Country’s tightly contested elections for president, lawmakers, and local leaders to be held May 21
One political analyst says the outcome depends on the rural areas, where more than 80 percent of Malawians live
Malawians go to the polls on May 21 for local, parliamentary and presidential elections. Seven candidates are running for president, but the real battle is between incumbent President Peter Mutharika, Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima and main opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera. With just a few days to go, it remains difficult to predict the winner, as Lameck Masina reports from Blantyre.
Certain communities were spared because of flood mitigation projects sponsored by World Food Program
Some registered voters living in evacuation camps lost voting registration certificates in floodwaters while candidates say they can’t get their message to would-be supporters living in evacuation camps
Connectivity problems in rural areas affected delivery of results to main tally center; vote is scheduled for May 21
Survivors say returning from Malawi to their flood prone areas would put them at risk should another flood occur
Hundreds of Mozambican flood survivors who fled to evacuation camps in Malawi in early March after Cyclone Idai , say they are not ready to return home unless they are relocated to higher ground. They say returning to their flood prone areas would put them at risk should another flood occur. Lameck Masina reports from Bangula evacuation camp in Nsanje district.
The pilot phase aims to vaccinate 360,000 children per year in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi
As the World Health Organization marks World Malaria Day, April 25, Malawi has launched the pilot phase of Africa's first malaria vaccine. The WHO chose Malawi, alongside Ghana and Kenya, because of the high numbers of malaria cases and treatment facilities. The pilot phase aims to vaccinate 360,000 children per year, 120,000 of them in Malawi. But, as Lameck Masina reports from Lilongwe, while the vaccine is expected to save thousands of lives, its effectiveness is limited.
But some political analysts question the impact of foreign observers on the May 21 presidential poll, saying they often serve as rubber stamps
In March, Cyclone Idai, which also hit Mozambique and Zimbabwe, forced nearly 100,000 people in southern Malawi from their homes
UNICEF says food shortages in evacuation camps raise fears of child malnutrition
At least 1,000 people were killed when Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi in March. In Malawi, the cyclone's floodwaters swamped medical facilities, forcing people to either walk long distances for healthcare or go without. The United Nations Children's Fund has deployed mobile clinics to evacuation camps to meet those medical needs, as Lameck Masina reports from Malawi's Machinga district.
Authorities say 2018 arrest warrant for Banda still valid
US$ 42.7 million is needed to effectively manage the disaster
Reach Out and Touch delivers maize, fish, blankets, clothes, and plastic sheets for makeshift shelters to those most in need
Malawi is struggling to get relief aid to victims of flooding from Cyclone Idai, which killed at least 60 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. While the heaviest-hit southern areas are largely cut off, one Malawian activist is on a personal mission to help those affected. Reporter Lameck Masina has more from Chikwawa, Malawi.
Many villages remain cut-off by massive rains that hit Mozambique’s coast earlier this month, swamping huge areas of the country and neighboring Malawi and Zimbabwe
Scuffles break out after election officials urge end to political violence
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