Up to 6,000 maternal deaths are expected to be tamed with a new UK Aid funding expected to provide sexual and reproductive health services to more than 300,000 Malawians.
The news has been confirmed by UK Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin.
‘’Every woman has a right to a happy and healthy life. This is about empowering women to take control of their own health and their own futures. Malawi’s long term success matters to the UK. That is why I am proud UK Aid is supporting these vital services for hundreds of thousands of young Malawians, allowing them to make decisions on their families and futures in a safe and informed way,” Baldwin is quoted by gov.uk.com.
The funding which will span for six years is called Tsogolo Langa – a vernacular phrase meaning ‘My Future’.
The programme is worth £50.1 million. Malawi’s Minister of Health Atupele Muluzi was quick to term the funding as timely.
He said it will assist the country to stabilise its population growth that is driven by teenage pregnancy.
‘’Malawi still has a huge gap in providing different choices in contraceptives and this investment will assist in helping young women have more control of their future. Malawi appreciates the support that it receives from the UK Government, as our oldest and largest partner to our development,’’ he said.
By 2015, states IndexMundi.com, there were 634 deaths/100,000 live births.