US Agency for International Development (USAID), has today announced over $11 million in grants to eight organisations working in seven countries in Africa to extend coverage of malaria prevention and control activities in communities most affected.
The grants, provided through President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), will target particularly children under age five and pregnant women.
Programmes in Malawi, Liberia, Senegal, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda and Angola will benefit from grant, according to USAID.
Malaria Communities Program (MCP) providing these grants is a $30 million initiative created under PMI to support efforts of communities and indigenous organisations to combat malaria in Africa. Announced in December 2006, programme specifically aims to identify new organisations that are uniquely positioned to work at the community level, while also seeking to increase local and indigenous capacities to undertake community-based malaria prevention and treatment activities and to build local ownership of malaria control for the long term.
"I am committed to expanding the work of nongovernmental and faith-based organisations, and other community based entities to reach people with the tools and knowledge to control malaria," said R. Tim Ziemer, U.S. Malaria Coordinator. "The key to saving lives, especially children, is to expand proven approaches and interventions until they reach each and every child who needs them."
One of the key community projects in Malawi, will implement a 4-year, $1.3 million malaria programme targeting about 60,000 under-five children and pregnant mothers in Phalombe District in southern Malawi. Through community education and training activities, project will increase community awareness and knowledge on malaria prevention, treatment and case management; promote correct and consistent use of insecticide treated nets; increase access to intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) among pregnant women; and build capacity of indigenous organisations in malaria management.
In other countries project will also address additionally preventive and care capacities as well as health education amongst communities through different community structures.
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Family's eyes opened in Malawi
Goal is to return to poor African nation
A 26-day trip in Africa was an eye-opener for the Clarke family of Ajax.
The Clarkes spent three-and-a-half weeks in the impoverished African nation of Malawi, a country ravaged by HIV and AIDS.
The country has a population of 14 million, of which one million are children orphaned by the diseases.
Malawi is in southeast Africa, bordered by Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania.
The Clarkes -- Brian, Ardena, son Derek, 18, and daughter Jenna, 16 -- were there from Aug. 16 to Sept. 10.
"Missionary friends do a trip once a year. They were missionaries in Africa for 50 years," Mr. Clarke said.
The friends, Arn and Elsie Bowler, now live in Oshawa.
"I've known them for many, many years, and this opportunity came up," Mr. Clarke said.
"I did volunteer work with missionaries in Africa 30 years ago," said Mr. Clarke, adding the family members are now members of the Southside Worship Centre in Ajax.
The Bowlers' son, Stephen, and his wife Kathy have been in Malawi for 15 years, doing AIDS relief and helping orphans.
"This program feeds hundreds of orphans and abandoned children every day," Mr. Clarke said.
Malawi has a "very large percentage of orphans," Mr. Clarke said. "Grandmothers are looking after very young children because their parents are gone, having died from AIDS. It's extremely poor."
Her husband and children went out to visit villages, Ms. Clarke said.
"It blew our kids away," Ms. Clarke said. "Steve's wife has 200 clients, handicapped kids."
Some of the children have to walk 90 minutes just to get to the clinic. While there, Kathy Bowler will feed them.
"They have nothing else. She has a nutrition program and she weighs babies. If they've lost weight, she has some rice and she gives it to them," Ms. Clarke said.
Ms. Bowler also runs an orthopedic clinic, with doctors volunteering their time. "He (the doctor) sees the children one day a month. It's just amazing.
"The clinics are run by donations," Ms. Clarke said, adding a British girl is also there helping with education programs.
The children have been afflicted with cerebral malaria or meningitis, while others have cerebral palsy.
"People walk in from the villages. They don't have water and they live in mud huts. The kids would be forgotten if not for (Ms. Bowler). One dad walked five hours for medicine," Ms. Clarke said.
About 75 children come once a month for epilepsy medicine.
"It really was an eye-opener" for the children, Ms. Clarke said. "Seeing the level of kids having nothing.
"One of my husband's goals is to take us back. He said he'd like to do it again. It opened our eyes to the need," she said.
Knowing the Bowlers are there means "we know where the money is going and it's really used well. Hopefully, we'll go back one day. It's one of our goals," Ms. Clarke said.
The trip showed them "how much need there is and how much of a huge difference we are able to make," Mr. Clarke said.
The Bowlers run Children of the Blessed Trust, through Visionledd.
