By Rose Cross Mahorya

Mzuzu, March 26, Mana: WaterAid Malawi has appealed to stakeholders in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector to scale up efforts in prevention of Cholera which is one of the WASH challenges in the country.

Speaking in Mzuzu on Tuesday during presentation of findings on a study on prioritisation of funding in Cholera prevention, WaterAid Malawi Head of Policy and Communication, Chandiwira Chisi, noted that almost 50 percent of health challenges faced in the country are linked to WASH activities.

H said 50 percent of disease the country is struggling with are connected to the country’s failure to addres WASH situations.

“If we can identify permanent solutions to dealing with Cholera, most challenges faced by the health sector will be resolved.

“I do not believe that there are no resources because when we are hit with outbreaks, there is swift response. I think the challenge is that we are not giving priority to prevention hence failing to win this battle,” noted Chisi.

While assuring that as an institution, WaterAid Malawi will respond to recommendations from the findings through its Cholera prevention tailored programs, Chisi appealed to all stakeholders to work hand in hand to ensure prevention measures are scaled up.

WaterAid Malawi met with representatives from councils in the northern region so that they hear the outcome of the research and brainstorm on how best they can ensure that prevention of Cholera is given the importance it deserves.

Making his presentation, Joseph Thombozi of Institute for Policy Research and Social Empowerment, a consultant firm tasked to conduct the research, said aside poor funding in Cholera prevention initiatives, lack of stakeholder coordination and misplaced priorities in Cholera fight has made it hard to win the fight.

“There is shortage of staff who can enforce WASH activities on the ground like water monitoring officers.

“Political interference in allocation of WASH resources has also been a huge problem,” said Thombozi.

Thombozi appealed to government and stakeholders in WASH need to take advantage of the existence of some organisations implementing the activities in their districts and existing policies encouraging Cholera prevention.

Chiradzulu, March 23, Mana: Chiradzulu District Council has called on people to plant trees as part of increasing vegetative cover that in turn would mitigate impact of natural disasters.

Council Chairperson, Patrick Chintengo made the call over the weekend as the council launched 2024/2025 tree planting season at Chingoma Primary School, Traditional Authority Mpunga under the theme: Restore forests and land to secure food production.

He stated that many people in the district destroyed forests and were struggling with effects of extreme weather conditions, such as unpredictable rainfall and destructive cyclones.

“Recently, we were hit by Tropical Cyclone Freddy which took away lives and damaged crops and property. Each year, many farming households fail to harvest enough crops to sustain themselves because of environmental degradation due to careless cutting down of trees.

“This is why we are urging communities to plant and care for trees to restore our forests, enjoy clean air and protect the environment,” Chintengo added.

He therefore thanked NBS Bank for providing the 210 seedlings which were planted at the school and for bailing out communities during the Tropical Cyclone Freddy devastation, saying the bank proven to be a trusted allay during time of need.

On his part, NBS Cluster Manager for Southern and Eastern Regions, Gracious Changaya, said the bank  decided to support the tree planting exercise as part of its cooperate social responsibility.

“Our partnership with the council dates back to many years. We were here with support during the time of Cyclone Freddy and now when the council needed us to help with the tree planting exercise, we did not hesitate.

“This is because we believe that for us to do better as a bank, it is because of the people and the partners we work with," said Changaya, and pledged to inject another K1 million into the tree planting exercise.

Traditional Authority Mpunga commended the council and NBS for organising the exercise in her area, and assured the council and the bank that she will work with fellow local leaders to ensure that the trees seedlings are cared for.

Chiradzulu District Council, Director of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dennis Zingeni indicated that the council plans to plant 60,000 trees in the 2024/2025 forestry season.

He however lamented that only 40 percent of planted trees planted in district survive

By Gift Chiponde

Lilongwe, March 22, Mana: Minister of Local Government, Richard Chimwendo Banda, has assured the people of Chiwamba that President Lazarus Chakwera remains committed to transforming their area through various development projects.

Speaking at a developmental rally held at Balang'ombe Ground in LIlongwe North East, Chimwendo highlighted the numerous initiatives that the government has already implemented such as schools, road construction among others, emphasising that more progress is on the way.

He announced that people in Chiwamba would be able to buy maize from the Agriculture Development Market Cooperation (ADMARC) depot in the area, ensuring food security and reducing reliance on vendors.

 He also urged residents to allow those in genuine need to access maize and not to entertain unscrupulous traders.

