In Malawi, two villages with about 40,000 people have begun reaping the fruits of the United Nations initiative known as the Millennium Villages project. The goal is to reverse the poverty, hunger and disease affecting millions of rural people in sub-Saharan Africa. Voice of America English to Africa Service's Lameck Masina in Blantyre reports that there are two Millennium Villages in Malawi – one in the southern district of Zomba, the other in the central district of Mchinji.
UN specialists have been helping the villagers improve education, health care and small businesses. For example, 30 thousand bed nets have been distributed to households to combat malaria, and nearly 40 boreholes have been drilled to provide access to clean water.
School children in the two Millennium Villages receive corn porridge in an effort that teachers say has almost doubled attendance in primary schools.
Much of the emphasis has been on improving food production. UN specialists in the villages have been emphasizing improved seeds and fertilizers in order to maximize crop production. Farmers are encouraged to create their own fertilizers from manure, because the cost of commercial fertilizers has more than doubled since last year.
Farmers are also encouraged to grow a diverse array of cash crops, including groundnuts, cabbages and tomatoes.
Vailet Mawerenga, a farmer in the Millennium Village in Zomba, says "Before I joined the project, the main problem I was facing was an acute maize shortage, but now food is not a problem, [especially] to those who are working hard."
Mawerenga says in the past she used traditional seed varieties, which produced about four 50kg bags of maize per acre. Today, new hybrid seeds have given her a 10-fold increase.
She says this year is her best yet. Her first priority, she says, is to replace the thatched roof of her house with a metal one. If crop surpluses continue, she wants to open a tailoring shop.
Farmers in Zomba say the rising cost of fuel is the main factor cutting into their profits from increased production. As a result, some farmers have to cycle 25km to sell produce at the nearest town. Others have joined forces to hire pick-up trucks to take their crops to the main market.
Phelire Nkhoma, the agriculture coordinator for both of Malawi's Millennium Villages, says "What we have discovered is that the project has really transformed the lives of these people. We have seen our farmers…with food [now] throughout the season and [with] good houses with iron-sheeted roofs. The cases of malnutrition care are no longer there."
The Millennium Villages were inspired by Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. They were commissioned by the UN secretary general as a way to help achieve the organization's Millenium Development Goals, which focus largely on cutting poverty in half in Africa by 2015.
Financial support for the Malawi villages is scheduled to end in five years. But Nkhoma says the success of the villages may change that, "We are expecting that in 2010 the Millennium Villages project will [end]. However there are some rumors that probably it can extended to another five years."
Nkhoma says future activities will include the construction of dispensaries, schools and telecommunication facilities.
In addition to Malawi, there are Millennium Villages in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda.
Monday, 25 August 2008
Free AIDS drugs reduce Malawi death rates
LILONGWE, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Greater access to free medicine has helped slash AIDS-related deaths in Malawi by 75 percent in the last four years, a senior government official said on Monday.
HIV/AIDS has been blamed for 59 percent of deaths among those aged between 15 to 59 years in the southern African country, which has a population of 13 million.
But Malawi has made progress since 2004, when it started to offer free antiretroviral therapy -- drugs that help treat immunodeficiency virus -- to thousands of patients.
"I am happy that AIDS related deaths have decreased by over 75 percent over the last four years in comparison with the AIDS related deaths we had in 2003-2004 because of increased free treatment," said Mary Shawa, Malawi's principle secretary for HIV & AIDS.
Malawi has had about 800,000 AIDS related deaths since 1985, when the first case was reported. As of March this year, the government has put 159,111 people on free antiretroviral drugs and 106,547 of those are still alive.
"This represents a 67 percent survival rate. But we still need to do more, because those who did not make it may have died because they started the treatment late or did not have access to proper nutrition," said Shawa.
HIV/AIDS has been blamed for 59 percent of deaths among those aged between 15 to 59 years in the southern African country, which has a population of 13 million.
But Malawi has made progress since 2004, when it started to offer free antiretroviral therapy -- drugs that help treat immunodeficiency virus -- to thousands of patients.
