LILONGWE (Reuters) - The death toll from cholera in Malawi has risen to 30 from the 26 recorded last month, the Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

The number of infections has risen to 893 from 844 in March, the ministry said.

Cases in the capital, Lilongwe, rose to 352 from 305 and deaths from 14 to 18 during the period of March 26 to April 11, said Joshua Malango, a spokesman for the ministry.

Parts of Lilongwe have experienced flash flooding, and heavy rain continues in most parts of the country.

The cholera outbreak has been blamed on drinking water from shallow, contaminated sources.</s>The cholera death toll in Malawi has risen to 30 from the 26 recorded last month, the Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

According to Ministry of Health spokesperson Joshua Malango, the number of infections has also risen to 893 from 844 in March.

“Cases in the capital, Lilongwe, rose to 352 from 305 and deaths from 14 to 18 during the period of March 26 to April 11,” said Malango.

The cholera outbreak has been blamed on drinking water from shallow and contaminated sources.

 The current outbreak started last year at the onset of the ongoing rainy season.

Districts heavily hit by the disease are Karonga, Lilongwe, Salima and Dedza.

The cholera outbreak has also hit Rumphi, Dowa, Nkhatabay, Likoma, Nsanje and Mulanje.</s>The death toll from cholera in Malawi has risen to 30 from the 26 recorded last month, the Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

The number of infections has risen to 893 from 844 in March, the ministry said.

Cases in the capital, Lilongwe, rose to 352 from 305 and deaths from 14 to 18 during the period of March 26 to April 11, said Joshua Malango, a spokesman for the ministry.

In March, the ministry had declared that it was winning the war against cholera, arguing that no new cases were registered and that only one patient was receiving treatment in the cholera camps.

Parts of Lilongwe have experienced flash flooding, and heavy rain continues in most parts of the country.

The cholera outbreak has been blamed on drinking water from shallow, contaminated sources.</s>News from the Battlefield Cholera Epidemic of 1849

By Joel Shockley The definition for cholera is “an infectious and often fatal bacterial disease of the small intestine, typically contracted from infected water supplies and causing severe vomiting and diarrhea.” In 1849, 14,137 lives were lost in London, England to cholera. In the U.S., cholera killed 4,500 in St. Louis, 3,000 in New Orleans, and the life of former President James K. Polk. In that same year, the discovery of gold in California brought a surge of miners, settlers, and cholera through the Upper Plains – the homeland of the Cheyenne.

You need to login to view the rest of the content. Please Login . Not a Member? Join Us</s>The disease outbreak which began last November in Karonga, northern Malawi has spread to 13 districts in the country, a spokesman for the ministry, Joshua Kalongo told CNN.

The drinking of contaminated water and poor food hygiene practices in affected areas have been blamed for the cholera outbreak, the ministry said.

Kalongo told CNN that heads of affected districts have banned the sale of cooked food in market places in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease in the country.

"Prepared food in markets have been banned by our district councils now," Kalongo told CNN.

"The main challenge and source of this outbreak is the use of contaminated water in the affected areas and poor food hygiene,"he added. The United Nations agency for children, UNICEF, said its working with Malawian government and other international organizations to provide medical supplies and equipment for treatment of patients in affected communities. is an acute diarrheal illness that kills thousands of people worldwide each year. is an acute diarrheal illness that kills thousands of people worldwide each year. Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness that kills thousands of people worldwide each year. The disease is rare in industrialized nations but it occurs frequently in many countries in parts of Africa, especially in areas with poor or inadequate water treatment, sanitation and hygiene practices. According to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease is contracted by consuming food or water contaminated with the fecal bacteria Vibrio cholerae.</s>After a one year break, organisers of the highly patronized events of Malawi Achievers Awards SA (MAASA) chapter have announced that the event is back this year in South Africa and on top of awarding people; they will also promote Malawi self-realization campaign of Buy Malawi.

According to the Gift Chilonga, Marketing Director for MAASA, the event will be hosted in either Johannesburg or Pretoria and will extend invitations to Malawian businesses wishing to have presence in South Africa during the event.