Furthermore, Chimwendo commended President Chakwera for his unwavering dedication to protecting people with albinism, saying that his administration is committed to ensuring their safety and well-being.

In his remarks, Member of Parliament for Lilongwe North East, Winstone Kaimapanjira, expressed gratitude for the government’s continuous efforts in spearheading various development projects in the district.

He lauded President Chakwera’s resilience and leadership, which he said has brought positive changes to Chiwamba.

Kaimapanjira also hailed government for facilitating the Affordable Input Programme, which has significantly benefited local farmers.

Speaking Earlier, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Regional Chairman, Zebron Chilondola, urged people to rally behind President Chakwera and his administration, assuring them that more transformations are coming not just to Chiwamba but to the entire nation.

Before proceeding to the rally, Chimwendo inspected the site designated for police officers' housing at Chata Headquarters. His visit aimed to appreciate the government's progress in constructing these houses.

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By Yamikani Sabola

Mzuzu, March 23, Mana: Youth Officer responsible for Mzuzu City and Mzimba North, Misheck Msokwa has applauded Pakaya Initiative for empowering youthful women with digital skills.

Msokwa was speaking on Saturday during graduation ceremony for 13 youthful women who had undergone training in digital skills at Pakaya Initiative.

He said it is necessary to capacitate youths with digital skills so that they become relevant in the fast paced digital era.

“It is the goal of government to see youths realise some financial benefits from the internet world where at the end, our youths will be digital marketers among many other employment opportunities that are being realised from the internet world,” Msokwa said.

Director for Pakaya Initiative, Frank Banda said they are targeting women because they are a group of people that usually lag behind in terms of digital skills.

He said more women are expected to benefit from the digital skills training program with no entry qualification required.

“The goal is to bring technology to women regardless of their socio-economic status. We want to ensure that more women are empowered with digital skills which they can also use to grow their businesses,” he said.

One of the graduating students, Martha Chisi through the training she had acquired computer skills in programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point.

By Steve Chirombo

Dedza, March 22, Mana: Members of the Gender Technical Working Group (GTWG) under Dedza District Council on Friday commemorated International Women’s Day (IWD) with patients in antenatal, female and children’s wards at Dedza district hospital with a call to think outside the box when commemorating the day.

Dedza District Council, Gender and Development Officer (GDO), Lisnet Kathyole, said their visit to the facility followed a series of previous convergence in commemorating the day in which women from various backgrounds participated.

“This left behind women such as these who can’t take part due to their vulnerability. Hence, our decision this time around to come here so we can celebrate together the day,” said Kathyole.

The council’s GDO further said their visit to the facility, gave them another direction to consider when commemorating the day describing it as a learning point.

“Moving forward we will plan our activities in a way that there are people out there who need our interventions but they can’t due to their conditions.

“As we talk of IWD, let us also talk of women which is another area that we can plan for our future interventions,” she emphasized.

One of the women in the antenatal ward, Loveness Fideli, from Chilindaukwe village in Traditional Authority Kasumbu, expressed gratitude to the GTWG members for the assistance saying it will cover some gaps.

“We are eating once a day here and most of us do not have food of our own. This is a bailout to us,” she said.

On her part, Veronica Kamwendo, Senior Nursing Officer who is also Dedza district hospital Matron thanked the members for the donation saying it will help improve the lives of patients at the facility.

Kamwendo said some patients are unable to afford some basic necessities and that the donated ones would help them cover the gaps.

“Patients here lack a lot of things and it is our plea to other well-wishers to come forward and help us,” she stated.

Over 110 patients in all three wards were reached with each one of them getting a pack containing items like sugar, salt, flour, soya pieces and soap which were purchased to the tune of around K1.2 million.

The event in Dedza was made possible with support from the Gender Office, the Gender Justice Unit (GJU), the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) and Self Help Africa (SHA).

 The global day celebrates women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements.

It also recognises achievements and calls for action to accelerate progress towards gender parity.

By Robert Nayeja

Nsanje, March 22, Mana: Oxfam Country Director, Lingalireni Mihowa has called on authorities in Nsanje to move out from humanitarian assistance approach to implementing long term measures that should build resilience for people in Nsanje.

Mihowa made the appeal in the week at Mbwazi ADMARC in Senior Chief Mlolo’s area where Oxfam disbursed cash to 1,800 households that were affected by drought.

She said all stakeholders should to come together for resilience building mechanism to bail out people from climate shocks.

