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| National |
| Men should be responsible—Malewezi |
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by
Edyth Betha , 14 October 2003
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18:54:16
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First Vice President Justin Malewezi has called on men in the country to be responsive to the needs of women and to share in the responsibilities that go with childbearing in an effort to reduce the increased number of deaths that occur to women during childbirth.
Malewezi was speaking on Monday at this year’s Mother’s Day celebrations held at Mayaka in Zomba district, and whose theme was ‘Men who care always prepare’.
He said it is alarming to see that every day in Malawi, 20 women die in childbirth and another 200 are left with chronic disabilities that come with problems of pregnancy and childbirth.
“This is a tragedy and we cannot allow it to go on without stopping it,” said Malewezi. “It becomes an even greater tragedy when one considers that most of these deaths can be prevented with basic measures which are available.”
Malewezi said another contributing factor to the high maternal deaths is HIV/AIDS. He emphasized that much as Government is fully committed to HIV prevention and care, it cannot fight this disease alone.
“We need support and cooperation of all the people living with AIDS, the local communities, chiefs, religious leaders, the business community, civil society and the traditional leaders,” he said.
The vice president said it is important that Malawians must openly and honestly look at traditions and traditional customs, and recognise that while many are sacred and should be preserved, others have become harmful and should be stopped.
“There are other traditional customs like ‘chokolo’ which in this day and age will do more harm than good as it perpetrates the spread of HIV/AIDS,” said Malewezi.
He said men who care, always prepare by providing adequate nutritious foods and fruits during pregnancy, and keeping themselves free from sexually transmitted diseases and infections, among other things.
He highlighted other diseases that need to be seriously looked into as they have a major impact on the quality of life for many women and children, which include malnutrition, malaria and diarrhoea.
Speaking at the same function, Minister of Health and Population Yusuf Mwawa said this year’s theme was chosen because of the increase in mortality rates in the country in the past three years.
He commended health workers in the country for the good job they do in helping mothers in childbirth even with the increasing number of patients in hospitals. |
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