The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has more than doubled its soft-loan window funding for Malawi, the Bank Group's President, Donald Kaberuka, said in Lilongwe, Malawi, on Wednesday.
"Under our new soft loan lending cycle (2008-10), Malawi will receive a significant allocation -- more than doubling its level of previous resources to just under US$ 200 million," Mr. Kaberuka said at the official opening of the AfDB Malawi Country Office.
He said the decision was based on Malawi's good economic performance.
Mr. Kaberuka said that due to reforms, Malawi had registered unprecedented economic growth and strong macroeconomic performance.
"These reform efforts are leading to major developments in the delivery of social services, economic growth and results which visibly impact the lives of the people," he said.
Mr. Kaberuka cited Malawi's fertilizer subsidy programme as an example of positive reform that had helped address the cash constraints facing poor smallholder farmers, decreased food security and contributed to economic growth. He urged Malawi's development partners to support the programme.
He also called on the Malawian parliament to endorse the AfDB's budget support facility for Malawi, which had been approved by the Bank's board in 2007.
"At this time of enormous turbulence and uncertainties in the global economy and its ramifications on us, it is important that we do not, either by commission or omission, act in any way that deepens the crisis.
"For our part, we will continue to be guided by Malawi's own strategy for growth and development," Mr. Kaberuka told dignitaries at the ceremony.
Addressing the audience, Malawi Finance Minister, Goodall Gondwe, described the increase in the allocation as "enormous'.
He, however, urged the AfDB to relax some of its funding regulations to help ensure that the funding was more readily available to Malawi.
The AfDB Group currently has nine operations worth US$ 170 million in Malawi. The operations are mainly in the economic and social sectors, including rural infrastructure.
The AfDB also provides budgetary support to the Government of Malawi.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Malawi appeals for strategies to reduce STI
APA-Lilongwe (Malawi) Malawi Health Minister Khumbo Kachali on Wednesday appealed to governments in eastern and southern Africa to urgently put in place strategies that would reduce sexually transmitted infections (STI\’s) in the sub-region.
Speaking during the official opening of a three-day conference on the rapid testing of syphilis, he said failure to diagnose and treat STI\’s at an early stage might result in serious complications and life threatening conditions such as infertility, fetal wastage, ectopic pregnancies and low birth weight, among others.
\"The need to control STI\’s has now become urgent since the infections are recognised as independent risk factors for HIV transmission,\" he said.
Kachali said it was important for governments to be mindful of the asymptomatic nature of some STI\’s and their implications.
He added that the need to increase syphilis case identification and treatment in the general population was vital towards the elimination of congenital syphilis.
The conference, which ends Friday, will discuss available tools and diagnostic technologies that can be incorporated into national strategic plans for the control of bacterial genital ulcerative diseases.
Speaking during the official opening of a three-day conference on the rapid testing of syphilis, he said failure to diagnose and treat STI\’s at an early stage might result in serious complications and life threatening conditions such as infertility, fetal wastage, ectopic pregnancies and low birth weight, among others.
\"The need to control STI\’s has now become urgent since the infections are recognised as independent risk factors for HIV transmission,\" he said.
Kachali said it was important for governments to be mindful of the asymptomatic nature of some STI\’s and their implications.
He added that the need to increase syphilis case identification and treatment in the general population was vital towards the elimination of congenital syphilis.
The conference, which ends Friday, will discuss available tools and diagnostic technologies that can be incorporated into national strategic plans for the control of bacterial genital ulcerative diseases.
Real Lives: Reverend will be remembered for missionary work in Malawi
REV Andrew Ross, a biographer and missionary worker, has died at the age of 77, following a brief illness.
REV Ross, who made a telling contribution to history and politics at home and abroad, was a pivotal member of Morningside United Church and honorary fellow of Edinburgh University. He split his time between Scotland and Malawi, where he was loved and respected by the local population.
The Dalkeith-born Hibs fan, who was as keen on football as he was his academic and mercy work, first arrived in the African country in 1958 with the Church of Scotland.
He and his wife Joyce spent seven years doing the work of the Church before being forced out by the country's military regime.
By the time he was able to make an emotional return in the early 1990s, he had achieved a significant amount.
He became a senior lecturer in ecclesiastical history at Edinburgh University a year after his return to Scotland, and then principal of New College and Dean of the Faculty of Divinity until 1984.
