JACK McConnell has a new job as British High Commissioner to Malawi.
The ex-First Minister won't take up the post until 2011, as he plans to stay MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw until the next election. The job will make him Britain's official envoy in the poverty stricken African country.
He will move into a plush colonial-style bungalow in a fenced-off diplomatic enclave of the capital, Lilongwe, with 40 staff, including Foreign Office officials and local servants and gardeners.
McConnell - who as First Minister restored historic links between Scotland and Malawi - said the chance was "very special" and "a real opportunity to enhance the relationship between Scotland and Malawi".
He added: "It is time for the rest of my life to begin."
Thursday, 16 August 2007
Innovative Fish Farming Project for HIV-Affected Families Doubles Incomes and Boosts Household Nutrition
Scientists at The WorldFish Center reported today that an innovative project to encourage fish farming among families affected by HIV/AIDS in Malawi has doubled the income for 1,200 households and greatly increased fish and vegetable consumption among rural communities.
The findings were released in a review of a multi-year initiative by the Malaysia-based WorldFish Center, one of 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and World Vision, an international humanitarian aid organization, to promote aquaculture among “vulnerable populations” in Malawi. The two organizations have worked extensively throughout Malawi, a country of 12.1 million people that has been devastated by the AIDS pandemic, encouraging farming families headed by women and orphans to adopt a practice known as integrated agriculture-aquaculture.
The project assists farmers by digging small, rain-fed ponds of about 20 meters by 10 meters on their land. The farmers use the ponds to raise commonly cultivated fish species such as tilapia. Farm and kitchen waste serves as food for fish and labor requirements are not intensive—children and the elderly can assist—making the ponds easy to manage for households affected by the AIDS pandemic.
“These small fish ponds offer tremendous benefits to struggling farming families in rural Africa whose many challenges have been greatly compounded by AIDS,” said Stephen Hall, Director General of WorldFish. “In addition to the income they gain from selling fish, the fish themselves provide a vital source of food that is critical to survival for people with HIV/AIDS. The ponds also can provide water for crops during dry periods and sediment that makes for an excellent fertilizer.”
Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. Today, almost one-fifth of Malawians aged 15-49 are infected with HIV/AIDS and each year tens of thousands of Malawians die as a result of the disease. The pandemic has increased poverty and hunger among the people of Malawi, most of whom are subsistence farmers cultivating less than one hectare of land.
Families participating in the fish farming project have shown a 150 percent increase in fresh fish consumption, boosting their intake of protein, calcium, vitamin A and micronutrients. Research by the World Health Organization has shown that good nourishment can prolong the life of HIV/AIDS patients by up to 8 years. According to the World Food Programme, fresh fish offers important nutritional benefits to persons with disease who need up to 50 percent more protein and 15 percent more calories than healthy people.
A 2006 nutrition survey by World Vision found that for households adopting the integrated agriculture-aquaculture approach to farming, in three years malnutrition among children under five dropped from 45 percent to about 15 percent.
“The purpose of the project is to develop technologies and practices in fish production that are specifically suited for orphan and widow-headed households,” said Dr. Daniel Jamu, the Regional Director for WorldFish in Eastern and Southern Africa. “As a result, we’ve seen that fish farming, while not a cure-all for their problems, can dramatically improve conditions among Malawi’s rural families dealing with HIV/AIDS.”
The success of aquaculture in Malawi has prompted WorldFish and its partners to aggressively expand the initiative to include 26,000 farming households in Malawi and neighboring Mozambique and Zambia, with the goal of providing benefits to 134,000 people.
So far about 30 percent of the farmers in the program are women. Experts working with WorldFish and World Vision teach them how to raise, process and market their fish, generating much-needed income for their families. Like many areas of Africa where the AIDS pandemic has raged unchecked, women in Malawi are the primary providers and caregivers for their families.
Fish caught from natural lakes and streams have traditionally been an important part of the diet in landlocked Malawi. But an increase in population and a decline in catches reduced annual per capita fish consumption from 14 kilograms in the 1970s to 4.2 kilograms in 2005. However, previous efforts to increase fish consumption through aquaculture have failed, in part because they required large financial investments from farmers who simply did not have the money.
