Malawi to screen all new prisoners for TB: Govt to obtain $17mil loan
Government says it will soon start screening all new prisoners for Tuberculosis (TB) as way of curbing the outbreak of the air borne disease in congested prisoners.
Health minister Peter Kumpalume said this on Friday in parliament when Finance minister presented a bill which seeks to allow the government borrow money to fight against TB.
“Apart from the new prisoners, we will also screen all old prisoners because the government is also concerned with the rise in number of TB cases in our prisons,” he said.
The government seeks to borrow the money from International Development Association Southern Africa to enhance its fight against TB.
Kumpalume said the government has also an extra US$43 million which is with Global Fund.
Finance minister Goodall Gondwe parried away fears that the government was over borrowing and might fail to pay back the loans.
He said all the loans are concessional not commercial rate therefore the interest rate is very low.
“Even if we had wanted to borrow at commercial rate, the World Bank and IMF would not allow us,” he said.
Gondwe said the money would also be used to screen workers at Mchenga Coal mine in Rumphi and Kayelekera in Karonga and communities around the companies for TB.
And you want to use ndalama zambiri ngati izi on screening instead of putting up structures for more bed/sleeping space in the prisons which will reduce disease transmission – koma dzikoli likulamulidwadi ndi mbuli zosadziwa ma priorities!!!
koma seriously guys, borrowing money just to screen prisoners? alipo angati for you to require all those millions? i just think as a country we are not being serious. The pepfar funds are given to some of these NGOs to do much bigger HIV/TB screening as well as care programs dziko lonse and if you see the money they get sifika 3 million dollars koma they have staff etc! ndiye apa tukamba za this huge loan koma zosaoneka in terms of details what will be happening