"In Malawi, if a child is born with a deformity, it's a plague on the family," Mr. Clarke said. "Children of Blessing changes the whole notion. The work they do is amazing, astounding."
One incident involved a boy who came in "walking like an older man with Parkinsons. He was having five seizures a night. He was living with seven people and keeping them awake," Ms. Clarke said.
Once the boy was given medicine, the seizures stopped, she said.
One man couldn't walk and, to get around, had to drag himself along the ground. He was given a wheelchair and now gets around on that.
In another case, a nine-year-old boy was being carried around by a 10-year-old friend. When asked why he carried around the boy, the older boy said they were best friends.
A wheelchair was found for the younger boy, she said.
"All the things here we take for granted are changing lives in a huge, huge ways."
Donations can be made through visionledd.com.
Malawi: Cabinet passes sanitation policy
Cabinet has finally nodded to the Sanitation Policy, a provision that would give the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development enforcement mechanisms on sanitation especially in the provision of clean water to Malawians.(…)
“For example, a Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2006 indicates that hand washing, probably the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent water-borne diseases, is done on a meagre 2 percent at a time here in Malawi,” she added. (…)
“For example, a Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2006 indicates that hand washing, probably the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent water-borne diseases, is done on a meagre 2 percent at a time here in Malawi,” she added. (…)
Canadian Children Celebrate the Nationwide Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Campaign
Hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren across the country mobilize to help their peers in Africa go to school
The 2008 Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign is now in full swing across the country, marked today by a special Halloween celebration hosted by the Canadian Children's Museum in Gatineau, Quebec. In the days leading up to Halloween, hundreds of thousands of children from every province and territory will take part in the over half-century-old Canadian tradition of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, including a wide range of similarly colourful and educational activities in schools and communities across the country.
In Gatineau, students from Ottawa's Elmwood School and Gatineau's l'Ecole Vieux Verger dressed in Halloween costumes took part in a symbolic Walk for Water, one of numerous such walks being held today and in the coming days across Canada.
Joined by well-known actor and UNICEF Quebec Ambassador Catherine Brunet, and award-winning child activist, young author, and National UNICEF Child Representative Bilaal Rajan, over 50 schoolchildren participated in a first-hand learning experience of one of the significant barriers preventing many African girls and boys from attending school - the daily chore of walking to fetch their family's supply of clean water.
"Children and young people can have a major impact on their world," said Catherine Brunet, who led the event and engaged the young participants in a dialogue on the power of education, as she herself has witnessed in Burkina Faso. "Seeing the progress achieved by providing access to quality basic education for millions of children has made me realize how easy it is to contribute to something wonderful. The participation of children and young people through this extraordinary initiative of kids helping kids has changed my life. I am so proud of being part of this event with you, and I say loud and clear that we can change the world!"
Bilaal Rajan, who co-led the event, has visited UNICEF-supported education programmes in Malawi and seen the smiles on children's faces when they see their dreams become a reality: being able to learn, socialize and develop their potential thanks to the contributions of young people. "Every child, with the help of their family, their teacher, their school and their community, can make a lasting difference in the lives of their peers around the world," said Rajan. "I encourage you to consider what you, your friends, the students in your school - and all young Canadians - can do to help other kids live their dreams. Together, this Halloween season, we can help improve the lives of children like us in Malawi and Rwanda."
Schools for Africa
More than one million children in Malawi and Rwanda will benefit from the Schools for Africa programme - a joint initiative established by UNICEF, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and the Hamburg Society for the Promotion of Democracy and International Law - which UNICEF Canada is supporting for the third consecutive year with funds raised through the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign. Through the Schools for Africa programme, UNICEF helps increase access to quality basic education by building new schools, repairing and refurbishing existing schools, providing schools with clean water and sanitation facilities, and training teachers.
Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF
Since the UNICEF Halloween campaign was launched in 1955, Canadian children have raised more than $96 million to help save and enhance the lives of children in need around the world. What started years ago with children carrying the famous UNICEF orange collection box has now evolved into more creative, fun and meaningful opportunities for them to both learn and help other children throughout the month of October.
As of 2006, the collection box is no longer part of the campaign, but the tradition of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF continues to be the most popular and engaging Halloween fundraising activity undertaken annually by children and schools across Canada. New this year, children can now build their own online fundraising pages and all Canadians can contribute directly through a secure online donation page at www.trickortreatforunicef.
