A few weeks ago we celebrated our one year anniversary of living in Malawi. Here are some of the things I have learned (or been reminded of) in the last year:
1. Electricity is overrated.
2. Water is undervalued and overused.
3. To appreciate all the work towards gender equality of the women before me. Yes, there is still a long way to go, but after living in a place where women are second class citizens, I am inspired and appreciative of their efforts, risks and sacrifices.
4. Even the deepest freeze in Minnesota could not prepare me for the hot season in Africa.
5. Although I have used the phrase, "I'm starving" countless times, I will never know what it really means.
6. I have been privileged to have a lot of good teachers in my life.
7. Always wash your hands.
8. Reading is almost always better than TV (Peace Corps Volunteers, An MTV Generation making up for lost time).
9. Transportation is easy in America, even with rising fuel prices.
10. Fresh and homemade is always better than processed.
11. Chocolate, ice cream, sushi and red wine are all worth missing, but not as much as friends and family.
12. My comforts are usually at somebody else's expense.
13. A lot of things can be eaten as food that we don't consider food in America.
14. Knowledge is power- it is meant to be shared.
15. Nothing beats real mail from home.
16. It is difficult to be the minority, even if it is the privileged minority.
17. HIV/AIDS. Not sure what to say about it, but I thought it should put it on the list. It is still too overwhelming to wrap my brain around.
18. Being able to wear jeans and a sweatshirt should not be taken for granted.
19. Breastfeeding is normal and should not have to be hidden.
20. Always wear sunscreen.
21. It really does make more sense to carry things on your head. It even has its own verb in Chichewa- kusenza.
Friday, 17 October 2008
Malawi: Authorities allay fears
Tuberculosis patients who are also HIV positive and require being booked for Anti Retroviral drugs should can do that, Amon Nkhata, ART officer responsible for sexually transmitted infections has said. He said it is safe to combine the two treatments and added that earlier deaths reported were rumour.
“There is no risk in taking together TB drugs and ARVs however I can say that with HIV many people that are diagnosed with TB also happen to be HIV positive and this usually happens when they have a very low CD4 count,” he said.
He however said while TB drugs can be taken with ARV’s a component of ARVs, Neverapine and a component of the TB cocktail rifbacin can not be taken together as they do not react very well.
“Neverapine in ARVs and Rifbacin in TB drugs do not react well together and there is a special regimen that is and administered to patient in such a situation,” he said.
A recent research conducted by the Comprehensive International Programme for Research on AIDS (CAPRISA) in South Africa also indicates that combining ARV therapy with TB treatment halves the mortality rate among patients infected with HIV and TB.
The CAPRISA research compared mortality rates in three groups of co-infected patients who started treatment at different stages of their TB therapy.
One group started taking treatment in the first two months of TB treatment; a second group started taking them the first two months of TB treatment and the third group did not begin ARV treatment until they had completed their six to eight month TB medication.
The research discovered that patients in the third group had a 55 percent death rate higher than in the other two groups that were on integrated ARV and TB treatment.
The WHO estimates that 30 percent of infected patients in Sub-Saharan Africa die before finishing their TB treatment. HIV specialists in South Africa have since urged the health department to revise treatment guidelines in response to the CAPRISA report.
“There is no risk in taking together TB drugs and ARVs however I can say that with HIV many people that are diagnosed with TB also happen to be HIV positive and this usually happens when they have a very low CD4 count,” he said.
He however said while TB drugs can be taken with ARV’s a component of ARVs, Neverapine and a component of the TB cocktail rifbacin can not be taken together as they do not react very well.
“Neverapine in ARVs and Rifbacin in TB drugs do not react well together and there is a special regimen that is and administered to patient in such a situation,” he said.
A recent research conducted by the Comprehensive International Programme for Research on AIDS (CAPRISA) in South Africa also indicates that combining ARV therapy with TB treatment halves the mortality rate among patients infected with HIV and TB.
The CAPRISA research compared mortality rates in three groups of co-infected patients who started treatment at different stages of their TB therapy.
One group started taking treatment in the first two months of TB treatment; a second group started taking them the first two months of TB treatment and the third group did not begin ARV treatment until they had completed their six to eight month TB medication.
The research discovered that patients in the third group had a 55 percent death rate higher than in the other two groups that were on integrated ARV and TB treatment.
The WHO estimates that 30 percent of infected patients in Sub-Saharan Africa die before finishing their TB treatment. HIV specialists in South Africa have since urged the health department to revise treatment guidelines in response to the CAPRISA report.
Malawi, US body to expand economic opportunities
Malawi and the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) on Friday agreed to join hands in a grassroots economic and social development programme aimed at expanding access to economic opportunities for local communities.
USADF is a US government agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunity in Africa.
The agency operates in several African nations, with over 25 years of operational experience and has funded nearly 1,100 projects costing in excess of US$150 million — in enterprises and local communities.
Malawi is third country which USADF has launched new programmes during the fiscal year 2008.
Similar programmes have been launched in Burundi, Mauritania and Burkina Faso.
Under the five-year agreement from 2008 to 2012, the US body will disburse US$7million for projects, and the Malawi government will contributing 50 percent of the annually funding.
Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe said USADF compliments the various activities taking place in Malawi currently. "Malawi appreciates USADF\’s assistance and dedication and looks forward to their support," he said, adding that Malawi has pledged to contribute US$750,000 per annum to match the body’s funds.
