Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 21, 2006

LILONGWE, 21 December (PLUSNEWS) - A group of traditional leaders in Mchinji district, about 100km west of Malawian capital, Lilongwe, has become involved in HIV/AIDS awareness efforts in their communities, encouraging people to talk more openly about the epidemic.

Three years ago, 28 traditional leaders formed Mduwa Chiefs AIDS Organisation to address the spread of the disease in their villages - a first in this conservative country, which has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world.

"As chiefs, we feel the time has come that we lead by example. It is no longer a question of asking people to go for VCT [voluntary testing and counselling], but we need to show them how we should do it," said village headman Gunungwi, a member of the organisation.

The rationale for forming a community-based organisation run by chiefs was simple. "Chiefs are the custodians of customary laws, customary land, traditional beliefs and culture - the people are bound to listen more to the chiefs than any other person because we are heading the villages under which they live," said Gunungwi.

A survey by the Malawi Red Cross Society in 2000 found that chiefs could play a crucial role in tackling HIV/AIDS in their communities; until then, the role of leaders in mobilising communities to prevent HIV transmission and care for HIV positive people had been "minimal or non-existent".

The project is slowly starting to make a difference. Senior chief Nyoka told IRIN/PlusNews that many people were coming forward to disclose their HIV-positive status, and there had even been a case of a chief who had publicly declared that he had been living with the virus and was now spearheading the traditional leaders' campaign.

Communities were also being educated about the risks of cultural practices, such as widow inheritance and death cleansing.

In the case of wife inheritance, a widow is married to a brother or other male relative of her deceased husband. The custom has long been viewed as a way of providing social and financial security by ensuring that the responsibility of caring for a deceased man's wife and children remains in the family. But the prevalence of HIV in Malawi has transformed wife inheritance into a potentially fatal practice.

In death cleansing, an elder of the family, usually the maternal uncle of the deceased husband, has sex with the widow to cleanse her of her husband's spirit.

Chief Mduwa, a member of the group, acknowledged that while they had made some headway in getting people to be tested and become better informed about HIV/AIDS, there was still a long way to go.

Mchinji district, a tobacco-growing area, borders Zambia and is a hive of commercial activity, with one of the fastest growing populations in the country. According to the Malawi Red Cross Survey, risky sexual behaviour and inadequate access to condoms were also contributing to the high HIV prevalence in the region.

Samuel Matoka, regional programme officer for home-based care at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies [IFRC], applauded the efforts of the Malawian chiefs and urged more traditional leaders in Southern Africa to become involved in addressing the epidemic in their communities.

"As overall leaders in the community, their involvement is important - it will help to reduce stigma and discrimination, as they dispel myths and misconceptions," he said. "If the chief is not involved, it becomes very easy for the community to resist and shun the project. There is also encouragement from the chiefs to look after home-based care clients, orphans and vulnerable children."

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