Amazing activities across the country
Over the years, the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign, while still being driven by and for children, has become a family affair and a community-based annual celebration. Adults and young people alike are joining in this nationwide mobilization of Canadians to help children around the world. Pumpkin-carving contests engaging local artists and media personalities, pumpkin art tours, a reading marathon, challenges to teachers and principals, and Halloween parties organized by professional and staff associations and social clubs are just a few of the innovative school and community fundraising activities being organized to help UNICEF Canada provide thousands of children in Malawi and Rwanda with quality basic education.
Exciting prizes available for participating children and schools
In addition to generously hosting today's Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF celebration, the Canadian Children's Museum is offering two exciting prizes to the top fundraising schools in Ottawa and Gatineau: two unbelievable Overnight Adventures at the museum.
Other great prizes being offered to reward participating children and schools include:
The top English-speaking fundraising school in Canada will win an exclusive visit from UNICEF Canada Ambassadors Ben Mulroney and Farley Flex, of Canadian Idol, who will help judge its school's talent contest. Participating French-speaking schools in Quebec will be eligible to win a number of fun and educational prizes, thanks to Ramdam, Archambault, the Montreal Botanical Garden, and the Plains of Abraham (for schools in the Quebec City region). Top fundraising schools in Ontario will win a pizza party from Pizza Nova. And students who raise funds online are eligible to win a family dinner out from Swiss Chalet and book prize packs from Scholastic.
UNICEF Canada is also grateful for the generous support of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF partners: DHL, for providing in-kind shipping of Trick-or-Treat school materials; Slaight Communications, and Astral Media in Quebec, for the broadcasting of public service announcements promoting the campaign; and Cadbury, for its in-store, on-pack and funding support.
This Halloween season, UNICEF Canada calls on all Canadians - children and adults - to join in and contribute generously to the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign to help give the gift of education to children in Malawi and Rwanda.
About UNICEF
UNICEF is the world's leader for children, working in 156 countries and territories to save, protect and enhance the lives of girls and boys. UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, promotes quality basic education, protects children from violence, exploitation and AIDS, and is the world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries. A global leader in emergencies with six decades of on-the-ground experience, UNICEF saves and rebuilds children's lives in natural disasters and conflict. UNICEF is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from individuals, businesses, foundations, schools, associations and governments.
For more information on Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF events in your region, or to arrange interviews or photo opportunities, please contact:
The 2008 Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign is now in full swing across the country, marked today by a special Halloween celebration hosted by the Canadian Children's Museum in Gatineau, Quebec. In the days leading up to Halloween, hundreds of thousands of children from every province and territory will take part in the over half-century-old Canadian tradition of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, including a wide range of similarly colourful and educational activities in schools and communities across the country.
In Gatineau, students from Ottawa's Elmwood School and Gatineau's l'Ecole Vieux Verger dressed in Halloween costumes took part in a symbolic Walk for Water, one of numerous such walks being held today and in the coming days across Canada.
Joined by well-known actor and UNICEF Quebec Ambassador Catherine Brunet, and award-winning child activist, young author, and National UNICEF Child Representative Bilaal Rajan, over 50 schoolchildren participated in a first-hand learning experience of one of the significant barriers preventing many African girls and boys from attending school - the daily chore of walking to fetch their family's supply of clean water.
"Children and young people can have a major impact on their world," said Catherine Brunet, who led the event and engaged the young participants in a dialogue on the power of education, as she herself has witnessed in Burkina Faso. "Seeing the progress achieved by providing access to quality basic education for millions of children has made me realize how easy it is to contribute to something wonderful. The participation of children and young people through this extraordinary initiative of kids helping kids has changed my life. I am so proud of being part of this event with you, and I say loud and clear that we can change the world!"
Bilaal Rajan, who co-led the event, has visited UNICEF-supported education programmes in Malawi and seen the smiles on children's faces when they see their dreams become a reality: being able to learn, socialize and develop their potential thanks to the contributions of young people. "Every child, with the help of their family, their teacher, their school and their community, can make a lasting difference in the lives of their peers around the world," said Rajan. "I encourage you to consider what you, your friends, the students in your school - and all young Canadians - can do to help other kids live their dreams. Together, this Halloween season, we can help improve the lives of children like us in Malawi and Rwanda."