He took an active role at the university, not only in academic circles but also as warden at student residence Pollock Halls.
His biography of David Livingstone, the pioneer missionary, entitled Mission and Empire, is widely regarded as the best account of the famous Scot.
Anne Hepburn, former co-ordinator of the Scotland Malawi Network, met Andrew off the plane when he first touched down in Malawi.
She said: "He had a view of history and politics that was not Euro-centric, and that was a tremendous benefit.
"He was very involved with politics in Malawi, he really identified with the cause of the people there. After being allowed back in the 1990s he had a few stints out there.
"He stayed involved with politics and worked closely with Gordon Brown when he was rector of Edinburgh University.
"He was very talkative and outgoing, and also musical. If I ever held a party he would always lead the singing. He also obsessed about football."
Malawi also holds a sad place in his heart as daughter Jocelyn is buried there after dying in a car accident.
Other books he wrote included Vision Betrayed: the Jesuits in China and Japan; John Philip: Missions, Race and Politics in South Africa; and Blantyre Mission and the Development of Malawi.
He was also a visiting professor at Yale University.
A statement from the Scottish Malawi Partnership read: "Andrew was an inspirational figure in the formation of the Scotland Malawi Partnership."
He is survived by wife Joyce and children Gavin, Malcolm, Alastair, and Diarmid, and four grandchildren.
The funeral will take place at Morningside United Free Church on August 9, with donations going to Child Survival in Malawi.
The family have requested that the event be a joyful occasion and celebration rather than a mournful one.
REV Ross, who made a telling contribution to history and politics at home and abroad, was a pivotal member of Morningside United Church and honorary fellow of Edinburgh University. He split his time between Scotland and Malawi, where he was loved and respected by the local population.
The Dalkeith-born Hibs fan, who was as keen on football as he was his academic and mercy work, first arrived in the African country in 1958 with the Church of Scotland.
He and his wife Joyce spent seven years doing the work of the Church before being forced out by the country's military regime.
By the time he was able to make an emotional return in the early 1990s, he had achieved a significant amount.
He became a senior lecturer in ecclesiastical history at Edinburgh University a year after his return to Scotland, and then principal of New College and Dean of the Faculty of Divinity until 1984.
He took an active role at the university, not only in academic circles but also as warden at student residence Pollock Halls.
His biography of David Livingstone, the pioneer missionary, entitled Mission and Empire, is widely regarded as the best account of the famous Scot.
Anne Hepburn, former co-ordinator of the Scotland Malawi Network, met Andrew off the plane when he first touched down in Malawi.
She said: "He had a view of history and politics that was not Euro-centric, and that was a tremendous benefit.
"He was very involved with politics in Malawi, he really identified with the cause of the people there. After being allowed back in the 1990s he had a few stints out there.
"He stayed involved with politics and worked closely with Gordon Brown when he was rector of Edinburgh University.
"He was very talkative and outgoing, and also musical. If I ever held a party he would always lead the singing. He also obsessed about football."
Malawi also holds a sad place in his heart as daughter Jocelyn is buried there after dying in a car accident.
Other books he wrote included Vision Betrayed: the Jesuits in China and Japan; John Philip: Missions, Race and Politics in South Africa; and Blantyre Mission and the Development of Malawi.
He was also a visiting professor at Yale University.
A statement from the Scottish Malawi Partnership read: "Andrew was an inspirational figure in the formation of the Scotland Malawi Partnership."
He is survived by wife Joyce and children Gavin, Malcolm, Alastair, and Diarmid, and four grandchildren.
The funeral will take place at Morningside United Free Church on August 9, with donations going to Child Survival in Malawi.
The family have requested that the event be a joyful occasion and celebration rather than a mournful one.
Six survive plane crash on Lake Malawi
Six passengers flying on a chartered flight to the island district of Likoma on Lake Malawi survived a would be fatal crash over the weekend after the plane's front tyre burst, police have confirmed.
The ZQ Fox flight belonging to Nyasa Air Taxi was flying from Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe to the island when upon landing at Likoma airstrip the tyre burst forcing its propeller shaft to break down.
Likoma Police Officer Charles Bunya confirmed the accident but could not give further details referring this reporter to Department of Aviation officials.
"All six passengers escaped unhurt after the pilot successfully managed to land the aircraft and stop without any danger," he said.
