Malawi Red Cross: Involving traditional leaders in changing behaviours is essential

Malawi is one of the countries in southern Africa which has been severely affected by the AIDS pandemic. It was also directly hit by the regional food security crisis in 2005. Andrew E. Kagwale, President of the Malawi Red Cross Society, attended the General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva. Earlier this week, Jean-Luc Martinage asked him about the main priorities of the Malawi Red Cross.

Question: Malawi is among the countries most affected by HIV in southern Africa. What are you doing in terms of prevention and care?

Malawi Red Cross is one of the National Societies which decided to join the Global Alliance on HIV in southern Africa as we think there is a need to scale up both our programmes and capacities to better tackle the problem. We believe all components of society in Malawi should get involved in the fight against AIDS. Especially in rural areas, traditional chiefs have a major influence on behaviours and that is why we decided to associate them with most of our HIV programmes. Together with our volunteers, they are the ones who can make a difference in convincing people within their communities to stick to basic prevention measures like using condoms. They are also at the forefront in the fight against stigma and discrimination toward people living with HIV. Some chiefs go as far as giving some land to orphans who have lost everything so that they can grow their own food and keep living in the villages.

Question: Many children in Malawi became orphaned due to AIDS. What type of programmes did you set up to take care of them?

We have a network of community-based child care centres throughout the country. They are set up within the villages and they welcome orphans, children living with HIV but also other children within the community. We believe it is crucial not to exclude anyone to avoid stigma and discrimination. Our volunteers organize activities with the children, give them some basic teaching, make sure they have enough food and clothes and send them to hospital when needed.

Question: What types of problems do these orphans face?

It is difficult for them especially when they have lost both parents. Sometimes their grandparents have already died and they find themselves alone and they have to leave school early to take care of their brothers and sisters. Young girls are particularly vulnerable as they often receive proposals for sex services in exchange for food or money. So there is a need for more action. We would like to do more to spread our network of care centres and train more volunteers as we think that, whenever it is possible, orphans should be kept with their communities. However, our financial resources are very limited so we still cannot reach all areas in the country.

Question: What are your other main priorities?

The training of volunteers which is essential to scale up our activities around HIV but also on first aid, disaster preparedness and disaster response. Malawi was one of the countries affected by the food security crisis in 2005. Even though the situation has improved, we need to keep a close eye on it and be ready to respond if needed. We also would like to increase our fund-raising capacities locally and involve our volunteers also in decision-making when it comes to develop new projects since they live within the communities and are very much aware of local needs.