First published in the Nation newspaper www.nationmw.net on 10 december 2008
Malawi tops in
teen smoking
by Kondwani Munthali
Malawian youngsters are ranked number three among 12 African countries currently implementing a tobacco smoking control African situational analysis (ATSA) programme, figures from World Health Organisation revealed this week.
Teenage smoking has been on the increase in Africa and Asia and a recent World Bank report indicated that smoking grew by 38.4 percent on the continent while it has been on decline in the developed countries.
“Zambia leads in the 12 ATSA countries with 25.6 followed by South Africa 23.6 and Malawi at 18.4 percent in teenage smoking for both sexes. Out of this figure of the 13 to 15 years old, girls make up at least 17 percent and 19 percent,” says a report on World Health Organisation Stastical Information system over a survey between 2005 and 2007.
The data reveals that more young females are starting to smoke as a casual and socially acceptable norm though they risk several reproductive health disorders including cervical cancer, reduced fertility, still birth and heart diseases.
Government has refused to sign the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which seeks to check smoking especially in public citing its economic reliance on the crop as the main reason.
“15 percent of the adult population in Malawi smokes out of these above the age of 15 only 6 percent are females while 23 percent are females,” reads the data. Cameroon tops up in adult smoking where Malawi is number five among the 12 countries.
Mauritius tops with the number of male adult smoking with Malawi at six and Nigeria which has Africa’s highest population has lies at number 11. Tanzania has the lowest adolescent smokers at 6 percent.
Malawi is expected to launch the ATSA programme targeting secondary schools to control smoking among young people in January under an International Development Research Centre (IDRC) grant to Centre for Agricultural Research and Development (CARD) of Bunda College, Youth Alliance in Social and Economic Development (YASED), Ministry of Health and the National Youth Council of Malawi.
Team Leader of the project Deusdedit Kafere said in an interview that the pilot project to be implemented in Kasungu, Mangochi and Lilongwe is aimed at sensitising the youth on dangers of smoking and create smoke-free public places to ensure safety of non-smokers.
“The idea is not to stop production of tobacco, but to tell the youngsters about the risks of smoking. The dangers it poses to the health of non-smokers and ensure that people have the right information before the start smoking,” said Kafere.
On arguments by Government on not signing the FCTC, the Malawi ATSA team said the country was loosing out to an opportunity to diversify its economy after depending on tobacco for years at the same time putting most mothers and children at risk by not regulating smoking in public places.
“Malawi does not produce cigarettes which are the main focus of the project. The argument of putting 85 percent of Malawians at risk to make up our economy does not sound developmental,” reads the statement.
Ends.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Teen smoking up in Malawi
First published in the Nation newspaper www.nationmw.net on 10 deceber 2008
Malawi tops in
teen smoking
by Kondwani Munthali
Malawian youngsters are ranked number three among 12 African countries currently implementing a tobacco smoking control African situational analysis (ATSA) programme, figures from World Health Organisation revealed this week.
Teenage smoking has been on the increase in Africa and Asia and a recent World Bank report indicated that smoking grew by 38.4 percent on the continent while it has been on decline in the developed countries.
“Zambia leads in the 12 ATSA countries with 25.6 followed by South Africa 23.6 and Malawi at 18.4 percent in teenage smoking for both sexes. Out of this figure of the 13 to 15 years old, girls make up at least 17 percent and 19 percent,” says a report on World Health Organisation Stastical Information system over a survey between 2005 and 2007.
The data reveals that more young females are starting to smoke as a casual and socially acceptable norm though they risk several reproductive health disorders including cervical cancer, reduced fertility, still birth and heart diseases.
Government has refused to sign the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which seeks to check smoking especially in public citing its economic reliance on the crop as the main reason.
“15 percent of the adult population in Malawi smokes out of these above the age of 15 only 6 percent are females while 23 percent are females,” reads the data. Cameroon tops up in adult smoking where Malawi is number five among the 12 countries.
Mauritius tops with the number of male adult smoking with Malawi at six and Nigeria which has Africa’s highest population has lies at number 11. Tanzania has the lowest adolescent smokers at 6 percent.
Malawi is expected to launch the ATSA programme targeting secondary schools to control smoking among young people in January under an International Development Research Centre (IDRC) grant to Centre for Agricultural Research and Development (CARD) of Bunda College, Youth Alliance in Social and Economic Development (YASED), Ministry of Health and the National Youth Council of Malawi.
Team Leader of the project Deusdedit Kafere said in an interview that the pilot project to be implemented in Kasungu, Mangochi and Lilongwe is aimed at sensitising the youth on dangers of smoking and create smoke-free public places to ensure safety of non-smokers.