“Nsanje is the most vulnerable district and affected by either floods or drought including cyclones. Humanitarian response is costly,

“What we need to do, is to come together with long term solutions so that people can be resilient in various climate shocks, Time has come to invest in irrigation farming and support climate resilience programmes,

“There are multiple dimensions of the district challenges and people in Nsanje need to be supported. We have come here to donate cash to those affected by drought and each household will go away with K140,000 to buy food," she said and urged the recipients to use the cash for intended purposes.

District Commissioner for Nsanje, Dominic Mwandira said over 53,000 households are in need of relief food in the district.

He therefore hailed Oxfam for the support, adding this was complementing government effort in responding to effects of climate change.

Mwandira warned chiefs not to take away the cash from recipients, saying whoever will be found doing so will face the law.

The District Commissioner said government and development partners supports over 7,000 people in Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP) and over 21,000 in Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CS-EPWP) in Nsanje.

He said the social protection programmes aim at building resilience to various shocks people encounter in their day to day lives.

One of the beneficiaries Maria Kamota from Group Village head Chataika, Traditional Authority Mlolo said the cash from Oxfam will help her to buy food for her family.

“I lost my husband last year and he left me whilst pregnant. I have two other children. It has really been tough for me to feed the children. I thank Oxfam for bailing me out of difficulties,” she added.

Oxfam disbursed the cash following financial support from Scottish Government’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund (HEF)

By Zenak Matekenya

Dedza, March 22, Mana:  Women’s Legal Resources Centre (Worlec) and Oxfarm Friday trained 40 National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) volunteers from all 20 wards in the district on the prevention and mitigation of violence against women youth and people with disabilities (PWDs) in elections.

Dedza District Nice Programs Officer, Vincent Kalawa who facilitated the training said women and other disadvantaged groups continue to face discrimination towards the attainment of political leadership positions.

“Malawi 2063 talks about leaving no one behind. But to a certain extent, these disadvantaged groups are not given a chance to take part in many development activities.

“We are therefore promoting awareness to encourage them to contribute towards development by contesting either as a councillor or parliamentarian, if not, we are encouraging them to exercise their right to vote,” he said.

He urged the participants to make deliberate efforts to reach the PWDs with the messages because some platforms, such as infrastructure are not conducive for them.

“There is a lot that different stakeholders can do to make sure that the status of these people is uplifted. We urge different stakeholders to come up with different strategies to support marginalized groups of people to take up leadership positions,” he added.

A participant at the training Esther Mchekeni from Dedza Boma Constituency’s Umbwi Ward said the training was vital to help the volunteers develop strategic awareness messages for the marginalized groups.

She however lamented a threat to the civic engagement process saying some people have a negative mindset, declaring that they will not vote due to dissatisfaction with politicians’ performance. 

“We will not relent because voting is a fundamental right and crucial aspect of democratic participation,” she said.

Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace for Dedza Diocese projects officer, Horace Kasudze said demeaning remarks against women, youth and PWDs contesting in political positions is one of the violence that needs to be addressed

By Vincent Khonje

Mchinji, March 22, Mana: Mchinji District Council on Friday conducted a clean-up exercise at Boma New Market as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure public spaces remain clean and safe for business and daily activities.

The initiative was spearheaded by District Commissioner Lucia Chidalengwa, who said maintaining cleanliness in all public spaces is very important if the people are to operate and stay in safe places.

“The main aim of having a clean-up exercise is to make sure that all the places where we do our business or reside are kept clean. Public spaces such as markets must always be maintained in a hygienic state to prevent diseases and promote a safe trading environment,” said Chidalengwa.

The Boma New Market was specifically targeted for the clean-up as it was established to accommodate traders who previously conducted their businesses on the streets.

According to Chidalengwa, the decision to have the market was an effort to prevent accidents and enforce regulations that prohibit roadside vending.

Mchinji District Environmental Health Officer Robson Kayila said cleanliness, especially during the cholera season is paramount and urged market users and the general public to prioritise hygiene to prevent the outbreak of diseases.

“This exercise is crucial, particularly now as we are in the cholera season. Mchinji is yet to record a cholera case, and we must continue observing proper hygiene practices to maintain this status,” said Kayila.

He further called on residents and business owners to embrace the clean-up initiative as a collective responsibility to ensure that public spaces remain conducive for all.

The council has pledged to continue conducting similar exercises while advocating for community participation in sanitation efforts.

Authorities believe that by fostering a culture of cleanliness, Mchinji can significantly reduce health risks and create a more orderly business environment.

In 2020 President Lazarus Chakwera declared that every second Friday of the month should be cleanup day.