Schools for Africa
More than one million children in Malawi and Rwanda will benefit from the Schools for Africa programme - a joint initiative established by UNICEF, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and the Hamburg Society for the Promotion of Democracy and International Law - which UNICEF Canada is supporting for the third consecutive year with funds raised through the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign. Through the Schools for Africa programme, UNICEF helps increase access to quality basic education by building new schools, repairing and refurbishing existing schools, providing schools with clean water and sanitation facilities, and training teachers.
Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF
Since the UNICEF Halloween campaign was launched in 1955, Canadian children have raised more than $96 million to help save and enhance the lives of children in need around the world. What started years ago with children carrying the famous UNICEF orange collection box has now evolved into more creative, fun and meaningful opportunities for them to both learn and help other children throughout the month of October.
As of 2006, the collection box is no longer part of the campaign, but the tradition of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF continues to be the most popular and engaging Halloween fundraising activity undertaken annually by children and schools across Canada. New this year, children can now build their own online fundraising pages and all Canadians can contribute directly through a secure online donation page at www.trickortreatforunicef.
Amazing activities across the country
Over the years, the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign, while still being driven by and for children, has become a family affair and a community-based annual celebration. Adults and young people alike are joining in this nationwide mobilization of Canadians to help children around the world. Pumpkin-carving contests engaging local artists and media personalities, pumpkin art tours, a reading marathon, challenges to teachers and principals, and Halloween parties organized by professional and staff associations and social clubs are just a few of the innovative school and community fundraising activities being organized to help UNICEF Canada provide thousands of children in Malawi and Rwanda with quality basic education.
Exciting prizes available for participating children and schools
In addition to generously hosting today's Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF celebration, the Canadian Children's Museum is offering two exciting prizes to the top fundraising schools in Ottawa and Gatineau: two unbelievable Overnight Adventures at the museum.
Other great prizes being offered to reward participating children and schools include:
The top English-speaking fundraising school in Canada will win an exclusive visit from UNICEF Canada Ambassadors Ben Mulroney and Farley Flex, of Canadian Idol, who will help judge its school's talent contest. Participating French-speaking schools in Quebec will be eligible to win a number of fun and educational prizes, thanks to Ramdam, Archambault, the Montreal Botanical Garden, and the Plains of Abraham (for schools in the Quebec City region). Top fundraising schools in Ontario will win a pizza party from Pizza Nova. And students who raise funds online are eligible to win a family dinner out from Swiss Chalet and book prize packs from Scholastic.
UNICEF Canada is also grateful for the generous support of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF partners: DHL, for providing in-kind shipping of Trick-or-Treat school materials; Slaight Communications, and Astral Media in Quebec, for the broadcasting of public service announcements promoting the campaign; and Cadbury, for its in-store, on-pack and funding support.
This Halloween season, UNICEF Canada calls on all Canadians - children and adults - to join in and contribute generously to the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign to help give the gift of education to children in Malawi and Rwanda.
About UNICEF
UNICEF is the world's leader for children, working in 156 countries and territories to save, protect and enhance the lives of girls and boys. UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, promotes quality basic education, protects children from violence, exploitation and AIDS, and is the world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries. A global leader in emergencies with six decades of on-the-ground experience, UNICEF saves and rebuilds children's lives in natural disasters and conflict. UNICEF is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from individuals, businesses, foundations, schools, associations and governments.
For more information on Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF events in your region, or to arrange interviews or photo opportunities, please contact:
Canadian Children Celebrate the Nationwide Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Campaign
Hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren across the country mobilize to help their peers in Africa go to school
The 2008 Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign is now in full swing across the country, marked today by a special Halloween celebration hosted by the Canadian Children's Museum in Gatineau, Quebec. In the days leading up to Halloween, hundreds of thousands of children from every province and territory will take part in the over half-century-old Canadian tradition of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, including a wide range of similarly colourful and educational activities in schools and communities across the country.
In Gatineau, students from Ottawa's Elmwood School and Gatineau's l'Ecole Vieux Verger dressed in Halloween costumes took part in a symbolic Walk for Water, one of numerous such walks being held today and in the coming days across Canada.
