Noriko Asano, “Winds of Africa” Chapter 21: February 2009 – The Reality of Malawi

Chapter 21: February 2009 - The Reality of Malawi

— Announcement —

Until April 30th (Thursday), an exhibition titled 'Winds of Africa' is being held at CoCoLo Café in Shinjuku 2-chome, Tokyo.
Alongside works by Nigerian Oshogbo artists, West African textiles, sculptures, and ethnic masks, we will also feature photographs of Malawian children taken by myself over the past few years.
CoCoLo Café is open from 5 PM on weekdays (Monday-Friday) and from 3 PM on weekends, operating until morning. If you have the time, please come and visit.

For more details, please visit http://www.africanjag.org
or call Tel. 03-5366-9989 (CoCoLo Café).

Now, for the first 'Winds of Africa' of the year. I haven't been slacking off, but before I knew it, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. I sincerely apologize for the long gap.
This is because I was in the Republic of Malawi and South Africa for about five weeks, from January 29th to March 6th, 2009, for on-site support and inspection for the African JAG Project. Immediately upon my return, I fell ill due to the cold, pollen, and yellow dust, leaving my mind in a fog.
As I'm finally starting to recover, I'd like to share the current situation in Malawi, our support area.

Malawi: January 29 - February 20, 2009 US$1 = MWK160

During this period, Malawi, located in the Southern Hemisphere, is in its summer/rainy season. The village on the shores of Lake Malawi, where we provide support, experiences daily temperatures exceeding 30°C, with very strong UV rays.

The rainy season here is different from Japan's tsuyu; it consists of intense downpours, like buckets of water being thrown, known as squalls. Because of this, it doesn't feel humid and is quite comfortable. On Lake Malawi, children were joyfully playing in the water every day under the strong sun. It's a scene that feels almost unreal given the realities of this place.

Rampant Diseases

During this time, infectious diseases like malaria and cholera begin to spread in Malawi. For those unaccustomed to African illnesses, vigilance is crucial. Handwashing and gargling are essential, and malaria prevention medication cannot be skipped. In my case, having once suffered from a near-fatal bout of "falciparum malaria" in Nigeria, I tend to be overly cautious. Therefore, our portable cooler box, used as a medicine chest, is packed not only with necessary medical supplies for local support but also with my personal medications, plasters, stomach medicine, fever cooling sheets, malaria prevention and treatment drugs, and test kits.

During our stay, the malaria outbreak was just beginning. However, from late February to late March, after the harvest of the staple maize, the female Anopheles mosquitoes lay their eggs on the husks and cobs. As these hatch, many people are bitten by these mosquitoes and suffer from malarial fever. Recently, malaria test kits have become available in pharmacies, but locals rarely purchase them.

Furthermore, even if one contracts malaria, symptoms are milder if taking preventive medication, and in most cases, death can be avoided with treatment. However, those in poverty lack the funds to purchase preventive or treatment drugs.

Consequently, many children and the elderly, who have weaker constitutions, lose their lives each year. Cholera outbreaks have also begun. While unsanitary conditions seem to be the primary cause of cholera, even since we began our support in 2006, environmental sanitation has hardly improved outside of urban areas.

Currently, outside of urban centers, there is no garbage collection in Malawi. As a result, in rural areas, the accumulation of non-combustible waste like plastic bags has led to scattered, non-biodegradable trash. This collects rainwater and mixes with sewage, creating foul odors and exacerbating existing problems. Especially during this season (the rainy season), small fish caught in Lake Malawi spoil before they can be dried, and this spoiled fish is then discarded back into the lake, further polluting the water. This creates an even more dire environment, increasing the probability of cholera and dysentery outbreaks in impoverished villages located by the lake. Of course, there are no sewers, and toilets are essentially just holes dug in the ground. When a pit fills up, another is dug, but the wastewater seeps into the ground, meaning even the water pumped from wells, which villagers believe to be safe, is far from secure.

Healthcare System

As reported previously, Malawi has a severe shortage of hospitals. There are approximately 60 national hospitals and about 30 managed by overseas NGOs. The total number of hospitals in the country is less than 100.
Furthermore, not only hospitals but also the number of doctors and nurses are critically insufficient.

