At least 72 teachers drawn from various Community Day Secondary Schools across the country are undergoing a four weeks Geographic Information Systems (GIS) course at Mzuzu University (MZUNI) delivered through Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL).

Today, I have decided to reveal a secret that I have kept in the inner chamber of my heart for seven years. Initially, this secret haunted me day and night.

Sad News! For every 100,000 women who are pregnant, 349 end up dying due to pregnancy-related causes. Some die due to infections, and others due to bleeding when giving birth or soon after giving birth. Some die due to obstructed labour, yet others pass away as they attempt to terminate their unintended pregnancies.

The talk around maternal mortality or maternal deaths is about women and girls who die due to pregnancy-related causes. In Malawi, for every 100,000 live births, the country registers 349 deaths of women. Malawi registers over 800,000 pregnancies every year, and this means 7 or 8 women die every day because of pregnancy-related causes.
How can deaths from unsafe abortions be reduced?

SOLUTIONS

• Enactment of Termination of Pregnancy Bill drafted by Law Commission so that women and girls should access safe abortion services in health facilities.
• Provision of family planning services (contraceptives).

Big Question
With draconian abortion law and low contraceptive uptake contributing significantly to deaths caused by unsafe abortions, what interventions should be implemented to reduce maternal mortality?

CAUSE: Haemorrage
SOLUTIONS:

• Deliveries at health facilities
• Ban of traditional both attendants

CAUSE: Infections
SOLUTIONS:

• Provision of medications that enable women deliver without problems including ARVS that enable HIV + women deliver HIV-free babies

CAUSE: Eclampsia & Obstructed Labour
SOLUTIONS:

• Policy implementation that all women should deliver in health facilities
• Laws enactment that stipulate that only those aged over 18 and above should get married

CAUSE: Unsafe abortions
SOLUTIONS:

• Enactment of new abortion law
• Provision of family planning (contraceptives)

Sad News! For every 100,000 women who are pregnant, 349 end up dying due to pregnancy-related causes. Some die due to infections, and others due to bleeding when giving birth or soon after giving birth. Some die due to obstructed labour, yet others pass away as they attempt to terminate their unintended pregnancies.

(Washington, DC, July 22, 2021) – Automobile companies need to do more to address abuses in their aluminum supply chains and the bauxite mines they source from, Human Rights Watch and Inclusive Development International said in a report released today. Car manufacturers used nearly a fifth of all aluminum consumed worldwide in 2019 and they are forecast to double their aluminum consumption by 2050 as they transition to electric vehicles.

Today, we have different denominations, ministries, and sects for various reasons because religious scholars interpret sacred texts differently. The differences in interpretation emerge because sacred books such as the Bible in Christianity, the Quran in Islam, Talmud and Torah in Judaism, were written a long time ago.

Written by Karen Chinembiri

Old Mutual Blantyre Foundation Trust and Care Malawi have signed a K108 million three-year deal which will see the two partnering in various projects benefiting the education sector with Mkanda Primary School in Mchinji being the first targeted beneficiary.

Farmers Organization Limited (FOL) has asked government to merge the post-harvest management (PHM) component in the Affordable Input Program in order to curb the losses the country is experiencing.

In June 2020, the African Union and UNICEF launched the No Name Campaign, an initiative aimed at promoting the right for every child in Africa to a legal identity, and therefore to justice. With barely half of the children under 5 years living on the continent registered at birth, thereby denying millions of others the ability to enjoy their human rights, the No Name Campaign calls on Governments and relevant stakeholders to accelerate measures that have proven efficient to provide children with a legal identity.

The Africa Renewable Energy Fund II has achieved its first close at €130 million, following a joint investment of €17.5 million from The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa and the Climate Technology Fund through the African Development Bank.