The approach is succeeding because it cheaply and efficiently integrates aquaculture into existing farm operations. Investment is minimal because farmers are encouraged to use farm waste and crop byproducts to feed their fish. And by providing additional water and fertilizer (in the form of pond sediment), fish farming can boost production of crops across the farm, including cash crops that are intended for local and regional markets.
The ponds have proven capable of producing 1,500 kilograms of fish per hectare each year, which often leaves some excess food available to be sold to pay for medical care and household needs.
In addition, some farmers have started growing valuable crops like bananas and guava on the perimeter of their ponds, taking advantage of the water that seeps into the surrounding soil to keep their plants thriving. Also, the sediment dredged from the bottom of the ponds is an effective fertilizer that can boost crop production with just a single application. During times of drought, an increasing reality in much of Malawi and something that is expected to worsen due to climate change, ponds make the entire farming system more resilient. WorldFish research has shown that farms that integrated ponds into their traditional agriculture farming were nearly 20 percent more productive during times of drought than farms without ponds.
The findings were released in a review of a multi-year initiative by the Malaysia-based WorldFish Center, one of 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and World Vision, an international humanitarian aid organization, to promote aquaculture among “vulnerable populations” in Malawi. The two organizations have worked extensively throughout Malawi, a country of 12.1 million people that has been devastated by the AIDS pandemic, encouraging farming families headed by women and orphans to adopt a practice known as integrated agriculture-aquaculture.
The project assists farmers by digging small, rain-fed ponds of about 20 meters by 10 meters on their land. The farmers use the ponds to raise commonly cultivated fish species such as tilapia. Farm and kitchen waste serves as food for fish and labor requirements are not intensive—children and the elderly can assist—making the ponds easy to manage for households affected by the AIDS pandemic.
“These small fish ponds offer tremendous benefits to struggling farming families in rural Africa whose many challenges have been greatly compounded by AIDS,” said Stephen Hall, Director General of WorldFish. “In addition to the income they gain from selling fish, the fish themselves provide a vital source of food that is critical to survival for people with HIV/AIDS. The ponds also can provide water for crops during dry periods and sediment that makes for an excellent fertilizer.”
Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. Today, almost one-fifth of Malawians aged 15-49 are infected with HIV/AIDS and each year tens of thousands of Malawians die as a result of the disease. The pandemic has increased poverty and hunger among the people of Malawi, most of whom are subsistence farmers cultivating less than one hectare of land.
Families participating in the fish farming project have shown a 150 percent increase in fresh fish consumption, boosting their intake of protein, calcium, vitamin A and micronutrients. Research by the World Health Organization has shown that good nourishment can prolong the life of HIV/AIDS patients by up to 8 years. According to the World Food Programme, fresh fish offers important nutritional benefits to persons with disease who need up to 50 percent more protein and 15 percent more calories than healthy people.
A 2006 nutrition survey by World Vision found that for households adopting the integrated agriculture-aquaculture approach to farming, in three years malnutrition among children under five dropped from 45 percent to about 15 percent.
“The purpose of the project is to develop technologies and practices in fish production that are specifically suited for orphan and widow-headed households,” said Dr. Daniel Jamu, the Regional Director for WorldFish in Eastern and Southern Africa. “As a result, we’ve seen that fish farming, while not a cure-all for their problems, can dramatically improve conditions among Malawi’s rural families dealing with HIV/AIDS.”
The success of aquaculture in Malawi has prompted WorldFish and its partners to aggressively expand the initiative to include 26,000 farming households in Malawi and neighboring Mozambique and Zambia, with the goal of providing benefits to 134,000 people.
So far about 30 percent of the farmers in the program are women. Experts working with WorldFish and World Vision teach them how to raise, process and market their fish, generating much-needed income for their families. Like many areas of Africa where the AIDS pandemic has raged unchecked, women in Malawi are the primary providers and caregivers for their families.
Fish caught from natural lakes and streams have traditionally been an important part of the diet in landlocked Malawi. But an increase in population and a decline in catches reduced annual per capita fish consumption from 14 kilograms in the 1970s to 4.2 kilograms in 2005. However, previous efforts to increase fish consumption through aquaculture have failed, in part because they required large financial investments from farmers who simply did not have the money.