In 2006, I inspected a government-run hospital where one nurse was responsible for an entire ward of 60 patients – an unimaginable situation. I understand that patients cannot be admitted without family members accompanying them.

Regarding doctors, due to low salaries, most seek opportunities in Europe and America, leading to doctors being dispatched from neighboring countries on multi-year contracts. While there have been some improvements in doctor's salaries recently, the number of doctors and nurses remains critically low relative to the patient population.

Another issue in Malawi, I believe, is that pharmacies are only located in Lilongwe (the capital) and Blantyre (the second-largest city). People in other areas cannot obtain medication without visiting a hospital. For instance, malaria, which occurs during this season, is often not fatal if medication is taken. However, many cases become fatal because people lack the money to travel to a hospital. If there were pharmacies nearby, many lives could be saved. Building hospitals involves not only construction costs but also significant challenges in securing doctors and nurses. Pharmacies, however, seem more feasible.

In our country, for minor illnesses or injuries, we can buy medicine at a local pharmacy, eat nutritious food, and get rest, and we usually recover. This is considered normal. However, in Malawi, what is normal for us is far from ordinary.
Lives are lost because people lack even the equivalent of 50 yen to go to a hospital. This is the reality for the impoverished.

Food Situation

This is also the time when the previous year's harvest of staple maize runs out, leading to soaring food prices. Consequently, this is the most difficult period for those living in poverty. Recently, to prevent shortages and price hikes, the government has implemented a system of purchasing maize in bulk from farmers and selling it through designated storage facilities called ADMARC. However, in reality, maize is often unavailable at rural ADMARC outlets.

Many farmers end up selling their maize on the black market due to the low government purchase price. By the time the government's maize supply dwindles, the maize that was diverted to the black market reappears in retail stores at inflated prices.

In either case, those already struggling to make ends meet are forced into even more dire circumstances by the rising cost of their staple food. This situation demands an urgent solution.

Furthermore, during this recent inspection, I observed that the growth of maize in the areas we support is significantly poor. Despite already having formed ears, the maize stalks are thin and have yielded very little grain. While further rain might help them grow larger, if the situation remains unchanged, this area is certain to face a severe crop failure and food shortage. However, in Malawi, crop yields can vary greatly even between nearby areas, so I can only pray for a bountiful harvest in other regions.

Education

The state of education is far from satisfactory, to put it mildly. Government-run schools, in particular, face numerous problems. The schools referred to here are government primary schools (eight-year system). In the areas where we provide support, the majority of children do not have textbooks. Moreover, many lack even notebooks and pencils.

All the children say they want to go to school, but looking at their notebooks, it's unclear what they are learning. Especially for younger children, they go to school at 6:30 AM and return home by 10 AM, meaning only about three hours of actual study.

During this time, not a single page in their notebooks is filled. As a result, many second and third graders cannot even write the alphabet. Even among older students, most cannot perform multiplication tables properly, and even simple addition becomes difficult with multiple digits.

Amidst this situation, there is the mandate for school uniforms, reportedly favored by the president. While this might be understandable for private schools, government schools also enforce uniform policies, and students are denied entry if they are not wearing one. For children from impoverished families, obtaining a uniform is nearly impossible.

Why should children who wear tattered clothes and often lack proper meals be required to wear custom-made uniforms? It seems fundamentally wrong that children who are eager to learn and attend school are turned away because they cannot afford a uniform. Shouldn't children need textbooks, notebooks, and pencils more than uniforms?

The principal of one village school said, "We accept them regardless," but without such flexibility, almost all children from poor rural families would be unable to attend school.
I sincerely hope for the day when this absurd uniform mandate is abolished, allowing impoverished children to attend school with joy.

Education provides children with a future. It's not about burdening them with difficult studies; even the minimum essential learning is sufficient. The ability to properly read, write, and perform basic arithmetic opens up possibilities. I believe that proper education is the key to unlocking Malawi's bright future.

The people of Malawi are truly kind. Despite their poverty, they support each other to survive. I want to reflect again on what I can do to ensure their smiles continue.

African JAG / Producer Noriko Asano

※ For details on Malawi support, please visit our website: http://www.africanjag.org