"I am happy that AIDS related deaths have decreased by over 75 percent over the last four years in comparison with the AIDS related deaths we had in 2003-2004 because of increased free treatment," said Mary Shawa, Malawi's principle secretary for HIV & AIDS.
Malawi has had about 800,000 AIDS related deaths since 1985, when the first case was reported. As of March this year, the government has put 159,111 people on free antiretroviral drugs and 106,547 of those are still alive.
"This represents a 67 percent survival rate. But we still need to do more, because those who did not make it may have died because they started the treatment late or did not have access to proper nutrition," said Shawa.
Malawi president urges citizens to register for 2009 poll
BLANTYRE (AFP) — Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika, who will seek re-election in May next year, on Monday called on citizens to register en masse for the country's fourth multi-party election since 1994, state radio said.
"Go and register to give yourself power to vote for a government of your choice," the radio quoted him as telling supporters who had gathered outside a primary school in the administrative capital Lilongwe, where he had gone to register himself.
Malawi last week launched a massive nationwide drive to get up to seven million citizens onto a fresh voters' register. The exercise will end on November 29 in the country's 28 districts.
"I would like all political, civic and Church leaders to encourage their flock to go and register for people to choose a government of their choice," Mutharika said.
In the May 19 poll Mutharika, in power since 2004, faces a strong challenge from his predecessor and mentor Bakili Muluzi, chosen as the opposition candidate despite being constitutionally barred from contesting.
Muluzi had served two terms from 1994 when he wrested power from dictator Kamuzu Banda in the country's first democratic poll.
"Go and register to give yourself power to vote for a government of your choice," the radio quoted him as telling supporters who had gathered outside a primary school in the administrative capital Lilongwe, where he had gone to register himself.
Malawi last week launched a massive nationwide drive to get up to seven million citizens onto a fresh voters' register. The exercise will end on November 29 in the country's 28 districts.
"I would like all political, civic and Church leaders to encourage their flock to go and register for people to choose a government of their choice," Mutharika said.
In the May 19 poll Mutharika, in power since 2004, faces a strong challenge from his predecessor and mentor Bakili Muluzi, chosen as the opposition candidate despite being constitutionally barred from contesting.
Muluzi had served two terms from 1994 when he wrested power from dictator Kamuzu Banda in the country's first democratic poll.
Malawi Launches Research on “Green Vehicles”
In Malawi, the government has begun an ambitious plan to ensure that all vehicles switch to the cheaper alternative fuel, ethanol, within a few years. The administration says if the project is successful, it will help the country save foreign exchange now being spent on imported fuel. Voice of America English to Africa reporter Lameck Masina in Blantyre says the government of Malawi is fully funding the US $1 million project.
Local scientists are working on converting conventional vehicles to run on one or more fuels. One type of modification is called “flex” – it can use ethanol, petrol, or any mixture of the two. The other type can also use either petrol or ethanol but must be manually adjusted to the type of fuel being used. Converting a conventional vehicle to use ethanol costs about $650 dollars.
The government officially launched the project last September with a test drive of a Mitsubishi-Pajero converted to use ethanol. It covered a distance of 2,100 kilometers at an average speed of 110 km per hour. It went about eight kilometers on a liter of ethanol and 11 on a liter of petrol. But it was judged a success because ethanol is by far the cheaper of the two fuels.
Freeman Kalirani leads the research team at the government owned Lilongwe Technical College, which is under the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training. He says the project is progressing well, “So far, I have converted four vehicles. Two vehicles -- the Nissan and a Mitsubitishi Pajero -- are running 100 percent on ethanol. And, there are other two vehicles that are running on either petrol or ethanol or any mixtures of the two.”
Kalirani says the modified Pajero has completed a test drive of 18,000 kilometers at an average speed of 110 km/hr and no major component of the engine was damaged, “When you listen to it, people don’t know that it is running on ethanol. The only [indicator] is the smell that comes from the exhaust. What remains is that we want to travel a bit longer to have more kilometers covered so that when we tell the people that ethanol does not damage the engine we are so sure about it.”
Kalirani says fuel consumption depends on the speed and age of the car and that newer vehicles that use ethanol consume about half as much fuel as ones that use petrol.
