Kalirani says 1m in Malawi living with HIV: Drop in infections:
The number of people living with HIV in Malawi is said to be around 1,060,000, Minister of Health Dr Jean Kalirani told parliament, saying of these 147,000 are children and 913,000 are alduts.
Presenting her ministerial statement, Kalirani said Malawi continues recording success stories in response to HIV and AIDS with the latest being the drop in the national prevalence rate, saying the number of new HIV infections annually has dropped “substantially” from 120,000 as it were in 1999 to 33,000 in 2014.
The prevalence rate has dropped to 10.6 percent in 2014 from 14 per cent in 1994, according to Kalirani.
The drop in the prevalence rate has also resulted in a sharp decline of HIV and AIDS related deaths in the country.
Kalirani said government has increased the number of HIV/Aids testing sites from 9 in 2003 to875 in 2014.
She said the number of patients in need of treatment and accessing antiretroviral therapy has increased from 3,000 in 2003 to 520,000 in 2014.
“Government is also providing free ARVs to all HIV positive pregnant women irrespective of their CD4 count,” she said.
The Minister said HIV/Aids remain a key health, social and economic problem confronting households and the country
Kalirani also told Parliament that malaria cases in the country have drastically dropped due to the efficient distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets across the country.
The minister also hailed government efforts on cholera as there have been no reported cases for three years now.
Conngrats govt. on the successes. But, I thought it was recently announced that there were confirmed cases of cholera in Mzimba?
Well done madam minister. Keep up the good work.Malawians dont feel good if they dont criticise that is why most of the response on this colum is negative. They have no idea how hard you work to bring these chnages about. They shoot their mouths without thinking!
You are doing well madam, one day thes people wil realise but of course by then it will be too late for them!
Many people are positive amuna ambiri amangochita opanda chishango.the figure is too low
This Minister surprises me.She only comes out to point out positives.On negatives,she is nowhere to be seen.Why doesnt she talk of College of Medicine Laboratory graduates who have stayed 1 year without being unemployed.Why doesnt she talk of nurses who graduated long ago but are unemployed?!
It is becoming alarmingly dangerous that the politics in Malawi is railroaded by partisan party politics. The same ministers who are now raising the issue of HIV/Aids prevalence in the country, like wayward football strikers, disappear during the game. Where was the honourable minister when government statement in the wake of NAC financial flaws were doing the rounds; and has there been an official statement? No, and yet here you are, hoping that sleeping dogs lie! Malawians are wiser to look into the activities of government elected members and will not be fobbed off into forgiving and forgetting! Such antics… Read more »
If you are serious about stopping HIV from infecting more people, work on making sure that those already infected get into ART, focusing on keeping viral load at low levels more than focusing on CD4. At the same time, look at who is more likely to be infected by who, then refocus prevention efforts at those groups. We can no longer afford to use “chiponyeponye” style and hope to succeed. BUT beware also of the invisible profit-minded hand. The manufacturer of ARVs, test kits, CD4 machines and Viral Load machines. These are the folks that are pushing which way we… Read more »
Mwayambawo ndi mabodza a Minister. Is it not last week cholera has been reported? Don’t mislead people please
I don’t believe this number. that means only10% of population infected ? what happened as the statistic was 40% not long ago
We, the member of general public, would like to thank Getrude arrogance for causing Global Fund to stop financing NAC.
Keep up your good arrogance madam first lady.
We criminize every person who know their status as positive passing to others to be jail….
My wife akumadya quarry koma eish ndi ozuna. mdzafe mdzawole geeee tuuu