MANAonline
Government urges the youth to prioritize innovation
By Sellah Chunda
Lilongwe, April 17, Mana: Minister of Youth and Sports, Uchizi Mkandaire has urged youth to prioritize innovation through the use of technology if they are to help in transforming the country.
Speaking during the launch of the Smart Africa Youth Chapter of Malawi which was held on Tuesday at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe, he said that as a country, they need to ensure that it was on par with other African countries in terms of innovations.
“We are living in a global village where a lot is happening across the globe, and top on the agenda is digitalization, there are many challenges we face as a country, such as access to electricity and the internet.
"We must ensure that as a country, we progress in digitalization to be on par with other countries, it is crucial to work on these issues so that every Malawian has access to the internet and can transact digitally,” Mkandawire said.
He added as the Ministry they have made it a policy to involve young people in science, technology and innovation.
"In our youth programmes, we prioritize these pillars to ensure that all participants have access to technology and can be innovative," the Minister said.
Smart Africa Director General, Lacina Kone hailed the country for launching Smart Africa Youth Chapter of Malawi.
“Our aim is to transform Africa into a digitally united continent. In doing so, we will significantly contribute to training youths in various technologies and enhancing their capabilities in the digital world, this youth chapter in Malawi will benefit anyone, regardless of their level of education,” he explained.
One of the youth, Wezzie Salima expressed appreciation for Smart Africa support saying it would help youth in the country to acquire knowledge in ICT and utilize it effectively in addressing digital gaps among youth across the country.
We Effect for sustainable farming practices
By Robert Katuli
Dedza, April 16, Mana: Secretary General for We Effect, a Swedish international development organisation, has said the organisation envisions a strong, independent smallholder farmers’ community in Malawi capable of feeding the whole nation.
Anna Tibblin said this on Monday in Dedza where she and other We Effect delegates toured various interventions the organisation is funding through Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (MUSCCO).
Tibblin said despite the various poverty challenges people in the country are facing, it is encouraging to note that the people are still well organized and are working very hard to improve their situation.
“We want to support such local organisations so that they are strong enough to manage their business without external support. In the long term, we want to leave the stage as We Effect.
“Our aim is not to hang around as the Swedish development organisation, but to support the local organisations so that they can do it themselves with the support of their own members,” said she.
MUSCCO Chief Executive Officer Fumbani Nyangulu said MUSCCO has put in place interventions that are helping smallholder farmers, mostly women, to take part in economic development activities that will improve their livelihoods.
“Our main focus is to empower these people through VSLAs (Village Savings and Loans Associations) where they save and borrow money. At the same time, we also link them to formal financial institutions,” Nyangulu said.
In addition to the VSLAs initiative, MUSCCO is also championing environmental conservation projects that focus on climate change issues, as well as encouraging smallholder farmers to use organic manures in their fields, among other interventions.
Towera Lukiasi, one of the smallholder farmers from Senior Chief Kaphuka’s Chimasula Village, said that through these interventions, the community members are now producing, on their own, organic Mbeya Fertilizer.
“This fertilizer is cost-effective. Previously, the kind of fertilizer we were buying from shops wasn't adequate, as we didn't have enough money to buy that fertilizer enough for our fields.
“With Mbeya Fertilizer, however, we are now able to cultivate large area of land and produce great yields, something we couldn't have done with the inorganic fertilizers we were using before,” Lukiasi explained.
Chairperson for Chimasula Village Development Committee, Stephano McDonald, concurred with Lukiasi, saying the interventions MUSCCO is implementing in the area are benefitting a lot.
“MUSCCO has empowered women here to have land for farming and have access to clean water; farmers now get expert advice on climate change and managing finances; and local libraries have been created for local people to get information on farming, nutrition and other topics,” McDonald lauded the We Effect funded interventions.
Training programme to enhance palliative care services
By Golden Kang'oma
Salima, April 16, Mana: A Local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) ‘Ndi Moyo’ Palliative Care, has initiated a five-week training programme for health workers in a bid to bridge the gap in palliative care services,
The course, which has brought together 22 participants, aims to empower health workers with essential skills and knowledge in palliative care.
Speaking during the launch ceremony, Founder of Ndi Moyo Palliative Care, Lucy Kishindo Finch emphasized the significance of the training.
She said that, "We are training these health workers to be reliable providers of palliative care."
Finch highlighted that 40 percent of the population lack access to such care, citing a critical need for trained professionals.
She expressed concern over underutilization of trained initiators, and lamented that authorities often assign them tasks unrelated to their training, a move that widen the gap in care provision.
"Most health facilities lack palliative care providers, so such training initiatives will help most health centres to at least have a palliative care provider," the Founder said.
