By Fostina Mkandawire

Salima, May 3, Mana: A nutrition unit constructed with financial support from Germany Cooperation at Salima District Council is expected to enhance service delivery and nutrition coordination among sectors.

A nutrition unit is a facility that takes care of all malnutrition cases and diet related issues with an aim of improving people's health and help them make better dietary choices.

Speaking during the handover ceremony in Salima District on Thursday, Country Director for German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), Alan Walsch, described the unit as a pace setter in the country because it is the first of its kind in all the district councils.

He said having a unit where nutrition officers from education, agriculture, health and secretariat will enhance idea sharing, collaboration and problem solving will enable communities to be well informed on nutrition issues.

Walsch said they noted office space challenges in most district councils, therefore, constructing offices where all players in the nutrition field should be confined would solve most of the challenges.

He said Salima was identified as the first district to pilot the project, describing it as an enduring asset which will surpass the lifespan of the Food and Nutrition Security Programme (FNSP) in which the facility has been constructed under.

"While people and programs may change, this building will remain a stable and valuable resource for years to come he said.

"We took great care to ensure that the building's design and placement were environmentally conscious, preserving the beauty of the surrounding trees,” he said.

Walsch said they are expecting to see communities coming to the facility to access nutritional help from officers housed under the facility.

District Commissioner for Salima, James Mwenda, said nutrition requires concerted effort of multiple sectors.

"The new office building will serve as a hub for nutrition officers from different sectors, establishing a permanent base for the Salima District Nutrition Unit. We are privileged to be the first district to have this facility," he said.

Mwenda emphasized that the Council will put in place maintenance measures so that the unit serves its intended purpose and not abused.

Three motorcycles were donated to ease mobility challenges of nutrition officers.

The Food and Nutrition Security Programme (FNSP) has been active in Salima District since 2015 and strives to enhance nutrition outcomes and also working at multiple levels, empowering communities, supporting districts, as well as national policy.

By Eunice Disi Lole

Lilongwe, May 3, Mana: President Dr Lazarus Chakwera Friday morning left for the United States of America (USA) to attend the US-Africa Business Summit which will be held from May 6 to 7, 2024 in Dallas, Texas.

In an interview at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA), Chakwera described the summit as critical saying it is going to give chance to Malawian and American business people to enter into business agreements.

“I am happy that, as a country, we can benefit from American investment just like we already are. I look forward to this summit because I believe that our Agriculture, Tourism and Marketing (ATM) Strategy can be boosted by Americans coming over to help us through partnerships,” said Chakwera.

In addition to partnerships, the summit will provide an opportunity for Malawi to court foreign direct investments into its economy and the post disaster response plan that was launched few days ago.

Apart from the summit, Chakwera will also hold bilateral talks with various leaders in the US Government and business community.

The talks will focus on strengthening Malawi-USA cooperation in the achievement of Malawi’s economic self-reliance through substitution of imports and aid for the export and trade value added products in line with Malawi 2063 which  includes; the capitalization of the ATM Strategy towards wealth creation, job creation and food security and the promotion of Malawi’s fight against corruption through strong law enforcement agencies that execute their constitutional mandate without political interference from local or foreign powers.

The President and the First Lady, Madame Monica Chakwera, were seen off by Vice President Dr, Saulosi Chilima, cabinet ministers and other senior government officials.

Chakwera, will from USA pass through Nairobi, Kenya where he is expected to address the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Summit on May 9, is expected to return to the country through KIA on May 10.

By Eunice Disi Lole

Lilongwe, May 3, Mana: President Dr Lazarus Chakwera Friday morning left for the United States of America (USA) to attend the US-Africa Business Summit which will be held from May 6 to 7, 2024 in Dallas, Texas.

In an interview at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA), Chakwera described the summit as critical saying it is going to give chance to Malawian and American business people to enter into business agreements.

