With an aim of empowering women living with HIV and Aids in Malawi, International Community of Women living with HIV (ICW) organized a two day advocacy training on human rights as one way of equipping them with knowledge on their rights.
National Coordinator for ICW, Clara Banya told the Malawi News Agency that the training was designed to enable women living with HIV ably identify issues that affect them negatively and chart up strategies on how to address them.
“In assisting women, the training will also assist the country as a whole like we say that when a woman is educated the whole nation gets educated along,” said Banya who added that the training would also enhance the women’s rights with reflections on development.
She stressed that though many women were vulnerable to different sorts of abuse, they are chief contributors to society and hence the rightful need to empower them.
Banya further said as ICW they expected to see women living with HIV in the country enjoy rights to every public service such as health, education and agriculture among others.
She went on to appeal to Government to train and employ more health personnel to ease congestion in hospitals, introduce a mobile clinic and also construct some health centres in the rural areas where people travel long distances to get medical treatment.
An HIV positive Lilongwe based Sex Worker who spoke on anonymity condition commended ICW for the training saying she also prayed that government would include those living with HIV in programs such as farm input subsidy and public works.
She said it was her hope that government would help them by extending the programs to cater for the vulnerable and underprivileged.
The ICW meeting was held at Mkwichi Secondary School in Area 47 and it was attended by Female Sex Workers Association (FSWA), Tilipo Groups, Coalition for Women Living With HIV and Aids in Malawi (COWLHA) and JONEHA among others.