“The idea is not to stop production of tobacco, but to tell the youngsters about the risks of smoking. The dangers it poses to the health of non-smokers and ensure that people have the right information before the start smoking,” said Kafere.
On arguments by Government on not signing the FCTC, the Malawi ATSA team said the country was loosing out to an opportunity to diversify its economy after depending on tobacco for years at the same time putting most mothers and children at risk by not regulating smoking in public places.
“Malawi does not produce cigarettes which are the main focus of the project. The argument of putting 85 percent of Malawians at risk to make up our economy does not sound developmental,” reads the statement.
Ends.
Malawi tops in
teen smoking
by Kondwani Munthali
Malawian youngsters are ranked number three among 12 African countries currently implementing a tobacco smoking control African situational analysis (ATSA) programme, figures from World Health Organisation revealed this week.
Teenage smoking has been on the increase in Africa and Asia and a recent World Bank report indicated that smoking grew by 38.4 percent on the continent while it has been on decline in the developed countries.
“Zambia leads in the 12 ATSA countries with 25.6 followed by South Africa 23.6 and Malawi at 18.4 percent in teenage smoking for both sexes. Out of this figure of the 13 to 15 years old, girls make up at least 17 percent and 19 percent,” says a report on World Health Organisation Stastical Information system over a survey between 2005 and 2007.
The data reveals that more young females are starting to smoke as a casual and socially acceptable norm though they risk several reproductive health disorders including cervical cancer, reduced fertility, still birth and heart diseases.
Government has refused to sign the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which seeks to check smoking especially in public citing its economic reliance on the crop as the main reason.
“15 percent of the adult population in Malawi smokes out of these above the age of 15 only 6 percent are females while 23 percent are females,” reads the data. Cameroon tops up in adult smoking where Malawi is number five among the 12 countries.
Mauritius tops with the number of male adult smoking with Malawi at six and Nigeria which has Africa’s highest population has lies at number 11. Tanzania has the lowest adolescent smokers at 6 percent.
Malawi is expected to launch the ATSA programme targeting secondary schools to control smoking among young people in January under an International Development Research Centre (IDRC) grant to Centre for Agricultural Research and Development (CARD) of Bunda College, Youth Alliance in Social and Economic Development (YASED), Ministry of Health and the National Youth Council of Malawi.
Team Leader of the project Deusdedit Kafere said in an interview that the pilot project to be implemented in Kasungu, Mangochi and Lilongwe is aimed at sensitising the youth on dangers of smoking and create smoke-free public places to ensure safety of non-smokers.
“The idea is not to stop production of tobacco, but to tell the youngsters about the risks of smoking. The dangers it poses to the health of non-smokers and ensure that people have the right information before the start smoking,” said Kafere.
On arguments by Government on not signing the FCTC, the Malawi ATSA team said the country was loosing out to an opportunity to diversify its economy after depending on tobacco for years at the same time putting most mothers and children at risk by not regulating smoking in public places.
“Malawi does not produce cigarettes which are the main focus of the project. The argument of putting 85 percent of Malawians at risk to make up our economy does not sound developmental,” reads the statement.
Ends.
Malawi sacrifices 7,000 to save tobacco
Malawi sacrifices
7,000 to save tobacco
..DDT can eradicate Malaria-WHO
by Kondwani Munthali
Top civil servant in the Ministry of Health Chris Kang’ombe on Wednesday admitted that the country’s reliance on tobacco has affected the fight against malaria as there are resistance to the adoption of use of Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) spraying which is proven to eradicate the fatal disease.
DDT was banned due to environmental and toxic effects, but the World Health Organisation has recognised that spraying the insecticide can eradicate malaria, as since the ban there has been increase in the incidents of malaria in South America and Africa.
“I would say yes it is a difficult choice, either we forgo all the foreign exchange that the country depends on tobacco or we accept to continue sacrificing 7,000 lives that we lose due to malaria,” Kang’ombe said.
He said the Ministry had started the process of consultations and it was still optimistic that the officials in the Ministry of Agriculture which are concerned that the country’s green gold could not be bought if traces of DDT are found in the leaf are convinced.
Malawi according to Kang’ombe experiences at least six million incidents of malaria, resulting in 40 percent of the country’s health budget being taken up by the fight against the disease which can easily be eradicated.
“We are trying to make the economic argument of matter. You reduce or eradicate malaria, you have a healthy person, reduced morbidity and mortality which have both huge costs on the public resources,” said Kang’ombe.
