Academician links spread of HIV/Aids to poverty in Malawi

A Canada based Malawian academician has blamed the spread of HIV and AIDS in Malawi and other African countries to poverty and inequalities between the halves and halve nots.

Associate Professor in Public Health Paul Mkandawire is leading a group of 18 students from Carlton University in Canada who are doing a research.

He stressed that  there is a powerful link between poverty, low socioeconomic status and HIV.

On the issue in the northern region,  Mkandawire said unless poverty and inequalities between the poor and the rich are removed, HIV and AIDS will continue taking its toll in Malawi and Africa.

“We can say we need to have civic education or we do this or that to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS but the spread is deep rooted in poverty and inequalities between the poor and the rich,” he said.

It is estimated that over one million people are HIV positive and close to 500000 of them are on ARVs, life prolonging drugs.

Ministry of Health officials put the HIV prevalence rate at four percent.

Mkandawire said this was why Malawi and other African countries had high HIV and AIDS cases compared to developed countries or middle income countries.

HIV and AIDS was discovered three decades ago and has no cure.