Malawi News

Lilongwe, 27 March 2015 – The WHO country office in Malawi on 25 March convened a meeting between Malawi and Mozambique in the Mwanza district to discuss the cholera outbreak situation in bordering districts and provinces of the two countries among others. The meeting which was chaired by Dr Charles Mwansambo, Chief of Health Services in Malawi was organised to facilitate discussions and agreements on common approaches which the two countries can adopt to address the on-going cholera outbreak precipitated by the recent heavy floods.

Lilongwe, 8 April 2015: Malawi joined the rest of the world in commemorating World TB Day under the theme 'reach, treat, cure everyone' which is a continuation of last year’s theme of 'reach the 3 million' cases that do not get the care that they need globally. The ceremony took place at Chinkusa ground in Mzimba district on 24 March 2015.

Lilongwe 13 April 2015: From 30 March to 4 April 2015 the Ministry of Health and partners completed the first round of the Oral Cholera Vaccination (OCV) campaign in the southern district of Nsanje which borders with Mozambique.

The campaign has targeted 160,000 people that are living in camps and the surrounding villages as an additional measure to prevent and control the spread of cholera which started on 11 February 2015. The preliminary results of the campaign show that over 143,000 people were vaccinated representing close to 89% coverage.

Lilongwe, Malawi: 11 May 2015: The preliminary analysis reports from Nsanje District Health Office, in Malawi have shown that close to 135, 000 Internally Displaced Persons and the people from surrounding communities have so far received the Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV) in Nsanje district. This in general represents 84% of the target population (134,603/160,482) that received the OCV.

An HIV self-testing project in Malawi raises the rate of adolescents tested to over 80%. WHO encourages countries to conduct pilot programmes on HIV self-testing so information can be gathered and the role self-tests can be evaluated. Better access to self-testing helps adolescents who need further support for prevention, treatment and care of HIV. Concerns about confidentiality and privacy are one of the key barriers to HIV testing services for adolescents.

Lilongwe: On 31 July 2015, the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health (MOH) in collaboration with partners commemorated the 2015 World Health Day. The theme for World Health Day this year is ‘How safe is food? From farm to plate, make food safe!’ At the same occasion the measles second dose for children campaign was also launched. The Guest of Honor was the Minister of Health, Honorable Dr Jean Kalilani, MP.

Malawi has one of the highest rates of preterm birth in the world. Nearly 1 in 5 babies are born before 37 weeks of gestation. Globally, complications of prematurity, such as difficulty in feeding, breathing and regulating body temperature, are the single largest cause of neonatal death. In order to survive, these babies need specialized care and equipment—resources most developing countries do not have.

Malawi is no exception.

Lilongwe: The Ministry of Health and World Health Organization in collaboration with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) implemented the Oral Cholera Vaccine campaign in the area around Kasinthula area in Chikwawa district from 10 to 15 August 2015. A final report produced by the District Health Office on 15 August shows that 11,474 people received the first dose of the Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) in Kasinthula area representing 93% coverage.

One morning, Emma Laudon asked her son, Joseph, why he did not want go to school that day. He told her he had a bad headache and could not drink water or eat food. Later, he began to vomit and foam at the mouth.

A visit to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, revealed Joseph had rabies. He was exhibiting signs of hydrophobia or fear of water – an advanced symptom of the disease. Because of hydrophobia, saliva was accumulating in his mouth and he was unable to swallow.

Under the Rapid Access Expansion (RAcE) programme, launched in Malawi in 2013, the Ministry of Health has been working with WHO to train community health workers to treat common childhood diseases.

The approach, known as the integrated community case management (iCCM) of childhood illnesses, focuses on treating diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia, which together accounted for 45% of deaths among children younger than 5 years of age in the country in 2012.