Joined by well-known actor and UNICEF Quebec Ambassador Catherine Brunet, and award-winning child activist, young author, and National UNICEF Child Representative Bilaal Rajan, over 50 schoolchildren participated in a first-hand learning experience of one of the significant barriers preventing many African girls and boys from attending school - the daily chore of walking to fetch their family's supply of clean water.
"Children and young people can have a major impact on their world," said Catherine Brunet, who led the event and engaged the young participants in a dialogue on the power of education, as she herself has witnessed in Burkina Faso. "Seeing the progress achieved by providing access to quality basic education for millions of children has made me realize how easy it is to contribute to something wonderful. The participation of children and young people through this extraordinary initiative of kids helping kids has changed my life. I am so proud of being part of this event with you, and I say loud and clear that we can change the world!"
Bilaal Rajan, who co-led the event, has visited UNICEF-supported education programmes in Malawi and seen the smiles on children's faces when they see their dreams become a reality: being able to learn, socialize and develop their potential thanks to the contributions of young people. "Every child, with the help of their family, their teacher, their school and their community, can make a lasting difference in the lives of their peers around the world," said Rajan. "I encourage you to consider what you, your friends, the students in your school - and all young Canadians - can do to help other kids live their dreams. Together, this Halloween season, we can help improve the lives of children like us in Malawi and Rwanda."
Schools for Africa
More than one million children in Malawi and Rwanda will benefit from the Schools for Africa programme - a joint initiative established by UNICEF, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and the Hamburg Society for the Promotion of Democracy and International Law - which UNICEF Canada is supporting for the third consecutive year with funds raised through the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign. Through the Schools for Africa programme, UNICEF helps increase access to quality basic education by building new schools, repairing and refurbishing existing schools, providing schools with clean water and sanitation facilities, and training teachers.
Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF
Since the UNICEF Halloween campaign was launched in 1955, Canadian children have raised more than $96 million to help save and enhance the lives of children in need around the world. What started years ago with children carrying the famous UNICEF orange collection box has now evolved into more creative, fun and meaningful opportunities for them to both learn and help other children throughout the month of October.
As of 2006, the collection box is no longer part of the campaign, but the tradition of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF continues to be the most popular and engaging Halloween fundraising activity undertaken annually by children and schools across Canada. New this year, children can now build their own online fundraising pages and all Canadians can contribute directly through a secure online donation page at www.trickortreatforunicef.ca.
Amazing activities across the country
Over the years, the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign, while still being driven by and for children, has become a family affair and a community-based annual celebration. Adults and young people alike are joining in this nationwide mobilization of Canadians to help children around the world. Pumpkin-carving contests engaging local artists and media personalities, pumpkin art tours, a reading marathon, challenges to teachers and principals, and Halloween parties organized by professional and staff associations and social clubs are just a few of the innovative school and community fundraising activities being organized to help UNICEF Canada provide thousands of children in Malawi and Rwanda with quality basic education.
Exciting prizes available for participating children and schools
In addition to generously hosting today's Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF celebration, the Canadian Children's Museum is offering two exciting prizes to the top fundraising schools in Ottawa and Gatineau: two unbelievable Overnight Adventures at the museum.
Other great prizes being offered to reward participating children and schools include:
The top English-speaking fundraising school in Canada will win an exclusive visit from UNICEF Canada Ambassadors Ben Mulroney and Farley Flex, of Canadian Idol, who will help judge its school's talent contest. Participating French-speaking schools in Quebec will be eligible to win a number of fun and educational prizes, thanks to Ramdam, Archambault, the Montreal Botanical Garden, and the Plains of Abraham (for schools in the Quebec City region). Top fundraising schools in Ontario will win a pizza party from Pizza Nova. And students who raise funds online are eligible to win a family dinner out from Swiss Chalet and book prize packs from Scholastic.
UNICEF Canada is also grateful for the generous support of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF partners: DHL, for providing in-kind shipping of Trick-or-Treat school materials; Slaight Communications, and Astral Media in Quebec, for the broadcasting of public service announcements promoting the campaign; and Cadbury, for its in-store, on-pack and funding support.
This Halloween season, UNICEF Canada calls on all Canadians - children and adults - to join in and contribute generously to the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign to help give the gift of education to children in Malawi and Rwanda.