“Last time’s event was great but this will one will be greater because we have taken further steps in promoting Malawi. We will, on top of awarding people give platform to local businesses for the Buy Malawi campaign. Everything has been projected to be more of proudly Malawian. We have already identified different orgnisations and individuals from Malawi to be part of the event,” explained Chilonga.

He also announced that extra awards have been added to the event.

“We have added three awards that will go directly to people living in Malawi who will be invited to attend. We also want to appreciate the efforts of our brothers and sisters living in Malawi. This will also be an opportunity for them to meet their counterparts,” he said.

Last year’s winners for MAASA included Prophet Shepherd Bushiri for Humanitarian, Black Pather movie actress Connie Chiumia for Woman of Substance, actor Eugine Khumbanyiwa, Gemini Major for Rising Star, John Maduka in Sports, Dr Mark Winter for Academics and Erick Paliani in entertainment.

The event was spiced up by Zimbabwe’s Buffalo Souldier, Nigerian’s DJ Waxxy, South Africa’s Gemini Major, Malawi’s Tay Grin, Fredokiss, Nes Nes and Janta.

The organisers confirmed to Nyasa Times that this year, they plan to bring a good number of Malawi artists who will fly to the event and spice up the night.

The annual event, which is similar to Malawi Achievers Awards UK run by the Malawi Assocition Uk, will take place in July on a date and venue yet to be announced.

In UK Malawi Association UK chairperson Hannington Gondwe said they they are waiting for stalled handover of the previous committee which is delaying their operations.</s>Malawi Queens today hammered Wales 68-53 in their final Pool B match at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.

Malawi won three of the four quarters as they showed their dominance over the European side.

The Welsh had a great start but they missed their chances and Malawi capitalised.

By the end of the first quarter, the Queens were leading 15-12.

 They stretched their lead to eight in the second quarter after winning 21-16. The first half ended 36-28.

Wales improved in the second half as they managed to hold the Queens 14-14 in the third quarter.

But in the final quarter the queens dominated again and they scored 18 to Wales’ 11 to win the game 68-53.

The Queens have finished third in their group while Wales are bottom.</s>Malawi this morning registered their second win at the 2018 Commonwealth Games when they saw off Scotland in a thrilling encounter.

The Malawi Queens fought off a late fightback from Scotland to win 51-50.

The Scot Thistles started well and ended the first quarter with a 13-12 win.

Having lost two of their first three games, the Queens could not afford to lose to Scotland and in the second quarter they showed their quality as they won 16-10 to take a 5 goal lead into the second half.

Scotland were not giving up either. A 13-11 win in the third quarter saw them trailing 36-39 as the teams went into the fourth quarter.

In the last quarter, the Malawi Queens extended their lead to 7 goals but later found themselves leading 51-47.

The Scot Thirstles managed to further cut Malawi’s lead to one goal in the last minutes of the match though the Queens hanged on for a 51-50 victory.

The win means Malawi are third in Pool B with four points.

They remain with one game against Wales but their chances of qualifying to the semifinals are slim since second placed New Zealand have six points and need a win in their next game to advance.</s>LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi President Peter Muthalika is expected to leave the country for the 25th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The meeting is slated for April 16 to 26, this year in the United Kingdom (UK).

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Emmanuel Fabiano told the news conference in the capital Lilongwe on Wednesday that President Muthalika will carry little entourage to the UK trip.

The clarification comes a Mutharlika’s precious foreign trips have been marred with large entourage which drains the country’s hard earned taxpayers money.

Below is the full statement the minister issues;

OFFICIAL VISIT TO THE UNITED KINGDOM BY HIS EXCELLENCY PROFESSOR ARTHUR PETER MUTHARIKA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALAWI 25TH COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING (CHOGM)

INTRODUCTION

 His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, President of the Republic of Malawi, will undertake an official visit to the United Kingdom where he will attend this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in London from 16th to 20th April, 2018 and its associated meetings and events. The President will also visit Scotland where he will fulfil a number of engagements aimed at cementing the bilateral relations existing between Malawi and Scotland.

This year’s CHOGM, which will be chaired by Right Honourable Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, will be held under the theme: “Towards a Common Future” with the following sub-themes ‘a more prosperous future’, ‘a more sustainable future and ‘a more secure future’.It is expected that 53 Heads of State and Government will attend the Summit.