Finch urged support from stakeholders to sustain their operations as financial hiccups are affecting the organization’s daily operations.
Director of Human Resource and Administration at Salima District Council, Grace Kantande hailed the importance of the training, citing overwhelming cases requiring palliative care.
She emphasized the need to train more health workers to provide hope to patients and alleviate suffering.
Kantande assured that the District Council would provide comprehensive support to the initiators to address challenges in making palliative care accessible to all residents.
"We have had challenges in resources, mostly in human resource, so this training will give us a platform to curb some of the challenges," she said.
Director of Health and Social Services at Salima District Council, Dr. Eugine Katenga Kaunda emphasized the significance of the training in aiding patients with chronic illnesses and pledged full support to the trained health workers to ensure effective care delivery.
Palliative care is provided to the terminally ill and their families, especially that provided by an organized health service.
The initiative reflects a collaborative effort to enhance palliative care services, promising relief to patients in need.
127 household affected by floods in Nkhata Bay
By Margret Praise Kalua
Nkhata Bay, April 16, Mana: 127 households in the area of Senior Chief Malanda and Traditional Authority (TA) Fukamalaza in Nkhata Bay have been affected by floods following heavy rains that fell in the district from the 11th to 12 April, 2024.
Disaster Risk Management Officer for Nkhata Bay, Rachel Kamanga confirmed the development on Monday during District Executive Committee (DEC) meeting in the district, saying some houses have completely collapsed.
Kamanga said according to the assessment they have conducted, 118 households from Group Village Headman (GVH) Msundu, Ngombo and Chenyentha in Senior Chief Malanda as well as nine households from GHV Thulu and Chigulugulu in TA Fukamalaza have been affected but officials are still working on the ground to establish the exact extent of damage.
"A number of houses have been affected in Senior Chief Malanda and TA Fukamalaza especially in GVH Ngombo where we have reports that some families have been displaced and are sheltering at a school at the moment.
"We still don't have the exact number of displaced persons but we are still trying to get in touch with the community members, leaders and disaster management structures on the ground to know the exact figures," she said.
Kamanga has since appealed for assistance from well-wishers and non-governmental organisations across the country to support with basic needs such as materials for reconstructing houses and food to the affected families.
According to Meteorological Officer for Nkhata Bay, Amos Chimbwiri, there is a possibility that the district will continue receiving heavy rains in the next four days as per the weekly weather report by the department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services.
Chimbwiri has advised people in Nkhata Bay to avoid crossing flooded rivers and to consider relocating from flood prone areas to prevent more damage to life and property.
Two Chinese nationals arrested for assault
By Leah Malimbasa
Chikwawa, April 16, Mana: Police in Chikwawa have arrested two Chinese nationals, Allen Cheng, 37 and Peng Yongqia, 35 for allegedly assaulting their employee on suspicion of stealing fuel.
According to Deputy Public Relations Officer for the district, Constable Chancy Mfune, the victim has been identified as Silaj Maluwa, 37 who is a resident of Sadulo Village under Traditional Authority (TA) Katunga in Chikwawa and works as a machine operator at Sinohydro Construction Company.
“On April 14, 2024, Maluwa was at a canal construction site, part of the Shire Valley Transformation project, where he was accused of fuel theft from the machine he operated, leading to the alleged assault,” he said.
Maluwa was discovered unconscious by colleagues along the earth road connecting to the camp where he works.
“He was subsequently taken to Chikwawa District Hospital for treatment and is currently hospitalized with a left arm fracture, as reported by health practitioners,” Mfune stated, adding that Chikwawa Police’s Criminal Investigation Department conducted preliminary investigations, resulting in the arrest of the two suspects.
“The suspects remain in Police custody and will face charges of Acts Intended to Cause Grievous Harm in court soon,” he said.
Aerobics as an agent of unity to citizens
By Lekereni Chinkhota
Salima, April 16, Mana:
Salima District Council has reaffirmed its commitment to continue organizing aerobics as a preventive measure of non-communicable diseases, as part of spearheading healthy living and ensuring that residents are active and productive,
Speaking on Monday on behalf of Salima District Commissioner, Light Burton, on the sidelines of the aerobics session, underscored the importance of being active through exercising and expressed that as one way of contributing to the drive Salima District Council would be facilitating and mobilizing citizens to take part in the sessions.
He said that, “We are happy because the citizens are willing to participate in these activities. We can see that various stakeholders of the district came to participate with us today which shows how committed they are.”
Burton said with the rise in numbers of non-communicable diseases it was important to stay active, hence a continuation of these aerobics would contribute towards the wellbeing of citizens.
