Association of Business Journalists (ABJ) has new leadership following an elective Annual General Meeting the grouping had at Nkopola Lodge in Mangochi.
The new National Coordinator is Vincent Khonyongwa. In his acceptance speech, Khonyongwa said he is not ‘reinventing the wheel’ but he is taking the baton of leadership to take ABJ to greater heights.
He emphasized on the need of enhancing professionalism in Business Journalism through specialised trainings his office will be spearheading for the members.
He applauded Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), the World Bank and Reserve Bank of Malawi for remaining loyal to the association in addition to other corporate partners.
The following make up the new leadership of ABJ:
Vincent Khonyongwa – National Coordinator
Enelles Nyale – Deputy National Coordinator
Secretary General – Gregory Gondwe
Deputy SG – Chikondi Manjawira
Treasurer – Wezzie Chamanza
Executive members:
Timothy Kateta
Timothy Kachedwa
Simeon Shumba
Charles Sitima
Advisory Council
Professional ethics advisor – Ayam Maeresa
Policy advisor – Thomas Chafunya
Technical Advisor – Frank Phiri
Projects Coordinator – Chikondi Chiyembekeza
Membership auditor – Steve Chilundu
ABJ was formed in 2007 to enhance and uphold the values of Business Journalism.
A group of nursery pupils have sent festive messages to their friends in Malawi during a visit to Ninewells Community Garden. Pupils from the Law Nursery in Dundee hung messages on the garden’s Christmas tree which will be shared with their school friends in two Malawi schools.
In May the children created their own vegetable garden, with help from some of the medical students from the University of Dundee and volunteers from the hospital’s garden.
Alison Gourlay, a third-year medical student at the university, said: “The Law Nursery children loved planting vegetables such as beans and maize in the spring and now that it’s winter they wanted to celebrate what is happening in the Malawi garden.
Some of the pupils from The Law Nursery School
“While the temperature in Scotland is generally coldest in December, with the average maximum around 5C, the children know from their friends in Blantyre in Malawi that the average temperature in December is much hotter at 24C.
“They were all excited about the prospect of snow and building a snowman. They have asked the Malawi children in their message if they have ever seen snow, and sang them ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’.
“We know from this lovely partnership that Malawi school children are very inquisitive and creative, and many questions may come back.”
John Joseph Pikadili, who volunteers at Ninewells Garden, said: “It is really important to celebrate the bond that exists between Scotland and Malawi.”
Global Citizens Tayside is the local network that provides connectivity to the work in developing countries.
Mary Colvin, who works for the initiative, praised the nursery’s pupils, the Malawi children, the medical students and the volunteers at Ninewells Community Garden for keeping the blossoming partnership alive.
She said: ““We are delighted to be supporting these children and young people who are so creative and imaginative as they build friendships with Malawi. Playing and learning in nature brings joy to children at this festive season.”
As Malawi patiently waits for the constitutional court ruling on the presidential case, governing DPP leaders on Tuesday took the message of calm and peace to Malawians, urging its youths and supporters not to cause violence.
The party’s secretary general Grezelder Jeffrey told journalists at the party’s headquarters in Lilongwe that the ruling DPP was a peaceful party and was ready to accept the court ruling set for early next year.
The opposition MCP and UTM petitioned the court to annul the May 21 presidential vote won by President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, citing irregularities.
Jeffrey said the “DPP is calm and peaceful because it knows it legitimately won the presidential election.”
The remarks follow those made by MCP director of youth and lawmaker Ricachrad Chimwendo Banda, which called on its supporters to descend on the court premises on judgement day and not to accept any contrary ruling apart from that of a re-run.
Five high court udges are hearing the historic case under the chairmanship of Justice Healy Potani.
Potani has said the court will make its determination based on evidence tendered in court and the law and not on public opinion.
The case has gripped the attention of Malawians and the world at large.
I am afraid. Very much afraid. Of the alarming 38,000 new HIV infections that occur annually among Malawi citizens. Half of these infections affect the youth. Yes, Achinyamata!
This, I can say, is a scandal. A national crisis.
Just to give you a picture of what this means: 38,000 people can fill the Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre. Thus the number of people who get infected with HIV every year.
The bad news is that our youths are doing a bad job in the department of unprotected sex. Where are the free condoms? Where is the ABC of HIV and AIDS being practiced?
Now, imagine this scenario: In the next ten years, some 4 million youths will be infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Thus a whole generation of sick people. Probably it’s a scenario that only gets played out in horror movies.
I didn’t cook up the 38,000 figure. It came from UNAids and was released on December 1 when the world celebrated Worlds Aids Day (WAD) , which this year run under the theme ‘Communities Make The Difference.’
Malawi celebrated the day in Salima, where UNAids officials, health experts , teachers, chiefs, clerics, vendors, sex workers, wananchi and top civil servants were in attendance.
But not all is bad news. Here is some good news: Malawi is not doing badly in the global targets of 90.90.90. by 2030.
The targets mean that by 2030, 90 percent of Malawians should know their status, 90 % of all people diagnosed with HIV infection will receive sustained anti-retro viral therapy (ART) and 90 percent of of all people receiving ART will have viral suppression.
The country’s Chief Director of Health Services, Dr Charles Mwansambo, told the audience that Malawi is at 93.84 and 92. in that order. He said Malawi should not relent on meeting the targets.
He reckoned some of the chief reasons HIV is spreading among youths were poverty, inequality and unemployment. But that’s another story, another time.
But UNAids Country Director Nuha Ceesay told the same Salima gathering that Malawi, despite meeting the global targets, still has challenges to deal with the new infections.
