Malawi, one of Africa's poorest nations, has received 20 million dollars (15.4 million euros) from the Global Fund to boost its AIDS and HIV treatment programme, a senior official said on Wednesday.
The funds will be used to buy anti-retroviral drugs and HIV testing kits, said Washington Kaimvi, of Malawi's National AIDS Commission.
"As of June, we had 184,405 patients on anti-retroviral therapy (ART), but we hope to reach over 200,000 soon," Kaimvi said.
"We are doing well on free AIDS drugs. Its been a big scale-up, from 4,000 patients in 2003," Kaimvi added.
Malawi has an HIV infection rate of 12 percent. The epidemic has cut life expectancy to 36 years with some 85,000 people dying of AIDS-related illnesses each year.
Kaimvi said it was vital to boost the number of people being tested for HIV. Only 15 percent of 12 million Malawians have so far been tested, a far cry from the government's target of getting 1.5 million people tested every year.
The Geneva-based Global Fund, a partnership between governments, civil society and the private sector, was set up to secure funding to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
African Alliance gets stockbroking licence in Malawi
The Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) has given African Alliance Limited a nod to start trading as the fifth stockbroking firm on the local bourse.
This development means African Alliance Limited—a wholly-owned subsidiary of African Alliance Group of South Africa—will begin serving MSE investors this month.
African Alliance is a large investment banking group currently operating in Africa.
With this development, African Alliance will be the fifth brokerage firm participating in the country’s capital market. The others are Stockbrokers Malawi Limited (SML), FDH Stockbrokers Limited, Trust Securities and the new-kid-on-the block CDH Stockbrokers Limited which opened its doors to the public last month.
In an interview on the sidelines of TNM listing, Alliance Africa (Malawi) chief executive officer Armstrong Kamphoni said the firm applied for a stocbroking licence early this year and was happy to have been finally admitted by MSE to be a broker.
He said African Alliance, which is headquartered in South Africa, is a fully-fledged bank although in Malawi it will start trading as a stockbroker. He said apart from opening in Malawi, African Alliance has just received a licence in Ghana and will be rolling out in Egypt and North Africa.
"African Alliance firmly believes Malawi has a market for a new stockbroking firm. That is why we will start with a stocbroking business and from there we will see how we can help by developing new products on the financial market.
"As African Alliance, we will not only come to simply share the cake that is there but we will help grow the cake. African Alliance will bring in new experience. We will bring in more efficiency and in the process we should see more people participating in the stock market, so it may not be true that the market is saturated as the market will always correct itself," said Kamphoni, a former CEO for Stockbrokers Malawi Limited.
He said with too many players on the market there is a possibility of mergers to form a stronger force or some will fall out as a result, developments that signal good competition on the market.
Ceaser Pirs, head of operations at African Alliance Group, indicated also on Monday that with vast experience in the capital market in Africa, Malawians should expect to enjoy the difference from the new stockbroker.
"We believe that only a better company should offer the best service and, as people will see, African Alliance will give the best service to all our clients. We also feel in Malawi there is still room for development and as a stockbroker we will have a duty to come in and help in advising Malawians on how they can benefit the most from capital investments and how they can start to participate in stock trading," Pirs.
John Kamanga, the operations manager for the MSE, said investors should welcome another entrant to the stock brokerage industry adding that the growing market should be able to support an additional broker.
"This development is more than welcome as it increases the number of players and it will bring efficiency. The coming of African Alliance will open up innovation among the players. With more members on the market there will be stiff competition and all these players will need to bring in more innovations that can stimulate supply and demand," he said.
Stockbrokers on the market welcomed the development and said the local market is growing fast and needed more players to provided efficient services.
The MSE frequently sees more than US$100,000 worth of shares exchanging hands per week.
This development means African Alliance Limited—a wholly-owned subsidiary of African Alliance Group of South Africa—will begin serving MSE investors this month.
African Alliance is a large investment banking group currently operating in Africa.
With this development, African Alliance will be the fifth brokerage firm participating in the country’s capital market. The others are Stockbrokers Malawi Limited (SML), FDH Stockbrokers Limited, Trust Securities and the new-kid-on-the block CDH Stockbrokers Limited which opened its doors to the public last month.
In an interview on the sidelines of TNM listing, Alliance Africa (Malawi) chief executive officer Armstrong Kamphoni said the firm applied for a stocbroking licence early this year and was happy to have been finally admitted by MSE to be a broker.
He said African Alliance, which is headquartered in South Africa, is a fully-fledged bank although in Malawi it will start trading as a stockbroker. He said apart from opening in Malawi, African Alliance has just received a licence in Ghana and will be rolling out in Egypt and North Africa.
"African Alliance firmly believes Malawi has a market for a new stockbroking firm. That is why we will start with a stocbroking business and from there we will see how we can help by developing new products on the financial market.
"As African Alliance, we will not only come to simply share the cake that is there but we will help grow the cake. African Alliance will bring in new experience. We will bring in more efficiency and in the process we should see more people participating in the stock market, so it may not be true that the market is saturated as the market will always correct itself," said Kamphoni, a former CEO for Stockbrokers Malawi Limited.
He said with too many players on the market there is a possibility of mergers to form a stronger force or some will fall out as a result, developments that signal good competition on the market.
Ceaser Pirs, head of operations at African Alliance Group, indicated also on Monday that with vast experience in the capital market in Africa, Malawians should expect to enjoy the difference from the new stockbroker.