Statistics show that between 1995 and 2000, Malawi imported up to 90 million liters of petrol each year. At the same time, the cost rose from about $10 million to about $40 million over the same period. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says in the first half of this year, a barrel of bio-ethanol in Brazil was half the price of a barrel of oil.
Matthews Chikaonda is the chief executive officer of Press Corporation, Limited, a local conglomerate that owns the only two companies that produce ethanol: Presscane and Ethanol Company (ETHCO).
Chikaonda says Malawi produces one of the components of ethanol – molasses, which is made from sugar cane.
ETHCO creates seven million liters of ethanol a year at its plant in Dwangwa, a town in central Malawi, while Presscane delivers 10.8 million liters from its plant in southern Malawi.
Each factory is capable of producing up to 16 million liters a year but is operating below capacity because of the scarcity of molasses. Chikaonda says it’s possible that the factories could produce at full capacity because there is room to expand existing sugarcane plantations.
The government is also working with ETHCO to import Brazilian “flex-fuel” vehicles that can also use the biofuel. The cars are also said to cost a bit less than cars using petrol.
But analysts are advising the government to first ensure the availability of ethanol in the country’s filling stations before it starts importing the vehicles.
The decision to use ethanol is in line with the UN Framework on Climate Change, which encourages governments to take steps to reduce vehicle emissions. The government says a switch to ethanol will create employment opportunities in the sugarcane industry and help save foreign exchange currently being spent on fuel imports.
Local scientists are working on converting conventional vehicles to run on one or more fuels. One type of modification is called “flex” – it can use ethanol, petrol, or any mixture of the two. The other type can also use either petrol or ethanol but must be manually adjusted to the type of fuel being used. Converting a conventional vehicle to use ethanol costs about $650 dollars.
The government officially launched the project last September with a test drive of a Mitsubishi-Pajero converted to use ethanol. It covered a distance of 2,100 kilometers at an average speed of 110 km per hour. It went about eight kilometers on a liter of ethanol and 11 on a liter of petrol. But it was judged a success because ethanol is by far the cheaper of the two fuels.
Freeman Kalirani leads the research team at the government owned Lilongwe Technical College, which is under the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training. He says the project is progressing well, “So far, I have converted four vehicles. Two vehicles -- the Nissan and a Mitsubitishi Pajero -- are running 100 percent on ethanol. And, there are other two vehicles that are running on either petrol or ethanol or any mixtures of the two.”
Kalirani says the modified Pajero has completed a test drive of 18,000 kilometers at an average speed of 110 km/hr and no major component of the engine was damaged, “When you listen to it, people don’t know that it is running on ethanol. The only [indicator] is the smell that comes from the exhaust. What remains is that we want to travel a bit longer to have more kilometers covered so that when we tell the people that ethanol does not damage the engine we are so sure about it.”
Kalirani says fuel consumption depends on the speed and age of the car and that newer vehicles that use ethanol consume about half as much fuel as ones that use petrol.
Statistics show that between 1995 and 2000, Malawi imported up to 90 million liters of petrol each year. At the same time, the cost rose from about $10 million to about $40 million over the same period. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says in the first half of this year, a barrel of bio-ethanol in Brazil was half the price of a barrel of oil.
Matthews Chikaonda is the chief executive officer of Press Corporation, Limited, a local conglomerate that owns the only two companies that produce ethanol: Presscane and Ethanol Company (ETHCO).
Chikaonda says Malawi produces one of the components of ethanol – molasses, which is made from sugar cane.
ETHCO creates seven million liters of ethanol a year at its plant in Dwangwa, a town in central Malawi, while Presscane delivers 10.8 million liters from its plant in southern Malawi.
Each factory is capable of producing up to 16 million liters a year but is operating below capacity because of the scarcity of molasses. Chikaonda says it’s possible that the factories could produce at full capacity because there is room to expand existing sugarcane plantations.
The government is also working with ETHCO to import Brazilian “flex-fuel” vehicles that can also use the biofuel. The cars are also said to cost a bit less than cars using petrol.
But analysts are advising the government to first ensure the availability of ethanol in the country’s filling stations before it starts importing the vehicles.