He said this was a major concern and there was the urgent need to walk out of the comfort zones and boldly deal with the challenges.
Malawi needs to do a lot of soul searching and Ceesay says we also need need to look at affected demographics: how the 38,000 people are getting infected, who are infecting them and where are they getting infected. Thus a lot of homework. Approximately some 1.1 million Malawians are HIV +,a about 1 million know their HIV status; about 840,000 are on treatment and 770,000 have viral load suppression.
The other good news is that HIV and Aids prevalence rate is at 8.8pc, down from 13pc in 2004 and when only 5,000 Malawians were enrolled on ARVs.
Malawi is also doing badly in the other department of procreation: Our women are fertile and give birth to an average of six children. Without serious birth control practices, experts say high population –17 million plus citizens by end of 2018– was an obstacle to sustaining gains made in HIV and AIDS control.
Population control is a very emotive issue in Malawi.
So, what are the solutions?
Health rights activist Maziko Matemba thinks Malawi needs to continue investing in prevention and local structures, for the youths to get the messages of prevention and sexual reproductive rights information.
But will it be the same depressing story when we celebrate WAD in 2020?
I don’t think so. We can win this war through ABC. Let the figures of 38,000 whittle down.
WAD , first observed in 1988, cardinally seeks to unite in the fight against HIV and AIDS, to show support for HIV+ people and to commemorate those who have died from HIV related illnesses.
A team of architects and engineers from Lancashire are working on a life-changing £9.5million project to deliver Malawi’s first specialist postgraduate medical training centre.
Leading structural engineering specialist TRP Consulting and architecture practice Cassidy + Ashton, based in Preston, are working on the initial design stages for the centre, which will also provide the most sophisticated research environment in the African country.
East African-based multi-disciplinary consultancy FBW Group, which also has strong links to the North West, is also involved in the project and is undertaking enabling surveys on the proposed site of the facility in the southern city of Blantyre.
The Clinical Research and Training Open Resource (Creator) project is a partnership between the University of Malawi’s College of Medicine (CoM), Queen Elizabeth’s Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), the University of Liverpool and the medical research foundation Wellcome.
Malawi currently has around 600 clinical doctors to treat a population of 16 million people. The new centre will meet a critical need for further training and research opportunities, helping to halt the ‘brain drain’ that sees doctors leave the country to progress their careers.
Malawi has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world.
The Creator building will host state-of-the-art laboratories, flexible learning spaces and simulation rooms. Recording and live-stream capabilities will enable interaction with global health leaders across the world.
It will accommodate an expected 30 per cent rise in clinical research activity and postgraduate specialist clinical medical education over the next 10 years.
Working on this project has been both inspirational and challenging.
Wellcome has committed £1.9m to the project and LSTM and the University of Liverpool are providing £3m each. More fundraising is currently underway.
The Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (MLW) currently provides training for the next generation of clinical researchers and supports research nurses and clinicians at the Queen Elizabeth Central hospital (QECH) in Blantyre. The new centre will be built in its grounds.
Professor Stephen Gordon, Director of MLW, said: “We have been planning the Creator for more than three years as a partnership between QECH, CoM and partners in the UK. It will be a game-changer for medicine and science in Malawi.”
And LSTM’s director Professor David Lalloo said: “The need for the Creator building reflects the rapid growth and quality of Malawian medical science and LSTM is delighted to be a partner in a project that will help deliver even greater success.”
TRP Consulting, which has an office in Preston, is working on the structural development of the project.
Its structural engineers have a strong track record of delivery on large and complex building works and have widespread expertise in sectors ranging from health to sports stadia development.
Director Geoff Wilks said: “We’re delighted to be part of the team that is working to deliver this ground-breaking and vitally important project that will help address the many emerging health threats facing Malawi.”
The architectural team from the Preston office of Cassidy + Ashton is creating the initial designs for Creator.
Chris Taylor, director at Cassidy + Ashton and lead architect on the Creator building, said: “Working on this project has been both inspirational and challenging.
“From initially visiting the site in Malawi and understanding the complexities of the location and the end-users objectives, our strategy is to develop the design in the UK and then handover the project to a local multi-disciplinary practice, FBW, to convert the building to local techniques.
“This will involve careful consideration of materials, given the remote location, and consideration to the deprived area with its lack of skilled labour.
“The Creator building aims to become a meeting place of like-minded professionals in clinical research and training and I look forward to returning to the region to oversee the project management through to completion.”
Leading East African planning, design, architecture and engineering team FBW Group will provide its expertise on the ground, taking on project management as the building develops.
It is the latest in a series of life-changing medical projects that the practice has helped deliver in Africa since its creation in 1994, including a number of clinics and hospitals serving remote rural areas.
A cornerstone of its work is the development and reconstruction of urban and rural hospitals, providing practical solutions, responding to the local conditions and at the same time creating healthy environments for patients.
FBW also has a strong track record in supporting British-based organisations to deliver international standards in East Africa. It has operations in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania and strong roots in the North West.
Architect Paul Moores, from Manchester, is managing director and FBW’s chief operational officer, director of engineering and Kenyan office head are all originally from Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
Paul, who is based in Kampala, Uganda, said: “This is an exciting and ground-breaking project to be involved in Creator is an asset that will make a real difference to people’s lives in Malawi.
“FBW has built strong links with the healthcare sector in the region since we began working here in 1994 and this is the latest in a portfolio of clinics, hospitals and research facilities that have benefitted people in so many ways.”
LSTM Estates Department is overseeing and supervising the project in conjunction with MLW.