Despite being one of Malawi's major foreign tourists' destinations, Likoma Island has one of the worst airstrips. Residents from the area, particularly those in the hospitality industry, have continuously complained of the condition of the landing area.
The airstrip requires an urgent attention as it harbors a lot of potholes with long grasses and most of the times goats use to graze on the airstrip.
Last year, the country witnessed two light plane crashes.
One involved a South African chartered aircraft which crashed in Dowa shortly after taking off at Kamuzu International Airport and two investors from Paladin Africa Limited, an Australian mining company, died.
Up to now results of the cause of the crash is not yet known.
The other plane crash occurred at Nyika National Park in Rumphi killing on the spot five tourists who were visiting one of Malawi's main tourists' attraction areas.
The ZQ Fox flight belonging to Nyasa Air Taxi was flying from Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe to the island when upon landing at Likoma airstrip the tyre burst forcing its propeller shaft to break down.
Likoma Police Officer Charles Bunya confirmed the accident but could not give further details referring this reporter to Department of Aviation officials.
"All six passengers escaped unhurt after the pilot successfully managed to land the aircraft and stop without any danger," he said.
Despite being one of Malawi's major foreign tourists' destinations, Likoma Island has one of the worst airstrips. Residents from the area, particularly those in the hospitality industry, have continuously complained of the condition of the landing area.
The airstrip requires an urgent attention as it harbors a lot of potholes with long grasses and most of the times goats use to graze on the airstrip.
Last year, the country witnessed two light plane crashes.
One involved a South African chartered aircraft which crashed in Dowa shortly after taking off at Kamuzu International Airport and two investors from Paladin Africa Limited, an Australian mining company, died.
Up to now results of the cause of the crash is not yet known.
The other plane crash occurred at Nyika National Park in Rumphi killing on the spot five tourists who were visiting one of Malawi's main tourists' attraction areas.
Learning is the best medicine in Malawi
Zomba District Hospital, Malawi: Prevention is better than cure. A UNV volunteer doctor in Malawi is putting this adage into practice with an educational programme that harnesses the volunteer spirit.
UNV volunteer Medical Officer Dr. Vincent Okey Onah works at Zomba Central Hospital in the south of Malawi. One of only four referral hospitals in the country, it serves nine districts – covering over a quarter of Malawi's population – and is frequently full to bursting. For example, during the rainy season the 68-bed paediatric ward sometimes has to cater for 350 children.
"What could we do to reduce congestion in ward nine?" Dr. Onah remembers asking himself. "How could we reduce child mortality – Millennium Development Goal number four – in this part of the globe?" Dr. Onah realized that many of the problems he was treating were preventable, and that if parents were better-informed then they could nip diseases in the bud before professional medical care was necessary.
The 'Mother and Child for Life' initiative Dr. Onah came up with aims to develop local knowledge and help prevent potentially fatal illnesses such as diarrhoea, malaria, pneumonia and anaemia, and also HIV/AIDS. The programme covers a wide spectrum, from training on healthy and balanced diets to detecting the early signs of child sickness and caring for a child in hospital.
'Mother and Child for Life' began in March 2008, drawing 280 women to the first outdoor instruction session. Since then, Dr. Onah and his colleagues are going the extra mile to voluntarily offer more health care lessons, now held every Monday and Wednesday morning. "Everybody in the hospital knows the importance of the programme and is getting involved," says Dr. Onah.
While Dr.Onah prepares the contents, the lessons are delivered in local languages and dialects by clinical officers and nurses. The women are encouraged to ask questions, which sometimes requires sensitive handling by the hospital staff, but understanding modern medicine is reducing peoples' suspicion of it. "Some women used to think the nasogastric tubes and oxygen we use would kill their children," Dr. Onah explains, "but they now freely allow clinicians and nurses to use them."
Dr. Onah estimates that several thousand women have attended in the last months. Though at present the health care sessions are only offered to parents and guardians whose children have already been admitted to Zomba Central Hospital, they then share what they have learned with neighbours, thus spreading knowledge of preventable diseases through their own voluntary action. "The plan is to visit more districts and give talks in other towns," says Dr. Onah, who is seeking suitable partner organizations.
One of the results of the health care sessions has been an increased use of mosquito nets around Zomba, which should help prevent malaria infection. Several people have also come forward for HIV testing for themselves and their children, and are accepting the counselling the hospital offers.