The decision to use ethanol is in line with the UN Framework on Climate Change, which encourages governments to take steps to reduce vehicle emissions. The government says a switch to ethanol will create employment opportunities in the sugarcane industry and help save foreign exchange currently being spent on fuel imports.
Smiles are shining as you bring life-giving water to children in Malawi
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
Over the past three and a half years, the Irish Red Cross has worked tirelessly together with other aid agencies to empower the communities in Malawi by securing life-saving water and sanitation services and this year a good harvest can finally be enjoyed by families. For these communities whose livelihood is entirely dependant on this food source, it is first step in the beginning of a brighter future, their relief and joy seen in their vibrant smiles, according to David Andrews.
Dubliner IRC delegate Anne Cunningham who works closely with the communities said, " Many women are left no option but to carry large containers of water from unsanitary ponds and rivers located up to ten miles away from their villages" David Andrews stresses how imperative it is that the Irish Red Cross continues this work as the supply of fresh water and sanitation directly correlates to the reduction of disease, illness and starvation as more than 4.8 million people in Malawi are food-insecure, with half of children under five malnourished. These water related illnesses attribute to over 60% of hospital admissions. In total, the Red Cross plans to reach 580,500 people with food aid and water and sanitation projects.
Malawi continues to be a priority country for the Irish Red Cross, one of the poorest African countries severely hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa that has left 25 million people dead, 40 million people living with the disease and 11 million children under the age of 15 orphaned.
2007/08 Water Sanitation & HIV/AIDS Project Milestones Checklist
* 35 boreholes rehabilitated & 6 new boreholes drilled
* 500 sanitary latrines constructed to reduce illnesses such as diarrhea & malaria
* 25 community based operation and maintenance committees established and functioning by December 31st 2008.
* Skilled hygiene promoters roll out a HIV/AIDS education programme covering a target population of 12,000 people
* Distribution of 33 Home Based Care kits, uniforms and refills and 3 bicycle ambulances.
* 50 Secondary School Orphans specifically targeted under the educational support program receive sanitary packs and food parcels. Such support is essential in order to prevent children dropping out of school.
Over the past three and a half years, the Irish Red Cross has worked tirelessly together with other aid agencies to empower the communities in Malawi by securing life-saving water and sanitation services and this year a good harvest can finally be enjoyed by families. For these communities whose livelihood is entirely dependant on this food source, it is first step in the beginning of a brighter future, their relief and joy seen in their vibrant smiles, according to David Andrews.
Dubliner IRC delegate Anne Cunningham who works closely with the communities said, " Many women are left no option but to carry large containers of water from unsanitary ponds and rivers located up to ten miles away from their villages" David Andrews stresses how imperative it is that the Irish Red Cross continues this work as the supply of fresh water and sanitation directly correlates to the reduction of disease, illness and starvation as more than 4.8 million people in Malawi are food-insecure, with half of children under five malnourished. These water related illnesses attribute to over 60% of hospital admissions. In total, the Red Cross plans to reach 580,500 people with food aid and water and sanitation projects.
Malawi continues to be a priority country for the Irish Red Cross, one of the poorest African countries severely hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa that has left 25 million people dead, 40 million people living with the disease and 11 million children under the age of 15 orphaned.
2007/08 Water Sanitation & HIV/AIDS Project Milestones Checklist
* 35 boreholes rehabilitated & 6 new boreholes drilled
* 500 sanitary latrines constructed to reduce illnesses such as diarrhea & malaria
* 25 community based operation and maintenance committees established and functioning by December 31st 2008.
* Skilled hygiene promoters roll out a HIV/AIDS education programme covering a target population of 12,000 people
* Distribution of 33 Home Based Care kits, uniforms and refills and 3 bicycle ambulances.
* 50 Secondary School Orphans specifically targeted under the educational support program receive sanitary packs and food parcels. Such support is essential in order to prevent children dropping out of school.
Medical student helps clinic in Africa
As a second-year medical student at the Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota, AJ Iverson already is putting her education to use.
Iverson, 23, spent a month in Malawi this summer working in a pediatric AIDS clinic as part of a study program at USD. It was valuable training for the Sioux Falls native who's always wanted to become a doctor.
