Assigned Reading 7

Reading 7

Book--A Democracy of Chameleons: Politics and Culture in the New Malawi
Chapter 8--Human Rights and the Multiparty System Have Swallowed Our Traditions
Author--John Lwanda (of this chapter only)
Publisher--Nordic Africa Institute, February 2002


--AIDS probably arrived around 1977 in Malawi
--sexual prudence was very high in appearance--but not practice--so when AIDS hit, it was 'shushed' about--experts and practitioners were scared to tackle the problem for fear of rocking the boat
--initially AIDS was dubbed 'the American disease' in Malawi
--also, some looked at the epidemic as resulting from God's wrath...AIDS was seen as a divine punishment
--the first concrete indicator of the epidemic in Malawi was around 1985
--AIDS research was not encouraged during the Banda era...civil servants and those close to the Banda regime started dying finally caused the regime to take notice
--the HIV problem, however, could be a way to exploit outsider assistance/donations

Cultural Practices and Banda's Legacy
--only 20% of Malawi are polygamous
--the weak position of women in Malawian society, however, just compounded the HIV/AIDS problem--polygamy, initiation rituals, arranged marriages, men refusing to wear condoms, and delayed condom use in comparison to other African countries all enhanced the problem in Malawi
--the government under Banda was also very negligent towards the HIV/AIDS problem
--"it took the government too long to accept there was an AIDS problem...the MCP were happy to receive all the money. What Malawi got (were) pre-packaged solutions made abroad."--I think this opinion was referencing the neglect of the outsiders to the cultural issues surrounding the means of improving the HIV/AIDS problem
--Banda's regime was also "obsessed" with presentation...which caused great neglect to its subjects' welfare
--donor collusion (secret, illegal conspiracy or cooperation) also added to the problem
--by 1991 HIV/AIDS was acknowledged as a major cause of death in Malawi...but it was only acknowledged

HIV/AIDS in the 'New' Malawi
--1994, about 1/3 of hospital admissions in Malawi were for HIV/AIDS-related illnesses
--the first 4 years after Banda, under the Muluzi administration, significant improvements for the HIV/AIDS problem were not made...improvments were made elsewhere, not in the countries promotion of public health
--1997, about 73 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were dealing with the HIV/AIDS problem...however, Muluzi was still ambiguous on the stance of whether Western medications or traditional medical approaches should deal with the problem
--during the Muluzi era, Malawians were finally fully exposed to the extent of the HIV/AIDS epidemic happening in their country
--the Muluzi era started losing members and activitsts...which heightened their awareness to the problem
--outsiders (popular global musicians) also were spreading awareness to the problem
--between 1996-99 the government was forced to admit that HIV was a major national problem
--1999, statistics indicated that there was an 8.8% prevalence rate of HIV in Malawi