The approach is succeeding because it cheaply and efficiently integrates aquaculture into existing farm operations. Investment is minimal because farmers are encouraged to use farm waste and crop byproducts to feed their fish. And by providing additional water and fertilizer (in the form of pond sediment), fish farming can boost production of crops across the farm, including cash crops that are intended for local and regional markets.
The ponds have proven capable of producing 1,500 kilograms of fish per hectare each year, which often leaves some excess food available to be sold to pay for medical care and household needs.
In addition, some farmers have started growing valuable crops like bananas and guava on the perimeter of their ponds, taking advantage of the water that seeps into the surrounding soil to keep their plants thriving. Also, the sediment dredged from the bottom of the ponds is an effective fertilizer that can boost crop production with just a single application. During times of drought, an increasing reality in much of Malawi and something that is expected to worsen due to climate change, ponds make the entire farming system more resilient. WorldFish research has shown that farms that integrated ponds into their traditional agriculture farming were nearly 20 percent more productive during times of drought than farms without ponds.
Global Challenges | Abbott Fund To Provide $12M to Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi To Increase Treatment, Care Services for Children Living With HIV/AIDS
The Abbott Fund plans to provide $12 million to Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania to improve treatment and care services for children living with HIV/AIDS and to reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission in the three countries, Kenya's East African reports.
According to the East African, the funds allocated to Tanzania will be disbursed to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation for use in its program to prevent mother-to-child transmissions. Kenya's funds will be used by the Catholic Medical Mission Board to expand HIV testing, counseling and treatment and to prevent mother-to-child transmissions. In Malawi, Family Health International will receive the grant, the East African reports.
The programs in the three countries are expected to provide nearly 40,000 pregnant women with HIV tests and more than 5,000 HIV-positive children with treatment, the East African reports (Kimani, East African, 8/14).
Globally, 2.3 million children younger than age 15 were living with HIV in 2005, and 10% of the 780,000 children in need of antiretroviral drugs had access to them during the same time period, according to a report conducted by UNAIDS, UNICEF and the World Health Organization. About one-third of HIV-positive infants who do not have access to treatment die from AIDS-related complications in their first year, and half of them die from AIDS-related complications by age two, the report found (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 1/17). An estimated 300,000 people in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have access to antiretrovirals, less than 20,000 of whom are children. According to James Nyikal, director of medical services in Kenya, 10,000 out of the approximately 50,000 children who need treatment access in the country receive the drugs.
The Abbott Fund has provided more than five million no-cost HIV tests and has distributed more than $100 million to support treatment worldwide. The fund is donating rapid HIV tests to prevent mother-to-child transmissions in 69 countries, including all of Africa, the East African reports (East African, 8/14).
According to the East African, the funds allocated to Tanzania will be disbursed to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation for use in its program to prevent mother-to-child transmissions. Kenya's funds will be used by the Catholic Medical Mission Board to expand HIV testing, counseling and treatment and to prevent mother-to-child transmissions. In Malawi, Family Health International will receive the grant, the East African reports.
The programs in the three countries are expected to provide nearly 40,000 pregnant women with HIV tests and more than 5,000 HIV-positive children with treatment, the East African reports (Kimani, East African, 8/14).
Globally, 2.3 million children younger than age 15 were living with HIV in 2005, and 10% of the 780,000 children in need of antiretroviral drugs had access to them during the same time period, according to a report conducted by UNAIDS, UNICEF and the World Health Organization. About one-third of HIV-positive infants who do not have access to treatment die from AIDS-related complications in their first year, and half of them die from AIDS-related complications by age two, the report found (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 1/17). An estimated 300,000 people in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have access to antiretrovirals, less than 20,000 of whom are children. According to James Nyikal, director of medical services in Kenya, 10,000 out of the approximately 50,000 children who need treatment access in the country receive the drugs.
The Abbott Fund has provided more than five million no-cost HIV tests and has distributed more than $100 million to support treatment worldwide. The fund is donating rapid HIV tests to prevent mother-to-child transmissions in 69 countries, including all of Africa, the East African reports (East African, 8/14).
