Malawi government bemoans high price of ARVs

The Malawi government has bemoaned the high costs of anti-retrovial drugs (ARVs) and is exploring ways of having the drugs manufactured locally in a bid to make them cheap. Secretary for Nutrition, HIV and AIDS in the President’s office Mary Shaba told a local paper that plans to have the durgs manufactured locally started long time ago and that government has been putting in place mechanisms that will ensure that this is a reality. “It is something we have been exploring for some time and once all the policies are in place, we should be able to find a way,” she told the Guardian Newspaper.

This is one ambitious program that might not see the light of the day in the near future considering the economic status of the country, with about 50 percent of the population living below the poverty. However, recently, at the the AIDS summit in Mexico, Malawi was touted as one of the countries in the southern African region that has made tremendous progress in the provision of free drugs to people living with HIV and AIDS. Overall, Malawi’s Aids policy was hailed at the summit as the best that has helped reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.

According to government, 250, 000 Malawians are in need of ARV, but only 100, 000 are accessing the drugs. Government is working to ensure that as many Malawians as possible have access to the drugs. The National AIDS Commission (NAC) – a government arm commissioned with the task of fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic is one of the largest beneficiaries of this year’s K229 billion (US$1,631,607,048) nattional budget. In the 2008/2009 national budget, Malawi has set aside K75 million for the purchase of ARVs and other drugs for opportunistic infections. Despite these efforts, Shawa says challenges abound in the fight against HIV/AIDS especially in the area of nitrition due to lack of dieticians and well trained nutritionists to assist people on ARV treatment. “There are no dieticians in hospitals that is why you would find a patient’s condition getting worse while in a hospital ward,” she told the paper.

Meanwhile Oxfarm GB Chief Executive Officer, Barbara Stocking, currently visiting Malawi says she is overwhelmed by the country’s level of commitment demonstrated by Malawians in the fight against HIV/AIDS and poverty. “I am personally overwhelmed with the commitment demonstrated by communities here. Most of them are giving support to the elderly, the sick, orphans and the vulbnerable, yet without expecting anything in return and I find this totally amazing,” said Stocking when she visited Chiradzulo in southern Malawi where her organization is carrying out 81 development projects. Oxfarm has been running project in the district since 2005 and since then, a substantial progress has been made in tackling HIV/AIDS and other development initiatives.

Voters’ registration for 2009 polls start in Malawi

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), the country\’s electoral body, on Monday kick-started a 14-day voter registration exercise in readiness for the 19 May parliamentary and presidential elections in the country.

According to MEC chair Anastazia Msosa, the exercise will be conducted concurrently in six phases which will eventually cover all the three regions of the country.

"This is a fresh registration and all Malawian citizens who are 18 and above and those that on the day of polling shall attain the age of 18 are eligible to register once where they work and live," she added.

Msosa further said the first registration phase will run from 18 to 31 August in the selected centres.

She also said this time MEC would like to come up with a credible voters’ roll and the exercise is targeting between five and seven million new voters.

Malawians last went to elect in May 2004 to President Bingu wa Mutharika and MP’s for the 193-seat National Assembly.