Welcome to "Through a Glass Darkly" - my blog about my service trip to Malawi, Africa.

I left Canada on December 30th for Blantyre, Malawi, AFRICA. I worked with Friends of Malawi Fellowship (FOMF), the organization headed by my aunt Phyllis Labrentz. I taught English language and literature, helping secondary high school students learn to read and write English well enough to pass the government exams.
During that time I was also kept busy teaching guitar, singing, and assisting my aunt.
I left Malawi on July 19th and returned to Canada on July 20th.

Saturday, March 03, 2012

STATISTICS

Malawi has one of the  highes HIV prevalence rates in the world estimated at 10.8% in 15-49 year olds. It is also estimated that about 1 million people live with HIV (PLHIV). 100,000 of them are children less than 15 years old.

HIV prevalence is higher in uban areas (15.6% compared to 11.25% in rural areas for 15-49 years olds). However, 80% of the population lives in the rural areas, so most PLHIV live in rural areas.

* Like many other countries in southern Africa, HIV prevalence is also higher among females (13.3% in 15-49 year olds compared to 10.2% for the same male age group).

The number of orphans is estimated at 1.1 million; over 400,000 of whom are due to AIDS (Orphan and Vulnerable Children - OVC). +

There are many barriers faced by PLHIV and OVC. Some of them include but not limited to: lack of integration of services for HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, STIs and maternal and child health; dependence on volunteers; problems with sustainability of funds.

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* Mum says that many men find out that they have HIV and begin taking medication--but THEY DO NOT TELL the woman. This is also the reason why the wife often dies before the husband. Sexual abuse of girls in boarding schools  by older males is rampant.

+ How obscene, that acronyms exist for these.

3 comments:

  1. di.spencer3 March 2012 at 12:20

    It's staggering to think that a man would willingly sentence his wife or any woman to a slow, painful death by AIDS. It's disgusting that it's a known fact that sexual abuse takes place in boarding schools and no measures have been put in place to stop it. These are the saddest stats you've posted here to date. Praying for you and your mission, Inez.
    Love & Prayers, Diane Spencer <3

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  2. Anonymous6 March 2012 at 09:42

    That is terrible. It is hard to imagine to think how they would do that in a boarding school. Just leave there parents to die a slow painful death, by aids. I feel terrible for those people that do that, and i feel sorry for the people. I hope its going good up there Inez (:

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  3. Inez6 March 2012 at 11:23

    It's hard for us to imagine the way things are here, I know. The cultural standards for acceptable sexual behaviour for men is slow to change. Unfortunately, it is the girls and women (and their children) who suffer for it. Not everyone thinks that way, of course--but when it comes to HIV/AIDS, ignorance is NOT bliss.

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