The Commonwealth was founded in 1949 and is mostly composed of former British colonies, brought together on a principle of sovereign equality and shared values driven by a common desire to uplift the standards of living of 2.3 billion Commonwealth citizens (of which 60% are under the age of 30). It is also important to note that 31 of the 53 member nations are small states.

The Commonwealth is currently focusing on Women Rights, Climate Change, Small and Climate Vulnerable States, tackling corruption and organised crime, cyber security, promotion of trade and investment, and reforming the organisation to make it more efficient and effective to the interests of its members.

2.0 BENEFITS OF COMMONWEALTH MEMBERSHIP

 Malawi is benefiting from the Commonwealth membership through technical cooperation programmes, capacity building, research, experts exchange programmes, aid provided by member states under the Commonwealth framework, among other channels.

These cover programmes in areas of: Democracy and Consensus Building; Good Offices for Peace; Economic Development; Environmentally-Sustainable Development; Education; Health; Human Development; Human Rights; Rule of Law; Public Sector Development; Gender; Youth; and Sport.

Right now, Malawi is participating in Commonwealth Games in Gold Coats, Australia and is also enjoying sports development programmes through the Commonwealth family.

In democracy consolidation, the Commonwealth provides support during elections through observer missions and technical support. The Commonwealth Observer Group observed the Malawi Tripartite elections in 2014 and is expected to do likewise in the 2019 polls.

Training in health, education, diplomacy, and other disciplines have been provided under the technical cooperation programmes directly from the Commonwealth Secretariat and through member states.

Malawi has benefitted from the Commonwealth Technical Assistance through secondment of experts to the country in various fields including trade, health, education, research and feasibility studies.

Through technical assistance, the Commonwealth Secretariat will assist the Malawi Trade Department in developing a new National Export Strategy.

Malawi is one of the beneficiary countries of the programme under ‘Commonwealth in Action: Hub and Spokes II- Developing Malawi’s competitive export economy, a programme which will run until February 2019.

Youth Awards: Commonwealth encourages innovation through Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work. In 2017, Malawi was among the 5 finalists for the award through Mr. Charles Lipenga who founded the Maestros Leadership Team, a youth-led organization that trained more than 10,000 young people.

It is also worth noting that since September, 2015, the Commonwealth Secretariat has been subsidizing rent for the Chancery for the Embassy and Permanent Mission of Malawi in Geneva, Switzerland under a programme that is aimed at supporting small states participation in multilateral affairs and integration of their economies into the global economy.

It should also be noted that under support provided by the Commonwealth, the Government of the Republic of India is providing: Training in various disciplines, supporting project related activities such as feasibility studies and consultancy service; donated equipment to Malawi at SMEDI in Mponela, and disaster relief food assistance (rice) for flood victims.

Malawi also benefits through membership to Commonwealth Associated Organizations such as the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO) which facilitates common approach and enhanced cyber security and capacity building;

Under The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS), Malawi dedicated Chimaliro Forest Reserve in Kasungu/Mzimba Districts as the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, a concept aimed at promoting conservation of forests. The project was launched in Malawi on 13th March, 2018 by His Royal Highness Prince Richard.

PRE-SESSION MEETINGS

 In keeping with tradition, this year’s summit will be preceded by a series of meetings, including the Commonwealth Business Forum, the Commonwealth Women’s Forum and the Malaria Summit, where His Excellency the President has been invited to deliver keynote addresses.

The Business Forum will be held from 16th to 18th April, 2018, where the members of the private sector, including representatives from Malawi’s industry and mining sectors, have been invited to attend. His Excellency the President is expected to deliver a statement on investment opportunities in Malawi, and also encourage the Commonwealth business community to consider entering into joint ventures with the private sector in the country.

His Excellency the President has been invited to address the 2018 Women’s Forum which will reflect on some of the global challenges still faced by women, as part of a wider commitment to “leave no one behind” in the Commonwealth roadmap to achieving gender equality by 2030 as internationally agreed. His Excellency will take the opportunity to share with the Forum steps his administration is taking to end ills such as violence against women, child marriages, trafficking of women and attacks on people with albinism. The country’ s early childhood development efforts, child protection, functional literacy and family welfare programmes will be shared with participants at this year’s event.