"We believe that only a better company should offer the best service and, as people will see, African Alliance will give the best service to all our clients. We also feel in Malawi there is still room for development and as a stockbroker we will have a duty to come in and help in advising Malawians on how they can benefit the most from capital investments and how they can start to participate in stock trading," Pirs.
John Kamanga, the operations manager for the MSE, said investors should welcome another entrant to the stock brokerage industry adding that the growing market should be able to support an additional broker.
"This development is more than welcome as it increases the number of players and it will bring efficiency. The coming of African Alliance will open up innovation among the players. With more members on the market there will be stiff competition and all these players will need to bring in more innovations that can stimulate supply and demand," he said.
Stockbrokers on the market welcomed the development and said the local market is growing fast and needed more players to provided efficient services.
The MSE frequently sees more than US$100,000 worth of shares exchanging hands per week.
Malawi’s VCT week targets over 200,000 people
Secretary for Nutrition and Hiv/Aids, Mary Shawa, on Wednesday said that the weeklong 2008 National Voluntary, Counselling and Testing (VCT) campaign which will be held from 10 to 16 November has targeted over 200,000 people countrywide.
Shawa told APA during an interview that the week will seek to allow people to know their sero-status through the voluntary testing of HIV/Aids disease.
"Knowing your sero-status will help both government and families in planning for their future," she said.
She added that the occasion has now become an annual event specifically designed to help government and all stakeholders curb the HIV pandemic.
Shawa said this would only happen through advocacy and other preventive measures like knowing one’s HIV status.
Last year government targeted to test 150,000 people but it wound up testing over 180,000 volunteers.
Shawa told APA during an interview that the week will seek to allow people to know their sero-status through the voluntary testing of HIV/Aids disease.
"Knowing your sero-status will help both government and families in planning for their future," she said.
She added that the occasion has now become an annual event specifically designed to help government and all stakeholders curb the HIV pandemic.
Shawa said this would only happen through advocacy and other preventive measures like knowing one’s HIV status.
Last year government targeted to test 150,000 people but it wound up testing over 180,000 volunteers.
Malawi's illegal clinical trials
Police have arrested a health worker at St Luke's Hospital near Mount Malosa in southern Malawi for using unauthorised drugs on 20 patients suffering from incurable tumours, as full-blown Aids attacked their immune system.
Thomeck Nyaude, the police public relations officer for the Zomba district, confirmed that investigations are under way into claims that six patients may have died. Further charges may result.
The suspect, Tanzania-born Thadeo Mac'osano, has pleaded not guilty to contravening the Pharmacy Medicine and Poison Board regulations controlling the conduct of medical tests on humans.The penalties range from seven years to life imprisonment.
Mac'osano is not a doctor, but is registered with the Medical Council of Malawi as a clinician. He trained as a medical technician at the Malamulo College of Health Science in the town of Makwasa for four years and has a diploma in palliative care from Makerere University in Uganda.
"The clinical trials were not approved by the country's science and ethical committee as required by law. The suspect used randomised controlled trials on HIV-positive Kaposi's sarcoma patients," Aaron Sosola, acting registrar of the country's Pharmacy Medicine and Poison Board (PMPB), told SciDev.Net.
Mac'osano's application to run such tests on humans was rejected in 2006 in part because it did not adhere to international standards protecting the rights of the patients, Sosola said.
He seems to have applied to a series of bodies meant to provide oversight of such tests including the College of Medicine Research and Ethical Committee headed by professor Robin Broadhead, as well as the HIV unit at the ministry of health. Neither body appears to have responded to his requests, probably because Mac'osano is not an oncologist (cancer specialist) let alone a doctor and had no research background.
Mac'osano also did not have approval from the National Health Science Research Committee (NHSRC) headed by paediatrician Charles Mwansambo at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, said Damson Kathyola, head of research and planning at the ministry of health.
However, suspicions by hospital administrators when Mac'osano announced his preliminary findings prompted an investigation.
Thomeck Nyaude, the police public relations officer for the Zomba district, confirmed that investigations are under way into claims that six patients may have died. Further charges may result.
The suspect, Tanzania-born Thadeo Mac'osano, has pleaded not guilty to contravening the Pharmacy Medicine and Poison Board regulations controlling the conduct of medical tests on humans.The penalties range from seven years to life imprisonment.
Mac'osano is not a doctor, but is registered with the Medical Council of Malawi as a clinician. He trained as a medical technician at the Malamulo College of Health Science in the town of Makwasa for four years and has a diploma in palliative care from Makerere University in Uganda.
"The clinical trials were not approved by the country's science and ethical committee as required by law. The suspect used randomised controlled trials on HIV-positive Kaposi's sarcoma patients," Aaron Sosola, acting registrar of the country's Pharmacy Medicine and Poison Board (PMPB), told SciDev.Net.
Mac'osano's application to run such tests on humans was rejected in 2006 in part because it did not adhere to international standards protecting the rights of the patients, Sosola said.
He seems to have applied to a series of bodies meant to provide oversight of such tests including the College of Medicine Research and Ethical Committee headed by professor Robin Broadhead, as well as the HIV unit at the ministry of health. Neither body appears to have responded to his requests, probably because Mac'osano is not an oncologist (cancer specialist) let alone a doctor and had no research background.
Mac'osano also did not have approval from the National Health Science Research Committee (NHSRC) headed by paediatrician Charles Mwansambo at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, said Damson Kathyola, head of research and planning at the ministry of health.
However, suspicions by hospital administrators when Mac'osano announced his preliminary findings prompted an investigation.
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