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| National |
| UNDP concerned with Malawi’s health indicators |
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by
Joseph Langa, 02 July 2003
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18:33:19
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United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative Zahra Nuru has expressed concern with the country’s poverty levels and poor health indicators, which he said, are among the worst in the world.
Nuru said the high poverty levels in the country are manifested by acute household food insecurity especially in the month of November, December, January and February every year.
She was speaking in Lilongwe when she presided over the annual induction dinner for the new president of the Lilongwe Rotary club of Lilongwe where businessman Ash Mussa took over the presidency from Aggrey Kawonga.
Nuru said the effects of annual food insecurity are compounded by the HIV/Aids pandemic, which she said has reached humanitarian crisis situations.
“For instance, maternal mortality rate has doubled in recent years due to HIV/Aids and stands at 1,120 per 100,000 live births. Under-five mortality rate is 189/1000 live births and is expected to rise as a result of the HIV/Aids epidemic,” she said.
According to Nuru, the annual death rate of over 220 deaths everyday or 80,000 deaths per annum due to illness linked with HIV/Aids opportunistic infections is alarming.
She said the problem of destitution and hunger are enormous in this country and could not be adequately and meaningfully addressed by one institution but through partnerships for resource mobilization and effective implementation of the development programmes.
“It is for this reason that I fully share with the work of the Lilongwe Rotary club and many other development and charitable organizations that are seeking to ameliorate the plight of the poor including orphans in this country,” Nuru said.
She said her organization will continue to assist the country to attract and use aid effectively and encourage the protection of human rights and empowerment of women.
Mussa pledged to work with the government and its developing partners to deal with HIV/Aids, malaria, waterborne diseases and poverty in general which he said threatens the nation as a whole.
“Our nationhood is being deprived of its vital resource. We are ravaged by malaria and water borne diseases because of scarcity of potable clean water.
He said Rotary Club Lilongwe mainly focuses on eradication of poverty with a focus on education and health sectors.
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