He added that since the inception of the aerobics the numbers of people participating continue rising which was encouraging and revealed that they are anticipating to be conducting the activity every fortnight in order to gain maximum benefits from the exercises.
A businessman and a participant in the aerobics, Ronald Tiyesepo, said the aerobics are a good idea because there is no cost attached to the activity taking into consideration that gym fee was expensive therefore to have such an activity at no cost is highly commendable.
He said the skyrocketing cases of non-communicable diseases was a cause for concern therefore being active would assist in preventing the diseases.
“Through these activities, we are able to socialize and get acquainted with one another, this will also assist to have a productive community, the spirit being instilled in us is that we have to be active and exercising frequently," Tiyesepo said.
He said during the sessions there is also sharing of ideas among various stakeholders which would contribute to the development of the district.
“Development needs health people and our businesses can thrive if we are fit. Let us use this opportunity to share our talents and business ideas,” Tiyesepo said.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) for Salima Police, Rebecca Ndiwate, one of the organizers expressed enthusiasm with the turn up of the people who attended the sessions.
She said that, "It is encouraging to see people from different backgrounds patronizing these sessions, it will further be encouraging if we continue seeing a huge crowd coming to participate in these events, because the goal is to have as many people as possible during these sessions."
Ndiwate revealed that they have further planned to be conducting town marches, clean up exercises, volleyball, football and netball matches.
The event was graced by Member of Parliament for Salima Central Constituency, Gerald Kapiseni Phiri and District Commissioner, James Mwenda among other dignitaries.
Participants were trained by officers from Parachute Battalion.
DoDMA distributes relief items in Chikwawa
By Willy Kadewere
Chikwawa, April 16, Mana: In a bid to reduce the effects of recent floods that have heavily affected people of Ngabu in Chikwawa, government through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) has distributed food and relief items to households affected by floods in the district.
The floods follow heavy downpour on Thursday last week, which claimed the lives of three people, washed away houses, crops, livestock, and also damaged other materials at Ngabu Health Facility.
In her remarks after the distribution, member of parliament for the affected area who is also Minister of Water and Sanitation, Abida Mia, commended the quick intervention by DoDMA which distributed a 50 kilogrammes bag of maize, beans, plastic sheets, and family tents.
"We thank the government of Dr. Lazarus Chakwera for the quick support. Barely two days after the disaster hit our area, government through DoDMA has supplied us with food relief items and shelter materials. Affected families whose houses have been completely washed away will have an opportunity to receive family tents and plastic sheets," Said Mia.
Mia appealed to other well-wishers and partners to support the devastated families as they lack a lot and have nothing to depend on since even their farms have been completely damaged.
Member of Parliament for Chikwawa South, Illyas Abdul Karim whose area has also been affected by the floods, expressed gratitude for the timely support from the government, but appealed for more aid considering that not only houses were affected.
He appealed to stakeholders for a coordinated assistance to the affected families and reminded leaders in the camps to desist from corrupt practices.
According to Chikwawa District Commissioner, Nardin Kamba, the floods have affected over 1600 households and government through DoDMA has distributed over 1600 bags of maize, 45 bags of beans, 30 family tents, and 20 rolls of plastic.
Kamba encouraged those that can manage to move away from camps to do so and asked the affected families to send their children to school since education is the only key that can transform people’s lives.
Currently the district has elected six camps where the affected people are sheltering, namely Ngabu sports club, Nkhwangwa, Mwanamakoko, Mphamba, Mchenga, and Msomo.
Mwansambo communities in Nkhotakota hope for improved health service
By Wongani Mkandawire
Nkhotakota, April 15, Mana: Communities around the Mwansambo area say there is an expectation that the provision of maternal and antenatal health services will improve at the Mwansambo health clinic in Nkhotakota district with the completion of a new maternity wing at the Clinic.
In an interview with MANA, Mwafeyi Chimbatata of Chipafu village in the area of Senior Chief Mwansambo said in the past, pregnant women were facing challenges during delivery time as they occupied small rooms and some of them were referred to Nkhotakota district hospital, more than 70 kilometers away from the clinic.
Chimbatata said the completion of the maternity wing brings hope for improved medical attention at the clinic and will reduce complications that were earlier being faced.
“Now we are hopeful that the completion of this wing will help the communities who need maternal services be treated and supervised accordingly, as the room is adequate enough for all the necessary services,” added Chimbatata.
One of the expectant mothers at the clinic Mafunasi Lazalo, attributed the unavailability of good services to lack of good and modern health facilities and the bad state of the road making referrals difficult.
“The room which is used as a maternity wing is close to the Out-patient Department (OPD) which compromises women’s privacy when giving birth as other people outside the room hear or see what the women go through during labour, I have to commend officials for ensuring that the new modern wing be located far from OPD,” said Lazalo.