Globe Uranium - Drilling update, Malawi
Highlights
• 38 RC drillholes now completed at Kanyika, totalling 4,052m
• Results from hole numbers 10 to 38 awaited, due shortly
• Initial 5,000m RC drilling at Kanyika on track to be completed this month
• Diamond drilling to commence at Kanyika this month
• RC rig to move to the Livingstonia project at end of August to drill 5,000m on three prospects, then returning to Kanyika for a further 5,000m
Globe Uranium is pleased to provide an update on its drilling activities in Malawi.
Kanyika
On 26 June 2007, the Company reported results from the first nine holes of its RC drilling program at Kanyika, Malawi. These results demonstrated the down-dip continuation of surface mineralization exposed in trenching, and confirm the discovery of a multi-commodity uranium-niobium-tantalumzircon prospect.
The Company is extremely excited by the Kanyika prospect, and has committed to a total of 10,000m of RC drilling this calendar year in order to delineate a JORC compliant resource by December 2007. In addition, agreement has been reached with the Geological Survey Department of Malawi to use their diamond drill to conduct an additional 1,000m of core drilling (to commence this month) in order to verify geological and mineralisation models developed from trenching and RC drilling information.
To date, a total of 38 RC holes have been drilled at Kanyika. The Company is, however, experiencing some delays in obtaining analytical results from its contracted laboratory in Vancouver, Canada. Results for the next 29 holes will be reported as soon as they are available. Delays of this nature are being experienced by many exploration companies, mainly due to the excessively large numbers of samples being submitted to laboratories in the current climate.
Livingstonia
At the end of August, the RC rig will move north to the Company's Livingstonia Uranium Project, where three sandstone-hosted, roll-front style targets will be tested with 5,000m of RC drilling.
Radiometric surveying and surface sampling has demonstrated the presence of significant uranium at surface at the Chombe, Chiweta and Bunga prospects, despite the effects of tropical weathering.
At the completion of this program, the RC rig will return to Kanyika for a further 5,000m of drilling, to complete the 10,000m of RC drilling planned at Kanyika for the calendar year.
For further information please contact:
Mark Sumich, Managing Director, Globe Uranium: +61 8 9486 1779
• 38 RC drillholes now completed at Kanyika, totalling 4,052m
• Results from hole numbers 10 to 38 awaited, due shortly
• Initial 5,000m RC drilling at Kanyika on track to be completed this month
• Diamond drilling to commence at Kanyika this month
• RC rig to move to the Livingstonia project at end of August to drill 5,000m on three prospects, then returning to Kanyika for a further 5,000m
Globe Uranium is pleased to provide an update on its drilling activities in Malawi.
Kanyika
On 26 June 2007, the Company reported results from the first nine holes of its RC drilling program at Kanyika, Malawi. These results demonstrated the down-dip continuation of surface mineralization exposed in trenching, and confirm the discovery of a multi-commodity uranium-niobium-tantalumzircon prospect.
The Company is extremely excited by the Kanyika prospect, and has committed to a total of 10,000m of RC drilling this calendar year in order to delineate a JORC compliant resource by December 2007. In addition, agreement has been reached with the Geological Survey Department of Malawi to use their diamond drill to conduct an additional 1,000m of core drilling (to commence this month) in order to verify geological and mineralisation models developed from trenching and RC drilling information.
To date, a total of 38 RC holes have been drilled at Kanyika. The Company is, however, experiencing some delays in obtaining analytical results from its contracted laboratory in Vancouver, Canada. Results for the next 29 holes will be reported as soon as they are available. Delays of this nature are being experienced by many exploration companies, mainly due to the excessively large numbers of samples being submitted to laboratories in the current climate.
Livingstonia
At the end of August, the RC rig will move north to the Company's Livingstonia Uranium Project, where three sandstone-hosted, roll-front style targets will be tested with 5,000m of RC drilling.
Radiometric surveying and surface sampling has demonstrated the presence of significant uranium at surface at the Chombe, Chiweta and Bunga prospects, despite the effects of tropical weathering.