Iverson also got to meet a young boy whom she sponsors through an international charity program.
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Question: How did the opportunity to go to Africa come about?
Answer: It all started when I was 6 or 7. I always felt like God was going to send me to Africa.
The summer before last, I started sponsoring a little boy named Mervin through World Vision in Malawi. So I said, "OK God, if this is what you want I'll go."
I started reading different books about programs over there and found this program through Baylor University, the Baylor College of Medicine Children's Center of Excellence in Malawi.
These doctors sign up for at least two years to go to a country and train local providers so the clinic eventually can stand on its own. It's all about treating children with HIV or have been exposed, like babies through their mothers.
The hospital is such a different experience and a wonderful learning experience. There's so much to tell, and it was completely difficult and completely amazing all at the same time.
Q: Tell me about the program at USD that your trip is part of.
A: It's the Scholarship Pathways program. There's a vision that medical students, if given funds, can do pretty cool things and carry out their vision.
They give you scholarship money for an eight-week kick-off, and then you carry out the program.
The specific thing that I'm working on is breast health in the prevention of mother-child transmission of HIV.
The World Health Organization wants mothers in developing countries to breast-feed, even HIV-infected mothers, because there are so many advantages to breast-feeding.
In the U.S., HIV-infected mothers don't breast-feed because of the likelihood of transmission. But babies die in third-world countries if mothers don't breast-feed because of the lack of clean water and things like that. And there's a stigma attached to moms who don't breast-feed.
So my project is about educating mothers about how to reduce the risk of HIV transmission through good breast health.
Q: Do you want to stay in South Dakota when you finish medical school? How do you think your experiences in Africa will help you in the future?
A: South Dakota has been my home for almost 24 years. I love South Dakota and the Midwest. I don't know if I'd necessarily be in Sioux Falls; maybe out west in Rapid City.
I definitely want to do something that will translate into giving me opportunities to go and serve in other countries ... I believe that quote, "Do what you can with what you have where you are."
While I'm here and I can't get back to Africa anytime soon, I want to help however I can in Sioux Falls or Vermillion or Rapid City. I want to do whatever I can for people right at home, too.
Iverson, 23, spent a month in Malawi this summer working in a pediatric AIDS clinic as part of a study program at USD. It was valuable training for the Sioux Falls native who's always wanted to become a doctor.
Iverson also got to meet a young boy whom she sponsors through an international charity program.
Advertisement
Question: How did the opportunity to go to Africa come about?
Answer: It all started when I was 6 or 7. I always felt like God was going to send me to Africa.
The summer before last, I started sponsoring a little boy named Mervin through World Vision in Malawi. So I said, "OK God, if this is what you want I'll go."
I started reading different books about programs over there and found this program through Baylor University, the Baylor College of Medicine Children's Center of Excellence in Malawi.
These doctors sign up for at least two years to go to a country and train local providers so the clinic eventually can stand on its own. It's all about treating children with HIV or have been exposed, like babies through their mothers.
The hospital is such a different experience and a wonderful learning experience. There's so much to tell, and it was completely difficult and completely amazing all at the same time.
Q: Tell me about the program at USD that your trip is part of.
A: It's the Scholarship Pathways program. There's a vision that medical students, if given funds, can do pretty cool things and carry out their vision.
They give you scholarship money for an eight-week kick-off, and then you carry out the program.
The specific thing that I'm working on is breast health in the prevention of mother-child transmission of HIV.
The World Health Organization wants mothers in developing countries to breast-feed, even HIV-infected mothers, because there are so many advantages to breast-feeding.
In the U.S., HIV-infected mothers don't breast-feed because of the likelihood of transmission. But babies die in third-world countries if mothers don't breast-feed because of the lack of clean water and things like that. And there's a stigma attached to moms who don't breast-feed.
So my project is about educating mothers about how to reduce the risk of HIV transmission through good breast health.
Q: Do you want to stay in South Dakota when you finish medical school? How do you think your experiences in Africa will help you in the future?
A: South Dakota has been my home for almost 24 years. I love South Dakota and the Midwest. I don't know if I'd necessarily be in Sioux Falls; maybe out west in Rapid City.