As you are aware, one of the key policies of the government is empowerment of youth through skills development and promotion of young people to positions of influence in order to allow them realise their full potential and contribute to the development of the country. His Excellency the President will share experiences on the strides the country is undertaking to address youth issues when he addresses the Commonwealth.

3.0 VISIT TO SCOTLAND

 His Excellency the President will visit Scotland from 22nd to 25th April, 2017. During the visit, the President is expected to hold bilateral talks with the Right Honourable Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, address the Scottish Parliament, and sign the Global Goals Malawi-Scotland Partnership Agreement, among other engagements.

Malawi and Scotland share a rich history which dates back to over 159 years ago when Dr. David Livingstone set his foot on the soil of this country. Like growth of a mustard seed, the bonds of cooperation between Malawi and Scotland have flourished into a unique people to people partnership under the government-civil society framework.

In 2005, Malawi and Scotland formalised the partnership through the signing of the first cooperation agreement and establishment of a Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation (JPCC). The agreement has run its course and the two countries are in the process of negotiating a new agreement which will be signed during the President’s visit.

The new agreement seeks to align Scottish support with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Strategy, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and our own economic blueprint, the Third Malawi Growth and Development Agenda (MGDS III), with agriculture and climate change, health, education, and civic governance as areas of focus under the new partnership.

Among the projects being implemented with Scottish support in the country are:

 Health: Cervical Cancer screening at Nkhoma Mission Hospital, Maternal health projects, training of medical personnel including nurses, doctors, scholarships for KCN students and medical students in other institutions.

Education: Scotland has ensured that the quality of education is enhanced in Malawi through: ICT skills training for teachers and learners, Schools partnership programmes which links schools in Malawi with other schools in Scotland and links teachers to teacher and learners to learners, Girls education through scholarships, and School feeding programmes.

Sustainable economic development assistance has covered support to Malawian CSOs to implementation of projects in Tourism, Conservation/SMART Agriculture projects, Farm input support programmes, Food security programmes, and Water management projects.

Civic governance: Scottish support has been provided through Malawi-Scottish Police cooperation, Support to Malawi Parliament and Malawi Prisons. It is expected that during the visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will sign with his Scottish counterpart an MoU on Malawi/Scotland Police cooperation.

DIASPORA ENGAGEMENT

 As part of the on-going programme, the Malawi delegation will seize the opportunity to sensitize Malawians living in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland about the necessity of taking part in the development of their country through a variety of initiatives contained in the country’s Diaspora engagement policy.

Malawians living abroad will be particularly encouraged to invest in different sectors of the economy in Malawi.</s>YOU’LL go far to see a more climactic finish than this.

Malawi’s fairytale run in the netball at the Commonwealth Games is hanging on by a thread, following a one-goal victory over Scotland that went down to the buzzer.

Needing a win to stay in medal contention, the African side were ahead 51-49 with 27 seconds left on the clock when the Scots won back possession.

Two passes later – including a cross-court bullet from deep in the middle third – and the Scots had reduced the deficit to a single goal and retained possession from the centre.

Eight seconds remained for Scotland to tie the game and keep their hopes of a semi-final berth alive when Malawi player Jane Chimaliro was dramatically sent off for attempting to waste time.

The Scots took advantage of their extra player and looked favourites to pull off a remarkable comeback after winning consecutive contact fouls, deep within shooting range.

But as the clock ticked down, a devastated Scottish goal attack Lynsey Gallagher missed both shots – one falling too short and the other too full.

To watch the 2018 Commonwealth Games live and on the go, download the free 7CommGames app on iTunes or Android.

Meanwhile, the Malawian coach and players flooded the court with jubilation, their campaign mathematically still alive.

It is the second time in three days that Malawi has pulled off an upset against a more fancied opponent, having beaten New Zealand 57-53 on Sunday.

And, were it not for a surprising two-goal loss to Uganda, the sixth-ranked nation would be in pole position to take on Australia or Jamaica in the semi-finals.

As it stands, their chances are slim.

Malawi need to beat the winless Welsh team convincingly, while hoping for England to do the same in its final match against New Zealand.

If the 88-goal deficit to the Kiwis is closed, who knows what might happen next?
The death toll from a Malawi cholera epidemic reaches 30.