Nordic legislators urge Malawi govt. to check population boom

A visiting delegation of five legislators from Nordic countries has urged the Malawi government to check the population boom, saying this can have a negative impact on social services.

The delegation from Iceland, Sweden and Denmark said this on Monday at Capital Hill, the seat of government in Lilongwe where they met Minister of Health Atupele Muluzi at the start of their two-week tour of Malawi.

“The population is growing fast. There should be policies to control to control this before it gets out of hand,” said one of the Nordic members of parliament.

In response, Muluzi acknowledged the population boom but said the government has put in place measures to check the population growth, which has grown by 35 per cent in the past 10 years according to latest Housing and Census statistics.

“We have now intensified civic education programs to sensitize people on the need to have a reasonable family size not only for the good of the nation but for their own good as a family,” said Muluzi.

He said birth-control methods can now be obtained for free at any public hospital facility including in remotest areas.

He also told the delegation that the government is doing extremely well in maximizing Global Fund and other funds, saying this has helped to bring down malaria, TB and HIV and AIDS diseases.

He said at least 800, 000 people are now on ARVs, medicine which helps to prolong lives of people with AIDS.