I definitely want to do something that will translate into giving me opportunities to go and serve in other countries ... I believe that quote, "Do what you can with what you have where you are."
While I'm here and I can't get back to Africa anytime soon, I want to help however I can in Sioux Falls or Vermillion or Rapid City. I want to do whatever I can for people right at home, too.
Guy Ritchie: another Malawi adoption possible
LONDON: Madonna may be trying to adopt a second child from Malawi, her husband Guy Ritchie was quoted as saying in an interview published Sunday.
The Observer Magazine asked the British filmmaker whether there was any truth to tabloid reports that he and Madonna were working to adopt a second child from the impoverished south African nation.
"Possibly," Ritchie was quoted as saying.
A representative for Ritchie could not immediately be located to comment on the report. Madonna's New York-based publicist Liz Rosenberg did not immediately return an e-mail.
Ritchie and Madonna already have a 2-year-old son from Malawi. David Banda, whose adoption was finalized only thee months ago, lives with the couple in London.
Today in Culture
In a robust industry, the titans of Bollywood reign supreme
Marc Newson's challenge: Styling a superjumbo
Book review: "Ghost Train to the Eastern Star"
Click here to find out more!
The Sun newspaper earlier this month quoted a Malawian official as saying that Madonna's representatives had been visiting another child in the country and that the government was waiting for the singer to make a formal application for adoption.
David's adoption was a trying process for the singer, who had to wait months for her custody to be endorsed by the chaotic Malawian justice system — all the while enduring criticism from children's advocacy groups who accused her of using her celebrity to improperly influence the process. She denied the allegations.
Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival in May, she compared the process to the pain of childbirth.
"It was a big struggle," she said.
Madonna, who found David while launching a project to help the Malawi's 2 million AIDS orphans, still maintains a strong interest in the country. She is currently funding her own and six other orphanages there, and has produced and narrated a documentary, "I Am Because We Are," which shows how poverty and disease are devastating the lives of Malawi's children.
Besides David, Madonna and Ritchie have a son, Rocco, 8, and Madonna has a daughter, Lourdes, 11, from a previous relationship.
Madonna is on a world tour to promote her new album: "Hard Candy," while Ritchie's new movie "RocknRolla" — a gritty British crime romp in the style of "Snatch" — is set for release this fall.
The Observer Magazine asked the British filmmaker whether there was any truth to tabloid reports that he and Madonna were working to adopt a second child from the impoverished south African nation.
"Possibly," Ritchie was quoted as saying.
A representative for Ritchie could not immediately be located to comment on the report. Madonna's New York-based publicist Liz Rosenberg did not immediately return an e-mail.
Ritchie and Madonna already have a 2-year-old son from Malawi. David Banda, whose adoption was finalized only thee months ago, lives with the couple in London.
Today in Culture
In a robust industry, the titans of Bollywood reign supreme
Marc Newson's challenge: Styling a superjumbo
Book review: "Ghost Train to the Eastern Star"
Click here to find out more!
The Sun newspaper earlier this month quoted a Malawian official as saying that Madonna's representatives had been visiting another child in the country and that the government was waiting for the singer to make a formal application for adoption.
David's adoption was a trying process for the singer, who had to wait months for her custody to be endorsed by the chaotic Malawian justice system — all the while enduring criticism from children's advocacy groups who accused her of using her celebrity to improperly influence the process. She denied the allegations.
Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival in May, she compared the process to the pain of childbirth.
"It was a big struggle," she said.
Madonna, who found David while launching a project to help the Malawi's 2 million AIDS orphans, still maintains a strong interest in the country. She is currently funding her own and six other orphanages there, and has produced and narrated a documentary, "I Am Because We Are," which shows how poverty and disease are devastating the lives of Malawi's children.
Besides David, Madonna and Ritchie have a son, Rocco, 8, and Madonna has a daughter, Lourdes, 11, from a previous relationship.
Madonna is on a world tour to promote her new album: "Hard Candy," while Ritchie's new movie "RocknRolla" — a gritty British crime romp in the style of "Snatch" — is set for release this fall.
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