May 9, 2006

Malawi DHS Findings Discussed on Local Radio Show

Capital Radio Malawi on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 featured American Embassy's Public Affairs Officer on one of the radio's popular shows, Day Break Malawi. The interview was based on key 2004 Malawi DHS findings. Capital Radio is Malawi's most prominent private hit music FM radio station with an audience of about 3.8 million. A few days earlier, Capital Radio was voted the best electronic media house of the year by the National Media Institute of Southern Africa (NAMISA), a national chapter of the regional body, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), during events to commemorate 2006 World Press Freedom Day.

Transcript of PAO’s Interview on Capital Radio, Aired on Day Break Malawi for Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Presenter: The latest Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) statistics do not show much improvement in the lives of Malawians.  The HIV prevalence rate is still between 12 and 14% while indicators for other variables such as infant and maternal mortality rates have not changed much.  The Public Affairs Officer of the American Embassy Mitchell Moss, whose Government co-funded the survey said that girl education featured as an important element for the success of any intervention to reverse the negative trend.  Moss explains more to Capital FM’s Tony Mitha.

MM: The Demographic and Health Survey is a study that is conducted every five years in developing countries.  Basically it tries to give a statistical snapshot of health indicators in given countries.  The indicators that people look for primarily are fertility, family planning statistics, infant and child mortality, HIV/AIDS, child health, malaria and other things. 

TM: Who funded this?

MM: DHS is funded by USAID, UNICEF Malawi, DFID as well as UNFPA and this is really a collaborative effort between the National AIDS Commission, the National Statistical Office, the National Economic Council and the Ministry of Gender.  It’s really a partnership between Government and the donor agencies as well as MACRO, an organization in the U.S. that specializes in performing DHS surveys around the world. 

TM: How was the survey conducted?

MM: The survey took a national representative sample of almost 12 000 people and asked them a series of questions about their households and lifestyles.  It covered the entire nation from top to bottom.  So DHS has a very sophisticated statistical breakdown by region, economic status and educational levels.  One key factor that cuts across every one of the DHS statistics is the importance of women’s education. Whether it is fertility, family planning, infant and child mortality, gender violence, nutrition and child health--all these statistics improve dramatically with girls’ education.  Even if the girl stays for two years in secondary school, it has a substantial impact on the health of her children.  On HIV AIDS, the good news is that nearly 90% of Malawians are not HIV positive--and the message for your listeners is on the importance of getting oneself tested as soon as possible.  Don’t wait until you get sick to find out.  I know that there is a great deal of reluctance and fear to know one’s status.  But if you know your status, if you are positive you can get on ARVs and live a long and healthy life--and protect the ones you love. 

Presenter: Mitchell Moss, American Embassy’s Public Affairs Officer.