“I am happy that, as a country, we can benefit from American investment just like we already are. I look forward to this summit because I believe that our Agriculture, Tourism and Marketing (ATM) Strategy can be boosted by Americans coming over to help us through partnerships,” said Chakwera.

In addition to partnerships, the summit will provide an opportunity for Malawi to court foreign direct investments into its economy and the post disaster response plan that was launched few days ago.

Apart from the summit, Chakwera will also hold bilateral talks with various leaders in the US Government and business community.

The talks will focus on strengthening Malawi-USA cooperation in the achievement of Malawi’s economic self-reliance through substitution of imports and aid for the export and trade value added products in line with Malawi 2063 which  includes; the capitalization of the ATM Strategy towards wealth creation, job creation and food security and the promotion of Malawi’s fight against corruption through strong law enforcement agencies that execute their constitutional mandate without political interference from local or foreign powers.

The President and the First Lady, Madame Monica Chakwera, were seen off by Vice President Dr, Saulosi Chilima, cabinet ministers and other senior government officials.

Chakwera, will from USA pass through Nairobi, Kenya where he is expected to address the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Summit on May 9, is expected to return to the country through KIA on May 10.

By Sellah Singini

Lilongwe May 2, Mana: Chief of Health Services–Technical in the Ministry of Health Dr. Lilian Chunda has asked the private sector in the country to finance the health sector in order to ensure that every Malawian is able to access high-quality healthcare services.

Chunda said this in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Lilongwe after a breakfast meeting on health financing which was organized under the theme “Unlocking Sustainable Healthcare Financing for Malawi: Leveraging the Private Sector”.

Chunda said, almost half of the health budget comes from the donors and instead of depending on the donors there is need to promote domestic revenue collection from government as well as the private sector so that the health system should not collapse when donors are pulling out.

“Health delivery is not cheap. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), health sector is supposed to spend almost 86 dollars per capital in terms of expenditure per patient but what we have in Malawi is half of that. And you only find that 10 percent of that goes to the actual service of the provision of patient care.

Some of the health services that we have are very expensive and as a ministry we cannot manage to do those things on ourselves so this is why we want the private sector to help us. They can help us in terms of the actual health service delivery for example doing Cardiology services, investing in infrastructures, helping in referral systems as well as supporting research and other innovations,” She said.

In his remarks, Chief Executive Officer for Press Trust Gibson Ngalamila said Press Trust has been involved in financing health initiatives both in private and public sector since 2001.

He said, in 2001 Press Trust saw a need to establish a tertiary health institution in the name of Mwaiwathu Private Hospital with an aim of making specialist care accessible in Malawi.

“We achieved that, but the facility itself is still very small as the ministry is saying that we need to expand services. We need to go into Oncology, Cardiology and many more. We have taken over the Orthopedic services and we are doing Dialysis but that is not enough because the population has increased and we are only available in Blantyre. We want to expand in Blantyre and we also want to move the services to Lilongwe,” Ngalamila said

Therefore, the ministry is calling us upon to mobilize funding from the private sector to build a business that can provide tertiary healthcare services to Malawians so that we do not refer a lot of Malawians outside the country such as India, South Africa and such other places,” He added.

He therefore urged the private sector to work together so as to lessen the financing burden the Ministry of Health faces.

By Tione Andsen

Lilongwe, May 2, Mana: 75^th Blantyre Derby promise fireworks as Defending TNM Champions, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets will play host to their traditional rivals, Mighty Mukuru Wanderers on Saturday at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre. 

The Derby is expected to meet the desired performance the two teams have been displaying in the past encounters.

Bullets are fourth on the log table with two wins and two draws with eight points while Wanderers are third with the same number of points but they have superior goal difference over their rivals.

The battle for top spot in the 2024 TNM Super League remains cardinal for both teams owing to the fact that the price money for the champion has been increased to K 100 million from K40 million.

Bullets have dominated the league for the past six years and are aiming to register the seventh one at the expense of their rivals, Wanderers who once were crowned champions in 2017.

