Food crisis looms in Malawi
2005-11-01 12:32
Blantyre - Two sisters from Napasha Village in Malawi wake up before the sun rises and start walking to the maize fields a few kilometres away.
Along the way they stop to eat a slice of bread with the antiretroviral medicine given them by the Malawian government.
The sisters, Christina Simikwa and Miritina Nyapigoti, are both in their fifties, and like many other HIV-positive women in Malawi, are having to raise a family on their own at a time of a massive food shortage.
Malawi was hit by a food crisis after a drought last season caused its staple maize crop to fail. The maize price has shot up to 50 kwacha a kilogramme (R2.50) in some areas, but for those with money it is possible to buy cheaper rationed amounts from the government.
Millions desperately need food
Many in the poverty-stricken country earn just a few kwacha a day and cannot afford maize. The government estimates that about 4.5 million out of 12 million Malawians are in need of food aid.
The situation has become so dire that earlier this year President Binga wa Mutharika declared a national emergency and pleaded for aid from the rest of the world.
The hunger crisis has worsened the Aids pandemic in Malawi where some 1.7 million people (14.4% of the population) are said to be HIV positive.
The government has rolled out a treatment programme, but to be effective ARVs have to be taken with a balanced diet.
Napasha Village, a two-hour drive south of Blantyre, is in the Nsanje District. It is one of the areas hardest hit by the drought - and it also has a massive HIV infection rate.
The aid agency Goal, which works with the United Nations, estimates that about a third of the people in Nsanje are HIV-positive. There are about 15 000 Aids orphans in the area. With a life expectancy of just 40, not many Malawians live to old age.
Desperate for help
"I have four children and my husband is dead. There is no one else to bring in money. For now we have to rely on the aid, which is no good because the aid can stop at any time," said Simikwa.
Simikwa and Nyapigoti were registered for the government's antiretroviral campaign after they were confirmed as being HIV-positive.
In Trinity Hospital near Napasha, six mothers are sitting on beds holding their babies. The ward is hot. There are no blankets, just plastic-covered mattresses and tied up mosquito nets, ready to be draped over the beds.
Sister Anna Bande, co-ordinator of the maternity ward, says in the past few months far more undernourished babies have been admitted than usual.
"Maybe about 30% more children and babies with symptoms of malnutrition are coming in than in previous years," she says.
"We are treating about 100 children a week and 20 of those are severely malnourished. Most are HIV-positive."
Will Phillips, who runs an orphange with his wife, has come to have a child treated.
"The hunger situation is bad this year," Phillips says. "Much worse than usual."
- SAPA