About UNICEF
UNICEF is the world's leader for children, working in 156 countries and territories to save, protect and enhance the lives of girls and boys. UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, promotes quality basic education, protects children from violence, exploitation and AIDS, and is the world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries. A global leader in emergencies with six decades of on-the-ground experience, UNICEF saves and rebuilds children's lives in natural disasters and conflict. UNICEF is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from individuals, businesses, foundations, schools, associations and governments.
For more information on Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF events in your region, or to arrange interviews or photo opportunities, please contact:
Malawi minister voted best minister of the year
Malawi Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe has been voted as the Best African Minister of the Year by his colleagues during a meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board held in Washington, DC., in the USA recently, APA learnt here Thursday.
Goodall told journalists in Lilongwe on Thursday that fellow Finance Ministers from across the world who were meeting recently in Washington to, among others, discuss and come up with possible solutions to the financial turmoil currently facing Third World countries, voted him the award.
\"I am very pleased to be voted as the Minister of the Year. This was very good encouragement for me as an individual as well as the nation,\" he said.
The veteran economist who has worked for the African Development Bank and the World Bank before landing the finance portifolio, won the top accolade for the economic achievements Malawi has realised during the four years that he has been the country’s financial guru.
Goodall told journalists in Lilongwe on Thursday that fellow Finance Ministers from across the world who were meeting recently in Washington to, among others, discuss and come up with possible solutions to the financial turmoil currently facing Third World countries, voted him the award.
\"I am very pleased to be voted as the Minister of the Year. This was very good encouragement for me as an individual as well as the nation,\" he said.
The veteran economist who has worked for the African Development Bank and the World Bank before landing the finance portifolio, won the top accolade for the economic achievements Malawi has realised during the four years that he has been the country’s financial guru.
Malawi coach says 2010 World Cup draw fair
Malawi national football team coach Kinnah Phiri said on Thursday that the 2010 FIFA World Cup draw was fair to his side because the strength of most teams in the group is virtually equal.
The draw held in Zurich, Switzerland, pitches Malawi against Guinea, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso in a Group E qualifying campaign, which will also act the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers for Angola 2010.
\"We only need intensive preparations in terms of international friendlies for us to be strong and qualify for the World Cup,\" Phiri said.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) President Walter Nyamilandu said the association was more than ready to release the funding for the team’s preparations for the tournament.
\"We have seen that the group is fair and we are optimistic that Malawi will sail through to both the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations,\" Nyamilandu said.
The draw held in Zurich, Switzerland, pitches Malawi against Guinea, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso in a Group E qualifying campaign, which will also act the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers for Angola 2010.
\"We only need intensive preparations in terms of international friendlies for us to be strong and qualify for the World Cup,\" Phiri said.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) President Walter Nyamilandu said the association was more than ready to release the funding for the team’s preparations for the tournament.
\"We have seen that the group is fair and we are optimistic that Malawi will sail through to both the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations,\" Nyamilandu said.
Women of Malawi
Oh break my broken heart:
Between Oct. 12 and 18, the Malawian government, with technical and financial assistance from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), treated more than 130 destitute women who have no or little access to health care services.
Lausi Adamu, from Makanjira in Malawi’s lake district of Mangochi, who does not know her exact age, has suffered from fistula for the last 25 years. Her affliction came to an end last week, when she received an operation free of charge to stop her ailment.
Adamu told IPS reporter Pilirani Semu-Banda about her life with the disease as she recuperated in hospital after the operation.
IPS: How did you develop fistula?
Lausi Adamu: It was 25 years ago, when I was in labour for three days while giving birth to my first and only child at home.
I received no medical care throughout pregnancy, and it was only my mother who was with me during delivery. There was no midwife or doctor available. It was a very long and painful labour and the baby was stillborn when he eventually came out.
I have been unable to control the leakage of both urine and faeces from my body ever since and I haven’t had the courage to have another child.
IPS: Why did you not receive medical care during pregnancy and delivery?
LA: It takes four hours to walk from my village to the nearest hospital, and no vehicle goes into my area because the road is in a very bad condition. Most births therefore happen at home, and women rely on their mothers, their mother-in-laws or traditional birth attendants to help them during labour.
The culture in my area also demands that the first baby has to be delivered at home for elders to ensure that the husband is indeed responsible for the pregnancy. There is a belief that most women have more than one relationship after they just got married -– so the women who help at birth ask the woman in labour to mention the (name of the) real father of the baby. The belief is that if any complications develop during the process of giving birth the woman has been unfaithful.