Originally from Nigeria, Dr. Onah first came to Malawi with UNV in March 2006 where he worked at a smaller district hospital in Mangochi. "This opened my eyes to many things," remarks Dr. Onah, "so when I came to Zomba in January 2008 I wanted to achieve more than just treatment… If we can teach people how to prevent diseases, we can keep people from coming back to the hospital."
Though it is impossible to guagel the exact numbers, without doubt the UNV volunteer initiative has helped saved lives. "Many procedures are getting easier, and when you look at the ward the congestion is decreasing," says Dr. Onah. "Things are changing."
UNV volunteer Medical Officer Dr. Vincent Okey Onah works at Zomba Central Hospital in the south of Malawi. One of only four referral hospitals in the country, it serves nine districts – covering over a quarter of Malawi's population – and is frequently full to bursting. For example, during the rainy season the 68-bed paediatric ward sometimes has to cater for 350 children.
"What could we do to reduce congestion in ward nine?" Dr. Onah remembers asking himself. "How could we reduce child mortality – Millennium Development Goal number four – in this part of the globe?" Dr. Onah realized that many of the problems he was treating were preventable, and that if parents were better-informed then they could nip diseases in the bud before professional medical care was necessary.
The 'Mother and Child for Life' initiative Dr. Onah came up with aims to develop local knowledge and help prevent potentially fatal illnesses such as diarrhoea, malaria, pneumonia and anaemia, and also HIV/AIDS. The programme covers a wide spectrum, from training on healthy and balanced diets to detecting the early signs of child sickness and caring for a child in hospital.
'Mother and Child for Life' began in March 2008, drawing 280 women to the first outdoor instruction session. Since then, Dr. Onah and his colleagues are going the extra mile to voluntarily offer more health care lessons, now held every Monday and Wednesday morning. "Everybody in the hospital knows the importance of the programme and is getting involved," says Dr. Onah.
While Dr.Onah prepares the contents, the lessons are delivered in local languages and dialects by clinical officers and nurses. The women are encouraged to ask questions, which sometimes requires sensitive handling by the hospital staff, but understanding modern medicine is reducing peoples' suspicion of it. "Some women used to think the nasogastric tubes and oxygen we use would kill their children," Dr. Onah explains, "but they now freely allow clinicians and nurses to use them."
Dr. Onah estimates that several thousand women have attended in the last months. Though at present the health care sessions are only offered to parents and guardians whose children have already been admitted to Zomba Central Hospital, they then share what they have learned with neighbours, thus spreading knowledge of preventable diseases through their own voluntary action. "The plan is to visit more districts and give talks in other towns," says Dr. Onah, who is seeking suitable partner organizations.
One of the results of the health care sessions has been an increased use of mosquito nets around Zomba, which should help prevent malaria infection. Several people have also come forward for HIV testing for themselves and their children, and are accepting the counselling the hospital offers.
Originally from Nigeria, Dr. Onah first came to Malawi with UNV in March 2006 where he worked at a smaller district hospital in Mangochi. "This opened my eyes to many things," remarks Dr. Onah, "so when I came to Zomba in January 2008 I wanted to achieve more than just treatment… If we can teach people how to prevent diseases, we can keep people from coming back to the hospital."
Though it is impossible to guagel the exact numbers, without doubt the UNV volunteer initiative has helped saved lives. "Many procedures are getting easier, and when you look at the ward the congestion is decreasing," says Dr. Onah. "Things are changing."
Malawi-Japan-Commitment
Japan to promote exchange programme with Malawi
APA-Lilongwe (Malawi) A Japanese envoy to Malawi, Motoyoshi Noro, on Tuesday stressed his government\’s commitment to promote personnel exchange programmes, including the sending of Japanese volunteers to assist in the country’s development.
Malawi is the world\’s largest recipient of Japanese volunteers who are deployed in various sectors of development like education, agriculture, HIV/Aids and health.
So far 1,400 volunteers have served in the country since 1971 when the first group arrived here. Currently Malawi has 90 Japanese volunteers.
Speaking after an audience with President Bingu wa Mutharika on Tuesday in Lilongwe, Noro said the programmes would facilitate and deepen mutual understanding between the two countries.
"We will endeavor to introduce Japanese culture, both traditional and modern, to the people so as to bring Japan closer to Malawi," he added.
Consequently, he said, bilateral relations between the two countries shall expand and strengthened further.