This will be the maiden encounter for Wanderers coach, Nsanzuarwimo Ramadhan as he has just returned to Malawi football after a long spell after coaching the two teams previous.   

Although his returned was spoiled with a 1-1 draw against Kamuzu Barracks during the opened but the team managed to pick up and won two games before they were held to a goalless draw against Bangwe All Stars.

Bullets mentor, Callisto Pasuwa has a feel of the Blantyre derby with intense heat it brings on the table.

He will have use his available arsenals in order to edge his rival, Ramadhan but 90 minutes will tell and a better team will carry the day.

Wanderers defence need to be on watch out to their former striker now with Bullets, Ephraim Kondowe as he is proving to be a goal provider for the people’s team this season.

 The wing defence need to patronize the movements of Patrick Mwaungulu and Lanjesi Nkhoma if they are to cut the supply line upfront.

However, the Nomads will depend on Christopher Kumwembe’s ability to win aerial balls against the paring of Bullets central defence of Collins Mujuru and Clyde Senaj.

If the Wanderers coach panel will include last year’s top goal scorer. Clement Nyondo on the starting line, they will add fire power upfront in order to give bullets defence tough time. 

They are expected to attack through Wisdom Mpinganjira, Gaddi Chirwa and Isaac Kaliati from the midfield while Bullets midfield marshalled by Aaron Lloyd will have clearly monitor their moves.

Last year’s derby produced no winner as it all ended in 0-0 and 1-1 draws and both occasions, Wanderers were dominating play.

Both teams will be playing catch up game in order to reach 11 points to equal current league leaders, Silver Strikes.

The Bankers are facing log anchors, Baka City in Karonga and the games if they win will consolidate their lead on top.

“We are expecting a high quality derby and should be more entertaining. Supporters need to come in their numbers to watch the game.  The battle for points is what the two teams are hoping for,” a Bangwe based football follower, Vincent Jumbe said.

He said with good officiation, the derby will entertain soccer fans.

By Fostina Mkandawire

Salima, May 2, Mana: As one way of increasing the number of participants under the Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CS-EPWP) from 16,813 participants to a target of 20,331 participants, Salima District Council has commenced validating and enrolling the participants into the programme.

Speaking during the validation exercise at Lilongwe catchment on Thursday, in the area of Senior Chief Kalonga, Acting Director of Environment and Natural Resources Adam Jason said he was optimistic that the district would meet the target.        

Jason said it was a good development that more people will benefit from the programme while also anticipating to get a bigger environmental impact out of the programme.

"We are expecting to have an increase in areas of land under forest landscape restoration though the land has been affected with run-off water and deforestation, having more people on the ground working towards restoring the environment will be beneficial to the district," he said.

He said increasing the number of participants will also increase environmental productive assets such as regenerated forests and soil fertility which in turn will provide communities with food and fresh air.

"Apart from environmental gains there will also be an increase in number of communities with resilient livelihoods through the cash received through the project," he said.

One of the prospective participant of the programme, a 57 years old widower, Zione Nyakanyaka said she was happy that her name was called out during the validation exercise, saying that she takes care of her family, therefore the money she will receive will help in alleviating her poverty.

"I take care of my grandchildren and orphans, we are struggling with hunger, to be given a chance to work under this programme is such a relief," she said.

Desk Officer for CS-EPWP in the district, Gift Majawa expressed optimism that the district will be able to meet the target which signifies a 15 percent increase.

He said they intensified awareness campaign ahead of the exercise therefore turn out has been good during the validation exercise.

"We have an additional 3,518 participants to be enrolled into the programme from, it is very important to ensure that people continue showing up during the validation exercise so that they can be enrolled into different projects in their catchment areas," he said.

National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGC) is set to revise the number of participants of CSEPWP in the country from 435,000 to 520,000.

CS-EPWP is a component under the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP). The SSRLP is a Malawi Government project funded by the Multi Donor Trust Fund facilitated by the NLGFC in all the 28 district councils.