USADF Portfolio President Lloyd Pierson said his agency was excited to sign the agreement with Malawi. "We are determined to fund programmes at an expedited pace to meet the needs of the people of Malawi."
USADF is a US government agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunity in Africa.
The agency operates in several African nations, with over 25 years of operational experience and has funded nearly 1,100 projects costing in excess of US$150 million — in enterprises and local communities.
Malawi is third country which USADF has launched new programmes during the fiscal year 2008.
Similar programmes have been launched in Burundi, Mauritania and Burkina Faso.
Under the five-year agreement from 2008 to 2012, the US body will disburse US$7million for projects, and the Malawi government will contributing 50 percent of the annually funding.
Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe said USADF compliments the various activities taking place in Malawi currently. "Malawi appreciates USADF\’s assistance and dedication and looks forward to their support," he said, adding that Malawi has pledged to contribute US$750,000 per annum to match the body’s funds.
USADF Portfolio President Lloyd Pierson said his agency was excited to sign the agreement with Malawi. "We are determined to fund programmes at an expedited pace to meet the needs of the people of Malawi."
Thom backs food crisis campaign
Sandi Thom is backing a campaign to help ease the food crisis in developing countries.
The Scottish singer joined Oxfam to visit impoverished families in Africa and see the devastation caused by the food crisis.
The Scots singer joined Oxfam to visit impoverished families in Africa and see the devastation caused by the food crisisShe said: "My visit to Malawi opened my eyes to the extent of the poverty and the harsh reality of how some people live and how rising food prices are affecting them.
"You have to ask yourself what you would do if you were in the situation many Malawians face - if you had a family to feed but the prices were doubling or tripling.
"The people I met in Malawi, and many millions like them around the world, need people here to show generosity when they need it most. I urge and plead the public to make a donation."
The Oxfam World Food Crisis Appeal is aiming to raise £15 million to help pay for international development and humanitarian work on food and agriculture.
Malawi's third cell operator promises to focus on network quality and coverage
Malawi's third mobile network operator, Globally Advanced Integrated Networks (Gain), says it is scouting for strategic investors and intends rolling out its network in May next year.
Gain will be using Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA) technology.
"SDMA uses multiple antennas and has an extended base station range, increased system capacity and [better] signal quality than Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology, which is prone to network congestion," says Gain director Kalilani.
He adds that, apart from competing with the existing operators, which mainly cater for the urban areas, Gain will focus on rural areas and other places with no network coverage.
"We want to ensure that we have no cases of dropped calls due to pressure on the machines. We will, therefore, make sure that we have enough capacity to provide high-quality and affordable services," says Kalilani.
Peter Lamplough, who is also a Gain director, comments that final negotiations on the licence conditions between the company and the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) are currently under way and should be finalised by December.
"We are in the process of assembling a highly trained technical team, which is well versed in the technology, to roll out the network," says Lamplough.
There have been complaints from Malawian mobile phone users about network congestion, which the existing mobile operators attribute to the ever increasing number of subscribers.
The existing mobile phone network operators are pan-African mobile operator Zain and TNM, which is owned by Press Corporation.
Gain was awarded the licence to operate the country's third mobile phone network ahead of the US-based Millennium Global Telecom and South Africa-based Econet Wireless.
Meanwhile, Macra says it is assessing bids for the fourth cellular network, with the winner expected to be named before the end of the year.
Malawi has one of the lowest cellular phone penetration rates in Africa, with a mere 7% of the population having access to cellular phone services.
On the fixed-line front, the Malawi government has granted a second licence to a consortium of African investors known as Access Communications Limited (ACL).
ACL, which is preparing to roll out its network, will compete with Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL), which the government handed over to a consortium comprising Malawi's Press Corporation, as an equity partner; Germany's Detecon, as a technical partner; and South Africa's Development Bank of Southern Africa and Standard Bank, as financial partners.
Gain will be using Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA) technology.
"SDMA uses multiple antennas and has an extended base station range, increased system capacity and [better] signal quality than Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology, which is prone to network congestion," says Gain director Kalilani.
He adds that, apart from competing with the existing operators, which mainly cater for the urban areas, Gain will focus on rural areas and other places with no network coverage.
"We want to ensure that we have no cases of dropped calls due to pressure on the machines. We will, therefore, make sure that we have enough capacity to provide high-quality and affordable services," says Kalilani.
Peter Lamplough, who is also a Gain director, comments that final negotiations on the licence conditions between the company and the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) are currently under way and should be finalised by December.
"We are in the process of assembling a highly trained technical team, which is well versed in the technology, to roll out the network," says Lamplough.
There have been complaints from Malawian mobile phone users about network congestion, which the existing mobile operators attribute to the ever increasing number of subscribers.
The existing mobile phone network operators are pan-African mobile operator Zain and TNM, which is owned by Press Corporation.
Gain was awarded the licence to operate the country's third mobile phone network ahead of the US-based Millennium Global Telecom and South Africa-based Econet Wireless.
Meanwhile, Macra says it is assessing bids for the fourth cellular network, with the winner expected to be named before the end of the year.
Malawi has one of the lowest cellular phone penetration rates in Africa, with a mere 7% of the population having access to cellular phone services.
On the fixed-line front, the Malawi government has granted a second licence to a consortium of African investors known as Access Communications Limited (ACL).
ACL, which is preparing to roll out its network, will compete with Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL), which the government handed over to a consortium comprising Malawi's Press Corporation, as an equity partner; Germany's Detecon, as a technical partner; and South Africa's Development Bank of Southern Africa and Standard Bank, as financial partners.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