APA-Lilongwe (Malawi) A Japanese envoy to Malawi, Motoyoshi Noro, on Tuesday stressed his government\’s commitment to promote personnel exchange programmes, including the sending of Japanese volunteers to assist in the country’s development.
Malawi is the world\’s largest recipient of Japanese volunteers who are deployed in various sectors of development like education, agriculture, HIV/Aids and health.
So far 1,400 volunteers have served in the country since 1971 when the first group arrived here. Currently Malawi has 90 Japanese volunteers.
Speaking after an audience with President Bingu wa Mutharika on Tuesday in Lilongwe, Noro said the programmes would facilitate and deepen mutual understanding between the two countries.
"We will endeavor to introduce Japanese culture, both traditional and modern, to the people so as to bring Japan closer to Malawi," he added.
Consequently, he said, bilateral relations between the two countries shall expand and strengthened further.
Malawi Introduces Compulsory Birth Registration to Curb Child Labor and Trafficking
In Malawi, the government is carrying out a campaign to register the births of children under 18 years of age.The United Nations Children Fund is leading the effort, which is aimed in part at curbing child labor and trafficking.Nine of the country’s 28 districts are now implementing the exercise.VOA’s Lameck Masina reports from Blantyre.
Statistics indicate that about 30 percent of children under 17 are vulnerable to labor exploitation and child trafficking. Young people in that age group are estimated to make up half of the country’s population. The 2007 US State Department report published in June titled Trafficking in Persons, says the children are mainly used as cheap labor on farms and for small businesses. As for trafficking, the report says fraudulent job offers lure children into forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.
Peter Chitedze is the Director of the National Registration Bureau. He says registering children will allow the government to verify their identities and their age.
“The good thing about this system," he says, "is that once a child is registered at birth, the challenges will be managed professionally. The beneficiaries will be the holders of the document and it’s the document that one cannot afford to do without. Chances of forgery with people using other people’s documents will be very, very, very minimal.”
Malawi does not have comprehensive laws on child protection.
The country is still using the Birth and Deaths Act of 1904, which does not require births – or deaths – to be officially recorded.
Until now, it has been up to the parent or guardian to travel to Malawi's commercial capital, Blantyre, to register the birth of a child. They also have to pay the administrative costs of issuing a birth certificate. With high levels of poverty, most Malawians can not afford to travel to the registration offices, or pay for the birth certificates.
In Malawi, more than three-quarters of the country’s 12 million people live on less than a US $1 a day.
But some efforts are being made towards protecting children.
In 2005, the government, with funding from UNICEF, trained a group of 400 child protection officers. They were deployed as frontline officers to all 193 constituencies represented in the national assembly. The officers were trained to report any suspected cases of trafficking in their respective districts.
Two years ago, the cabinet approved the Child Care, Protection and Justice Bill, which defines child trafficking and sets a penalty of life imprisonment for convicted traffickers. The bill is yet to be tabled in parliament.
Maxwell Matewere is executive director of Eye of the Child, an NGO whose activities are directed by the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child. He says the issue of birth legislation was long overdue and will help the organization in its effort to tackle child exploitation.“The government was supposed to introduce this sometime back as a constitutional right to the children. We have been facing lots of problems because we have been failing to identify some of the children.
He sayss, "Even if we wanted to introduce some intervention to campaign against child labor, child trafficking sexual abuse, we [do not have] actual data and statistics regarding the number of children in that particular area.”
But critics say until the Bill is ratified, children remain at risk.
Malawi is a signatory to numerous international agreements to protect children. They include the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and International Labor Organization conventions that set a minimum working age of 18, and that outlaw child labor.
Statistics indicate that about 30 percent of children under 17 are vulnerable to labor exploitation and child trafficking. Young people in that age group are estimated to make up half of the country’s population. The 2007 US State Department report published in June titled Trafficking in Persons, says the children are mainly used as cheap labor on farms and for small businesses. As for trafficking, the report says fraudulent job offers lure children into forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.
Peter Chitedze is the Director of the National Registration Bureau. He says registering children will allow the government to verify their identities and their age.
“The good thing about this system," he says, "is that once a child is registered at birth, the challenges will be managed professionally. The beneficiaries will be the holders of the document and it’s the document that one cannot afford to do without. Chances of forgery with people using other people’s documents will be very, very, very minimal.”
Malawi does not have comprehensive laws on child protection.