Meanwhile, Nkhotakota district council director of Finance Khumbo Masankhula said they are waiting for 2024/2025 funding for the procurement of equipment at the facility and other project as the budgeted amount was destabilized by Kwacha’s devaluation.
“We have submitted a report to the ministry of local government on the encounters that have contributed to the failure to purchase equipment as the amount which was allocated did not meet the requirements as a result of the 44 percent kwacha devaluation however, we are sure that by the end of April, the funding will be disbursed and the facility will become operational early May,” said Masankhula.
Nkhotakota District Council constructed a Mk112, 170, 755.22 maternity wing at Mwansambo Health Centre from performance-based grants received under the World Bank Project-Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) project, which the Ministry of Local Government disbursed to 25 well-performing local councils.
Drug and substance abuse among the youths
By Memory Khutuliwa
Blantyre, April 15, Mana; Blantyre District Youth Officer, Peter Mizedya has said limited access to youth friendly services and limited capacity among health workers to handle youth related issues push youths into drug and substance abuse.
In an interview with Malawi News Agency, Mizedya said the youth clubs are important tools to deal with immoral behaviors among youth though some youth clubs fail to satisfy needs of the youths.
He also observed that lack of employability skills, lack of school bursaries and no access to loans among school leavers are some of contributing factors.
The District Youth Officer therefore advocated for provision of effective youth friendly health services to allow the youth to have skills to resist peer pressure on issues of drug and substance abuse.
“We are providing trainings to peer educators to help address challenges young people are facing. We advocate for provision of sexual reproductive health and youth friendly health services to the youth in the remotest areas of Blantyre,” he said.
Midzedya added that youth clubs are led by peer educator that are tasked to provide youths with life skills that provide adequate knowledge on how they should resist unprotected sex and drug and substance abuse
“The youth are also given firsthand information on how they can prevent unprotected sex and other risk behaviors. Peer educators also provide referrals to other relevant stakeholders if there is a need,” the district youth officer added.
Blantyre rural has 307 registered youth clubs while Blantyre urban has 87 registered clubs that engage youths in various youth programmes ranging from technical vocational skills to sexual reproductive health rights
One of the community leaders at Mbayani Township in Blantyre, Mike Gama said many young people engage in sexual activities, drug and substance abuse among others at early age due to idleness, peer pressure and lack of parental care.
“Youths in my area are engaged in immoral behavior as some of them drop out of school at primary level. We encourage youths to join clubs and apart from this, we also try to create other groups in our community to keep them occupied,” he said.
The local leader added that community leaders work hand in hand with Kabula and Chapima police units to help in addressing issues of drugs and substance abuse after recording five deaths of young people due to drug abuse,” Gama added.
He therefore called on government to provide the youth with technical and vocational skills and loans to allow the youths to engage in small scale businesses.
Take NRB outreach registration exercise seriously-DC
By Andrew Mkonda
Lilongwe, April 15, Mana: Lilongwe District Commissioner Dr. Lawford Palani has called on people in Lilongwe to go in large numbers to register in order for them to have National Identity Cards in readiness for the forth coming tripartite elections.
Palani made the call on Monday in an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana) as National Registration Bureau (NRB) is starting mass outreach registration exercise of IDs in the district from the 15th of April to 29th April, 2024.
“This is a rare opportunity that government has given us. As you may be aware, national IDs these days are very important. They are used anywhere such as in the banks, and it enables one to make different transactions using the ID, so it’s an important document,” he said.
Palani therefore called on traditional and church leaders, Members of Parliament and councilors to take a leading role in informing the people in their areas about this important exercise.
NRB Principal Registration Officer for Lilongwe district Strachan Chisenga said the exercise will target those who have attained the age of 16 and above and even those whose ID cards were lost or stolen will be assisted.
However, Chisenga warned people to stop cheating on age and names saying once such information has been documented it’s for life.
“If you cheat us like you are old when you are young, you should know that such information will have an impact on you in the near future. Even the name should be the correct one, because the name you register on the ID, will be there for life,” he said.
In a separate interview, Monalisa Mbewe from Traditional Authority Chadza in Lilongwe, thanked government for the initiative saying many people more especially those who attained the age of 16 do not have national IDs.
“We are happy to have this opportunity. Some of us registered for an ID two years ago but until today we have not received our national ID. I hope with this exercise we will have our ID’s as soon as possible,” she said.
NRB outreach registration exercise in Lilongwe will run in two phases: in Lilongwe rural and Lilongwe City. Lilongwe rural alone will have 133 centres, and the people are expected to have their IDs within 30 days.
