By Andrew Phiri

Thyolo, April 26, Mana: Deputy Director for Civic Education in the Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Lawrence Useni, has assured communities in Thyolo District that government is committed to provide dialogic platforms where community members including youths should discuss with relevant authorities’ various factors that contribute to Malawi’s rapid population growth.

He made the remarks on Thursday at Bvumbwe Trading Centre, Traditional Authority (TA) Bvumbwe in the district where Directorate of Civic Education in collaboration with Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) were recording Malawi Wanga program dubbed Pabwalo, a television and radio play which is aimed at promoting citizen engagement for proactive participation on issues of national development.

He observed that lack of job opportunities among youths and limited access to medical services in some hospitals across the country are among major factors that contribute to alarming population growth as shown by National Statistics Office 2018’s population figures which puts the country`s total population at 18 million.

"One of the issues that came out of the discussion is early marriage. Many youths do not have stable income generating activities.

He said that currently, government is rolling out various initiatives under the Ministry of Youth such as loans through National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) and vocational skills through TEVETA among others so that the youths should have something to do. He advised the youths to utilize the programmes.

Useni called on parents, guardians and other relevant authorities and sectors to provide proper guidance on the youth on the right time to get married.

"We are also calling upon parents to take an active role in advising the youths on the right time for marriages and we believe this will help the government and Civil Society Organizations to work effectively on various programs," he said.

Chairperson for Bvumbwe Area Development Committee, Maulidi Kawere, said MBC and Directorate of Civic Education’s Pa Bwalo was a timely initiative, adding that the initiative has the potential to provide opportunity to youths to speak out their concerns on matters of national interest.

One of the youths in the district, Dickson Makaya, concurred with Maulidi saying there was need for the Ministry of Local Government and MBC to sustain the initiative for public and policy makers interest if the youths were to effectively contribute to Malawi 2063 Agenda.

"Government should strive to reach out to people in the rural areas where many are facing socio- economic challenges such as hunger and poverty. I believe that most challenges that are hindering this country to develop are in rural areas," he said.

Centre for Social Concern, Economic Governance Officer, Agness Nyirongo applauded government for rolling out the initiative.

She called on government and its partners to take extra efforts in investing in health and education sectors, saying the two are key to national development.

By Sellah Chunda and Gift Chiponde

Lilongwe, April 26, Mana: Minister of health, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda has described the launch of Malawi Health Sector Strategic Plan 3 and the Health Financing Strategy as a propeller to enhance and promote the quality of Health Service Delivery in the country.

She made the remarks on Friday at Sunbird Capital Hotel in Lilongwe during a press briefing on the launch of Malawi Health Sector Strategic Plan 3.

She said among other things, the Strategic plans will help increase life expectancy, reduce high mortality rate and maternal mortality rates reduce HIV prevalence and enhance health infrastructure development and services.

The minister emphasized that the plan will help improve health services at community level and provide health workers with necessary and readily available equipment. Additionally, the Plan will turn Health Centres into Community Hospitals to provide integrated health services and care and the Digitization of the health systems.

She also revealed that districts like Lilongwe and Blantyre will also benefit from the plan, allowing them to have District Hospitals which they have lacked for a long time.

"The declaration states that every national budget must contribute 15 percent of the national budget to promote the well-being and livelihoods, which as a country we have managed to be at 12 per cent which is a good gesture in health promotion," she said.

She said the government is committed to providing all services in Malawi with the partnership of the private sector for specialized diseases for robust health service delivery.

The minister also said that her ministry is committed to to providing health services to all Malawian nationals and foreigners on Malawian soil.

Executive Director for Malawi Equity Health Network (MEHN), George Jobe, Commended the government for the current allocation to the Ministry of Health which he said is close to the Abuja declaration and the aspirations of Universal Health Coverage.

By Lekereni Chinkhota

Salima, April 25, MANA: Ministry of Lands has called upon stakeholders to be producing, using, storing and sharing high quality geospatial data that is standardized and accurately depicts information of features and activities taking place in the country, saying that such information is pertinent.

Geospatial data include information about weather readings, maps, real estate listings, contacts lists, traffic and accident data, and other points of interest data.

Speaking on Thursday during the sensitization and establishment of Malawi Geographic Information Council (MAGIC) in Salima, Surveyor General in the Ministry of Lands, Masida Mbano said MAGIC will enable the establishment of a one stop Centre for data access and sharing.

“In Malawi there are many stakeholders that are dealing with spatial data, data which is surveyed about location, disasters and all data in institutions. This data has no standard, it is collected in various formats and is not compatible with each other," Mbano said.

He said the council will make sure that there is proper standard, usage and presentation of the data that can be compatible and be mapped properly to be recognized worldwide.

Mbano added that with the absence of MAGIC, duplication of data was common which was costing the country a lot of money because different stakeholders would produce same pictures but on different surveys.

“If data is already collected by an organization and another organization needs the same data it will be shared to show that such organizations are doing the same thing. There is a lot of data in various offices that is not shared but it can be useful to other organizations, MAGIC will set rules on how such kind of data can be shared for the benefit of the country,” he said.

In her words, Chresceuntia Msasa a Lecturer in Geographic Information Systems at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) underscored the importance of having the council, observing that it will boost the quality of data that various stakeholders produce.

She said: “The council will enable access to geospatial data, where to look for information, the quality of data on position accuracy and features or how the data was generated. People were using inaccurate information that was affecting the final product such as maps.”

Msasa further said it is important for various stakeholders to work hand in hand with the council for better results of the spatial data.