IPS: What did you know about fistula before you developed the condition?
LA: I thought I was bewitched, but everyone else in my community thought I had been unfaithful to my husband. It was a very strange affliction. My mother took me to five different traditional healers who told me that the condition was incurable and that I should accept to live with it for the rest of my life.
However, there have been many such cases in my area over the years, and most of the women have been treated by community members the same way as me (with contempt).
Government and UNFPA staff have in the past year been coming to my area, and they have been carrying out community meetings where they are telling us that the condition is medical and that it is repairable.
I decided to come to the hospital to see if indeed I can be helped after one of the women from my community, who had a similar condition, came back cured after visiting the hospital.
Between Oct. 12 and 18, the Malawian government, with technical and financial assistance from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), treated more than 130 destitute women who have no or little access to health care services.
Lausi Adamu, from Makanjira in Malawi’s lake district of Mangochi, who does not know her exact age, has suffered from fistula for the last 25 years. Her affliction came to an end last week, when she received an operation free of charge to stop her ailment.
Adamu told IPS reporter Pilirani Semu-Banda about her life with the disease as she recuperated in hospital after the operation.
IPS: How did you develop fistula?
Lausi Adamu: It was 25 years ago, when I was in labour for three days while giving birth to my first and only child at home.
I received no medical care throughout pregnancy, and it was only my mother who was with me during delivery. There was no midwife or doctor available. It was a very long and painful labour and the baby was stillborn when he eventually came out.
I have been unable to control the leakage of both urine and faeces from my body ever since and I haven’t had the courage to have another child.
IPS: Why did you not receive medical care during pregnancy and delivery?
LA: It takes four hours to walk from my village to the nearest hospital, and no vehicle goes into my area because the road is in a very bad condition. Most births therefore happen at home, and women rely on their mothers, their mother-in-laws or traditional birth attendants to help them during labour.
The culture in my area also demands that the first baby has to be delivered at home for elders to ensure that the husband is indeed responsible for the pregnancy. There is a belief that most women have more than one relationship after they just got married -– so the women who help at birth ask the woman in labour to mention the (name of the) real father of the baby. The belief is that if any complications develop during the process of giving birth the woman has been unfaithful.
IPS: What did you know about fistula before you developed the condition?
LA: I thought I was bewitched, but everyone else in my community thought I had been unfaithful to my husband. It was a very strange affliction. My mother took me to five different traditional healers who told me that the condition was incurable and that I should accept to live with it for the rest of my life.
However, there have been many such cases in my area over the years, and most of the women have been treated by community members the same way as me (with contempt).
Government and UNFPA staff have in the past year been coming to my area, and they have been carrying out community meetings where they are telling us that the condition is medical and that it is repairable.
I decided to come to the hospital to see if indeed I can be helped after one of the women from my community, who had a similar condition, came back cured after visiting the hospital.
Fish farming in Malawi's dustbowl
This seems an unlikely place to go fishing for your dinner. The dusty scrublands of Zomba West have been brittle dry since April, when the rainy season ended.
The place is spookily deserted today - the funeral of the local chief. In the marketplace, we find only one stall open, run by children. And all they are selling is fish.
"When we first started fish farming - people thought it was mad - they told us it will never work here," says Esther Fikira.
She leads me to a series of dirty green ponds, dug into the baked clay soil.
The water is murky, almost stagnant, but Esther assures me there is a big haul of tasty "chambo" (a local delicacy) lurking just below the surface.
"If you had only seen the benefits this community has had from eating these fish," says the 50-year-old, wading in, "then you will know why I will never give my pond away."
Esther Fikira weeds out one of her fish ponds, in West Zomba
Dry county
There are now 700 fish farmers like Esther here in the bushland settlements to the west of Malawi's former colonial capital, Zomba.
You may have heard of the fiction novel Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Well, this is the real thing - an ambitious food security project developed by the WorldFish Centre, a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
They are introducing small-scale aquaculture to ensure families in Malawi have enough food and income to buy maize - even in years when droughts affect their crops.
The project assists farmers by digging small, rain-fed ponds of about 10x15m on their land, or anywhere the soil is suitable for retaining water.