Director of Preventive Health Storns Kabuluzi said he believes the use of DDT is a matter of time as there is enough evidence from the current indoor residue spraying using ICON10CN in Nkhotakota has shown effectiveness in preventing malaria.
“We are trying to find way of accommodating the economic and agricultural needs. The problem that the agriculture people are expressing is that some people use their own homes to cure tobacco and we will be spraying the same homes. May be we can try to advocate for methods that are differentiate the two,” said Dr. Kabuluzi.
WHO Malawi officer-in-charge Richard Banda said the quantities that could be used for spraying DDT are very small as compared with the use of the same chemical in agriculture.
“I believe there will be a time that we should be able to use it as the quantities cannot have any major impact on the agricultural sector as feared,” said Banda.
Malawi joined the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) commemoration of malaria this week as part of efforts to raise awareness on the diseases which has claimed 20 million children since the banning of DDT.
Statistics indicate that an average 350,000 people reported at the country’s health facilitates with malaria while 21 million were recorded sick in the SADC region resulting in 300,000 deaths.
“Malaria illness causes death, inhibits tourism and affects external investment. Malaria prevents children from attending school. Women are four times likely to suffer from malaria during pregnancy resulting in low birth weight, miscarriages and still briths,” said Kang’ombe pleading with Malawians to use free nets government has been distributing to prevent malaria.
Tobacco has been a major challenge to implementing public health programmes in the country including the smoking controls and now malaria as Government has argued over its economic importance.
However public health specialists argue that the benefits of public health programmes will reduce health bills, poverty induced by diseases and deaths and also have economically productive citizenry.
Ends.
First published in Nation on Sunday, 21 December 2008
7,000 to save tobacco
..DDT can eradicate Malaria-WHO
by Kondwani Munthali
Top civil servant in the Ministry of Health Chris Kang’ombe on Wednesday admitted that the country’s reliance on tobacco has affected the fight against malaria as there are resistance to the adoption of use of Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) spraying which is proven to eradicate the fatal disease.
DDT was banned due to environmental and toxic effects, but the World Health Organisation has recognised that spraying the insecticide can eradicate malaria, as since the ban there has been increase in the incidents of malaria in South America and Africa.
“I would say yes it is a difficult choice, either we forgo all the foreign exchange that the country depends on tobacco or we accept to continue sacrificing 7,000 lives that we lose due to malaria,” Kang’ombe said.
He said the Ministry had started the process of consultations and it was still optimistic that the officials in the Ministry of Agriculture which are concerned that the country’s green gold could not be bought if traces of DDT are found in the leaf are convinced.
Malawi according to Kang’ombe experiences at least six million incidents of malaria, resulting in 40 percent of the country’s health budget being taken up by the fight against the disease which can easily be eradicated.
“We are trying to make the economic argument of matter. You reduce or eradicate malaria, you have a healthy person, reduced morbidity and mortality which have both huge costs on the public resources,” said Kang’ombe.
Director of Preventive Health Storns Kabuluzi said he believes the use of DDT is a matter of time as there is enough evidence from the current indoor residue spraying using ICON10CN in Nkhotakota has shown effectiveness in preventing malaria.
“We are trying to find way of accommodating the economic and agricultural needs. The problem that the agriculture people are expressing is that some people use their own homes to cure tobacco and we will be spraying the same homes. May be we can try to advocate for methods that are differentiate the two,” said Dr. Kabuluzi.
WHO Malawi officer-in-charge Richard Banda said the quantities that could be used for spraying DDT are very small as compared with the use of the same chemical in agriculture.
“I believe there will be a time that we should be able to use it as the quantities cannot have any major impact on the agricultural sector as feared,” said Banda.
Malawi joined the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) commemoration of malaria this week as part of efforts to raise awareness on the diseases which has claimed 20 million children since the banning of DDT.
Statistics indicate that an average 350,000 people reported at the country’s health facilitates with malaria while 21 million were recorded sick in the SADC region resulting in 300,000 deaths.
“Malaria illness causes death, inhibits tourism and affects external investment. Malaria prevents children from attending school. Women are four times likely to suffer from malaria during pregnancy resulting in low birth weight, miscarriages and still briths,” said Kang’ombe pleading with Malawians to use free nets government has been distributing to prevent malaria.
Tobacco has been a major challenge to implementing public health programmes in the country including the smoking controls and now malaria as Government has argued over its economic importance.
However public health specialists argue that the benefits of public health programmes will reduce health bills, poverty induced by diseases and deaths and also have economically productive citizenry.
Ends.
First published in Nation on Sunday, 21 December 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)