“The council will be working with spatial data producers and custodians for them to understand the intellectual property of the data, and the limitations of the usage of its usage," she said.

Meanwhile, Msasa has urged the council to set proper spatial data standards that each stakeholder will take into consideration to avoid compromising the end result that follows the usage of inaccurate data.

MAGIC was revamped in 2016 and has been given power to set standards that will be followed by stakeholders responsible for spatial data production to have high standard data that is accurate and trusted.

By Steve Chirombo

Mana, April 25, Mana: Officer In-charge for Dedza Police Station, Mwiza Mose Nyoni, has called on various stakeholders in the district to render their helping hand towards their ‘No to Suicide’ campaign her office is set to launch in the district.

Speaking at the end of the District Executive Committee (DEC) on Thursday, Nyoni said her office has so far recorded ten suicide cases from January to April this year unlike in 2023 when they recorded four cases in the same period.

“Suicide cases have become rampant in our district and more especially here at the boma. We therefore need to join hands in order to avoid further occurrences on the same.

As police, we are set to launch a campaign called ‘No to Suicide’ which is aimed at disseminating preventive messages on suicide cases. We will go across the district and for this to be achieved we need your support,” she said.

According to the Officer in Charge, her office requires fuel that will enable officers to travel to designated areas for the message dissemination exercise.

She further said that of the figures, men were taking lead in committing suicide adding some common factors include; marriage disputes and debts among others while emphasizing that her office has started confiscating drugs commonly known as ‘Chim’bulu’ which most people take in order to end their lives.

“Please let’s learn to open up when we have issues affecting our lives. Let’s speak out whenever we are hurt. There are no issues we can’t sort out hence no need in rushing to take our own lives,” she emphasized.

Commenting on the same, Edward Chisanga, District Social Welfare Officer for Dedza, said there are no specific people to commit suicide and that anyone can fall in that trap.

He called for everyone to seek timely assistance and also practice issues that reduce depression for a healthy psychological well-being.

Dedza Civil Society Organizations Chairperson, Heston Nalikole, has since called for a formal communication in a form of a letter that will then be sent to individual organizations in the district for further discussions with their head offices.

He however called for stringent measures to curb presence of Chim’bulu and other harmful drugs on the market.

“To us every soul is precious and the development is a concern. However, there should be enforcement measures on the sale of these drugs. Those selling should be registered and there should be designated places to sale these drugs.

We can do the campaign, provide support but if these drugs are not regulated it is like we are fighting a losing battle,” stated Nalikole.

By Blessings Preston Memena

Mzuzu, April 26, Mana: Executive Director for Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN), George Jobe has urged stakeholders to collaborate with the government in sensitization and awareness raising campaign on the dangers of the malaria.  

Speaking in an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA) on Thursday as Malawi joined the rest of the World in commemorating World Malaria Day, Jobe noted that malaria is one of the leading causes of death in the country, but it is most underrated by most Malawians. 

According to Jobe malaria drugs are mostly available in Malawi's public health facilities and the government has been distributing mosquito nets, which some people abuse by covering their vegetable gardens and for fishing.

“The malaria drugs are mostly available in Malawi's public health facilities, but most people report late for treatment when they or their children have malaria symptoms thereby resulting in a high mortality rate”, Jobe said. 

However, Jobe stressed the need for health partners to join hands with the government in sensitization and awareness-raising campaigns on the dangers of Malaria disease which is one of the killer diseases. 

“The increased awareness-raising will help appreciate that malaria is one of the big killers and that there is a need to get treatment early when one has a high fever,” he added. 

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Adrian Chikumbe could not respond when we called him to comment on the matter.

However, The Nation newspaper on Friday quoted Minister of Health, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda saying that in 2023, Malawi recorded 6.4 million malaria cases with a total of 1670 deaths an increase from 4.2 million in 2022.

She added that deaths decreased from 1 829 in 2022 to 1 670 in 2023 representing 25 percent of the county’s deaths.

Malawi’s National Malaria Strategic Plan 2023-2030 aims to eliminate malaria as a public health concern by the year 2030.

The world commemorates Malaria Day on 25 April every year, and this year the day was commemorated under the theme ‘Accelerate the fight against malaria for a more equitable world.’

By Patience Longwe

Lilongwe April 26, Mana: Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) Director of Civil and Political Rights, Peter Chisi has assured small scale business operators that it would ensure that there was fair business competition between Malawians and other foreigners.

He said this would ensure equal rights in terms of business operations.

Chisi made the remarks Thursday at MHRC offices in Lilongwe during the meeting with Small-Scale Business Operators Association and Concerned Citizens on allegations that some refugees have returned from Dzaleka and are operating their businesses in some areas of the country which was hindering Malawians business as they are selling their goods at lower prices as compared to Malawians.

" Following the meeting we had, we have agreed that the concerned citizens should wait for the meeting between various stakeholders including the Minister of Homeland Security so that he can give government position regarding the concerns they have raised against refugees who have returned to urban areas," he said.

District Commissioner (DC) for Lilongwe, Lawford Palani expressed his gratitude to the MHRC for organizing the meeting saying this has helped the Council to know its roles and responsibilities in dealing with issues concerning foreigners in the country.

"I can confirm that I got notification from concerned citizen and small business operative within Lilongwe and they give me notifications that they are coming to demonstrate and they give me fourteen days to make sure that all the refugees are shifted to Dzaleka," he said.

Chairperson for the Concerned Citizen, Chidziwitso Simbi said as citizens they are very concerned because as a country, it was not developing in terms of business because their business are being carried away by refugees.