The country is still using the Birth and Deaths Act of 1904, which does not require births – or deaths – to be officially recorded.
Until now, it has been up to the parent or guardian to travel to Malawi's commercial capital, Blantyre, to register the birth of a child. They also have to pay the administrative costs of issuing a birth certificate. With high levels of poverty, most Malawians can not afford to travel to the registration offices, or pay for the birth certificates.
In Malawi, more than three-quarters of the country’s 12 million people live on less than a US $1 a day.
But some efforts are being made towards protecting children.
In 2005, the government, with funding from UNICEF, trained a group of 400 child protection officers. They were deployed as frontline officers to all 193 constituencies represented in the national assembly. The officers were trained to report any suspected cases of trafficking in their respective districts.
Two years ago, the cabinet approved the Child Care, Protection and Justice Bill, which defines child trafficking and sets a penalty of life imprisonment for convicted traffickers. The bill is yet to be tabled in parliament.
Maxwell Matewere is executive director of Eye of the Child, an NGO whose activities are directed by the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child. He says the issue of birth legislation was long overdue and will help the organization in its effort to tackle child exploitation.“The government was supposed to introduce this sometime back as a constitutional right to the children. We have been facing lots of problems because we have been failing to identify some of the children.
He sayss, "Even if we wanted to introduce some intervention to campaign against child labor, child trafficking sexual abuse, we [do not have] actual data and statistics regarding the number of children in that particular area.”
But critics say until the Bill is ratified, children remain at risk.
Malawi is a signatory to numerous international agreements to protect children. They include the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and International Labor Organization conventions that set a minimum working age of 18, and that outlaw child labor.
Malawi Growth and Development Strategy / African Development Bank Group ( AfDB) / AfDB President in Malawi
LILONGWE, Malawi, July 29, 2008/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The President of the African Development Bank Group, Donald Kaberuka, arrived in the Malawian capital, Lilongwe, on Tuesday to begin a two-day official visit.
Mr. Kaberuka will meet with Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika and hold talks with leading government figures, including the Minister of Finance, Goodall Gondwe, and the Minister of Economic Planning and Development, Ken Lupenga.
“The main objective of the visit is to conduct dialogue with the Government of Malawi on how the African Development Bank can support its various development programmes, particularly those related to the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy,” an AfDB spokesperson said. “The talks will strengthen cooperation between the AfDB and the Government of Malawi.”
While in Malawi, Mr. Kaberuka will participate in the official opening of the African Development Bank’s Malawi Field Office and also address members of the private sector on the theme ‘Africa, the New Landscape: Managing Threats to Sustain Momentum’ in Blantyre, Malawi’s commercial hub. He will, on Thursday, conclude his visit to Malawi with a press conference in the capital, Lilongwe.
Malawi became a member of the African Development Bank Group in June 1969. The AfDB’s operation in the country began in 1972. By June 2008, the AfDB’s commitments in Malawi had reached USD 595.5 million in 92 operations.
The establishment of the Malawi Country Office is part of the Bank’s reform programme that began in 2005 and is aimed at improving efficiency by moving the Bank closer to its clients.
The Bank has, so far, opened 25 regional and field offices as part of its decentralization programme.
Mr. Kaberuka will meet with Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika and hold talks with leading government figures, including the Minister of Finance, Goodall Gondwe, and the Minister of Economic Planning and Development, Ken Lupenga.
“The main objective of the visit is to conduct dialogue with the Government of Malawi on how the African Development Bank can support its various development programmes, particularly those related to the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy,” an AfDB spokesperson said. “The talks will strengthen cooperation between the AfDB and the Government of Malawi.”
While in Malawi, Mr. Kaberuka will participate in the official opening of the African Development Bank’s Malawi Field Office and also address members of the private sector on the theme ‘Africa, the New Landscape: Managing Threats to Sustain Momentum’ in Blantyre, Malawi’s commercial hub. He will, on Thursday, conclude his visit to Malawi with a press conference in the capital, Lilongwe.
Malawi became a member of the African Development Bank Group in June 1969. The AfDB’s operation in the country began in 1972. By June 2008, the AfDB’s commitments in Malawi had reached USD 595.5 million in 92 operations.
The establishment of the Malawi Country Office is part of the Bank’s reform programme that began in 2005 and is aimed at improving efficiency by moving the Bank closer to its clients.
The Bank has, so far, opened 25 regional and field offices as part of its decentralization programme.
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