At the completion of this program, the RC rig will return to Kanyika for a further 5,000m of drilling, to complete the 10,000m of RC drilling planned at Kanyika for the calendar year.
For further information please contact:
Mark Sumich, Managing Director, Globe Uranium: +61 8 9486 1779
Effective Agricultural Investment Key to a Prosperous Africa
A member of Malawi’s Parliament says in the past, a lack of leadership has hindered progress in economic development: “If you do not have a leader who is well focused and [will] provide the type of leadership which can move the country from poverty to prosperity, then you cannot achieve.” Parliamentarian George Chaponda is also a minister of local government and rural development. He was one of the speakers at the Summit on Trade and Investment, sponsored by the World Agricultural Forum. The mission of the 10-year-old non-profit group is “to be a catalyst in developing action plans that meet the growing need for food, fiber, fuel and water.”
In this 1st of a 5 part series on agriculture in Africa, VOA English to Africa reporter Cole Mallard spoke with Chaponda about the role agricultural investment plays in creating prosperity in emerging African economies. Speaking from Blantyre, he said the top investment priorities are to develop food security, water and irrigation, energy, transport and infrastructure, and rural integration, and to manage HIV/AIDS.
Chaponda also says corruption is a problem: “You’ll find in many cases the question of leadership is affected where there is a corrupt regime.” He adds that corruption is tied to the issue of bad governance.
GOOD LEADERSHIP
The Malawi parliamentarian says the issue of African leadership looks promising for the future, particularly where agricultural development is concerned: “We have now a new set of leaders who are emerging and these leaders are committed to remove poverty, and they are also fighting against corruption.” He says these leaders are the ones who are going to make a difference.
Another concern Chaponda mentions as a barrier to development is civil strife: “You find that many times, as much as you have brilliant development goals, once there is civil strife or conflict in the country, again that is an attribute to a lack of progress.” He says that the new emerging leadership is making every effort to settle issues amicably.
THE RIGHT PATH
The government official says the positive effect of new leadership applies to Malawi as well as other African countries. He mentions that Malawi’s president has worked for the World Bank, the IMF, and an African economic commission and says now that he’s in charge, “he’s put us on the right path.” As an example he mentions that last year Malawi had a bumper crop of maize; the surplus is being exported to neighboring countries. And this year, he says, is revealing similar success.
But Chaponda says despite the new direction of economic progress,one ironic twist is that when one fights corruption in order to make progress, one also makes enemies, and they try to stifle what’s being accomplished. But on a hopeful note, he says, “With God’s help we’ll succeed.”
In this 1st of a 5 part series on agriculture in Africa, VOA English to Africa reporter Cole Mallard spoke with Chaponda about the role agricultural investment plays in creating prosperity in emerging African economies. Speaking from Blantyre, he said the top investment priorities are to develop food security, water and irrigation, energy, transport and infrastructure, and rural integration, and to manage HIV/AIDS.
Chaponda also says corruption is a problem: “You’ll find in many cases the question of leadership is affected where there is a corrupt regime.” He adds that corruption is tied to the issue of bad governance.
GOOD LEADERSHIP
The Malawi parliamentarian says the issue of African leadership looks promising for the future, particularly where agricultural development is concerned: “We have now a new set of leaders who are emerging and these leaders are committed to remove poverty, and they are also fighting against corruption.” He says these leaders are the ones who are going to make a difference.
Another concern Chaponda mentions as a barrier to development is civil strife: “You find that many times, as much as you have brilliant development goals, once there is civil strife or conflict in the country, again that is an attribute to a lack of progress.” He says that the new emerging leadership is making every effort to settle issues amicably.
THE RIGHT PATH
The government official says the positive effect of new leadership applies to Malawi as well as other African countries. He mentions that Malawi’s president has worked for the World Bank, the IMF, and an African economic commission and says now that he’s in charge, “he’s put us on the right path.” As an example he mentions that last year Malawi had a bumper crop of maize; the surplus is being exported to neighboring countries. And this year, he says, is revealing similar success.
