Champhinga area in Traditional Authority (T/A) M’mbelwa, said the rehabilitation of her fish ponds will make her harvest a lot of fish and hence fetch a lot of money from her fish business.

‘‘As an individual, I have been rehabilitating my pond but with this project I expect to benefit more as it will be maintained to the expected standards using technical skills from the fisheries department,’’ she said.

Another farmer, Dan Mhone from Chikangawa in T/A Kampingo Sibande, also said he has embraced the project and that he hopes to raise more fish and supply to the markets around the area.

‘‘I may have been a farmer but I have never raised over 3,000 fingerlings but because of this initiative I am expected to raise over 3,000 fingerlings on this fish pond. I hope to make a lot of profits from the sales,’’ Mhone said.

Mzimba District was awarded the grant for emerging second best in scaling up nutrition interventions.

According to M’mbelwa District Council’s nutrition officer Gift Simkonda, by using part of the K40 miilion funding, the council has started rehabilitating the 30 fish ponds at Manyamula, Kazomba, Champhira, Chikangawa, Vibangalala and Khosolo, all in Mzimba South.

‘‘The rehabilitation of these 30 fish ponds will ensure their functionality and this will translate in a lot of fish being raised and produced by the farmers which we hope will over-supply the markets in these areas and there won’t be scarcity of fish for people to buy,’’ said Simkonda.

According to Mzimba District Fisheries Officer Andrew Saukani, the fishponds rehabilitation works involve expansion of finds ponds, improving draining systems, strengthening pond structures and infrastructures, as well as provision of fingerlings.