Families like Esther's use the ponds to rear common fish species - which in Malawi means chambo (a species of tilapia) and kampango (catfish).
At WorldFish's local headquarters, just along the road, Dr Daniel Jamu and his team of scientists are breeding new varieties of chambo - selected to grow fast, fat, and feed happily on whatever waste is left over from households.
Esther uses manure from her goats and chickens to keep the pond high in nutrients which allow plankton to thrive. The fish eat the plankton, and when they grow to full size, they are harvested, usually every six months.
Fish are now a source of income for families in West Zomba
Trading up
She sells most of her fish - raising enough money to buy maize when the harvest is poor, and to help feed and clothe the orphaned children she takes in.
"Before we had the ponds, this area suffered from a lot of poverty," she explains. "We didn't eat meat, and we lacked any source of income.
"But with the coming of the fish ponds, we had so much leftover to sell, I had enough money left over to buy fertiliser, with the government subsidy."
When the ponds are emptied, a rich layer of silt can be dug from the base - to use as fertiliser. Esther uses hers to grow maize, which in turn ensures that her goats and chickens keep popping out manure for the pond.
It's a perfect circle. "Or what we call an integrated agriculture-aquaculture (IAA) system," says Joseph Nagoli, of WorldFish. "This isn't high input fish farming. This is simple and sustainable."
Previous attempts to introduce aquaculture in Malawi have failed, he says, "because people though there was no longer need to grow maize. The message was wrong. Now we see fish is just one part of a family's agriculture".
Their latest research project aims to quantify the nutritional value of different species of tilapia.
Silt from the fish ponds is used to keep soils fertile for crop planting
Healthy harvest
The fish supply essential protein, calcium, and vitamin A - essential for children and the elderly, and those with HIV/AIDS.
Almost one fifth of Malawians aged 15-49 are infected, and each year tens of thousands die of the disease.
But good nourishment can prolong the life of HIV/AIDS patients by up to eight years, according to research by the World Health Organisation.
WorldFish has introduced aquaculture to 1,200 HIV affected families in Malawi - doubling their average annual income and increasing their intake of fish by 150%.
Esther has already seen the impacts first hand.
"The nutritional impact of the fish was very obvious - on the children, the elderly, and most especially on those with HIV/AIDS," she says.
"I have a neighbour who was very sick. Now she is able to work in the fields - to make a living."
The challenge now, says Nagoli, is to expand aquaculture from "a sector to an industry". WorldFish has a target of 8,000 households in Malawi - equivalent to 40,000 people.
Daniel Jamu oversees tilapia breeding at the WorldFish research centre
Fortunately, there is already a healthy appetite for fish among the country's 11 million population. Malawi may be landlocked, but it has had a thriving fishing industry, based largely in Lake Malawi and Lake Chilwa.
"It may surprise you to know, that the biggest source of protein for Malawians is not chicken or beef, but fish," says Dr Jeffrey Luhanga, technical controller of Malawi's Ministry of Agriculture.
"We have a policy - a fish every day."
But just as staple crops are under threat from climate change and over-intensive farming practices, so to is Malawi's fishing industry.
Out of stock
Lake Chilwa provides around 20% of the country's catch - 17,000 tonnes - but at a depth of just 7m, it is highly vulnerable to drought - having completely dried up as recently as 1995.
"Nobody knows what will happen with climate change," concedes Mr Nagoli.
Meanwhile, the lake's fish stocks are already suffering from over-fishing and environmental degradation.
FEEDING FEARS
Malawi's struggle for food security
The lake's resident population of fishermen - who live in floating reed huts, on the marshy shorelines of Chisi island - are watching their livelihoods evaporate.
As dusk falls, I cross to the island by motor boat, weaving through the reeds, until we find a fire alight in one of the floating huts.
"The catch is not good," says Mr Irons - an elderly veteran, who uses traps to catch his tilapia. "The other fishermen use nets, and they are taking all the catch. I get bigger fish, but I don't get as many."
He worries for his family. They live miles away and he sees them very rarely. If the stocks dry up, he won't have any income to support them.
WorldFish are working to introduce sustainable fishing practices - to ensure the survival of both the fish and the fishermen.
"Urban" fish farming could be the key to their success in the longterm - by easing the burden on Lake Chilwa's precious natural resources.
"You know the old saying," says Dr Luhanga. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
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