But Chaponda says despite the new direction of economic progress,one ironic twist is that when one fights corruption in order to make progress, one also makes enemies, and they try to stifle what’s being accomplished. But on a hopeful note, he says, “With God’s help we’ll succeed.”
Paladin awards major contracts for Malawi uranium mine construction
Paladin Resources Limited (TSX, ASX:PDN), announced today that it has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction-management (EPCM) contract to Johannesburg based mining and minerals engineering firm - Engineering and Projects Company (E&PC) - as the Project Engineers.
Paladin has also awarded the mining and earthworks contracts to a Portuguese based international earthmoving and construction consortium, Mota Engil Engineering Company, well known in Malawi for undertaking large construction projects. The company has been in the country for fifteen years and boasts of 55 years experience of construction in Africa.
Mota Engil has been involved with the Kayelekera project for some time now. It has been establishing the 11kilometer branch road to the project site and preparing all lay down areas for the anticipated equipment arrival.
In addition, Mota Engil has started preparing the site for the 800-person construction camp, currently being transported from Namibia's Langer Heinrich where Paladin has also uranium mining operations.
Paladin says it anticipates that the construction company will be ready to commence the civil earthworks for the project by the end of August. The company further says major mining equipment orders are also in place and that delivery is expected in late 2007, in readiness for mining pre-strip operations to commence.
One item of equipment expected for delivery late this year is the on-site 10MW power generation facility for electricity supply. The Kayelekera project seemed gridlocked with reports that the country's sole electricity supplier - Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) would not be constructing major power distribution infrastructure to the mining site due to financial constraints.
However Paladin assured its shareholders that it would still roll out the Kayelekera project in the fourth quarter of 2008 as planned because it would not rely on grid power, rather on on-site diesel power generation.
The company adds in its announcement today that following the award of these major contracts plus the finalization of Project Labour Agreement with the Malawian workforce Community Forums, the tempo for the project development is increasing rapidly.
"Worker recruitment programs have been initiated and there are already 200 employees active on site," reads part of the release. "This number is expected to peak at around 1, 000 during the construction period."
But despite these developments as chronicled by the company, the Kayelekera project remains a controversial one in the country. Civil Society organizations have taken Paladin to court for not doing enough to address the issue of radioactivity and how it would protect people around the mine from the same.
However the company has a massive support from the Malawi government which is keen to see the company roll out the project.
Paladin has also awarded the mining and earthworks contracts to a Portuguese based international earthmoving and construction consortium, Mota Engil Engineering Company, well known in Malawi for undertaking large construction projects. The company has been in the country for fifteen years and boasts of 55 years experience of construction in Africa.
Mota Engil has been involved with the Kayelekera project for some time now. It has been establishing the 11kilometer branch road to the project site and preparing all lay down areas for the anticipated equipment arrival.
In addition, Mota Engil has started preparing the site for the 800-person construction camp, currently being transported from Namibia's Langer Heinrich where Paladin has also uranium mining operations.
Paladin says it anticipates that the construction company will be ready to commence the civil earthworks for the project by the end of August. The company further says major mining equipment orders are also in place and that delivery is expected in late 2007, in readiness for mining pre-strip operations to commence.
One item of equipment expected for delivery late this year is the on-site 10MW power generation facility for electricity supply. The Kayelekera project seemed gridlocked with reports that the country's sole electricity supplier - Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) would not be constructing major power distribution infrastructure to the mining site due to financial constraints.
However Paladin assured its shareholders that it would still roll out the Kayelekera project in the fourth quarter of 2008 as planned because it would not rely on grid power, rather on on-site diesel power generation.
The company adds in its announcement today that following the award of these major contracts plus the finalization of Project Labour Agreement with the Malawian workforce Community Forums, the tempo for the project development is increasing rapidly.
"Worker recruitment programs have been initiated and there are already 200 employees active on site," reads part of the release. "This number is expected to peak at around 1, 000 during the construction period."
But despite these developments as chronicled by the company, the Kayelekera project remains a controversial one in the country. Civil Society organizations have taken Paladin to court for not doing enough to address the issue of radioactivity and how it would protect people around the mine from the same.
However the company has a massive support from the Malawi government which is keen to see the company roll out the project.
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