Malawi goes to the polls on Thursday after a general election campaign that confirmed the emergence of a new political force in Africa: people with HIV/Aids.
Political parties have swept away a decade of silence and embarrassment to compete for the votes of those stricken with or affected by the disease.
Candidates from the president down reached out to a constituency once shunned as untouchable by admitting that they had lost relatives to Aids and promising to provide free medical treatment.
Aids activists welcomed the politicians joining the fight against a disease that has infected 1 million of Malawi’s 11-million population, and which kills 85 000 people in the country every year. But they cautioned that the campaign rhetoric was partly aimed at impressing foreign donors.
”You only have to go around town and see the billboards about HIV/Aids,” said Nick Osborne, head of Care International’s relief programmes in Malawi. ”There has been a lot of political support.”
Until recently Malawi, like much of sub-Saharan Africa, ducked the issue. A virus transmitted mostly through sex made conservative society in the region cringe, and political leaders, including Nelson Mandela when he was South Africa’s president, hesitated to break the taboo.
But in the run-up to today’s vote, Malawi’s politicians have made private tragedies public. The lands minister, Thengo Maloya, told of losing three children to Aids. President Bakili Maluzi admitted losing a brother. The leader of the opposition National Democratic Alliance, Brown Mpinganjira, lost six siblings.
”We see our children dying. Unless we do something we are doomed. Every leader must pick up a trumpet and sound against Aids,” said Maloya. ”From now onwards, I think people will be more open.”
Virtually all the parties’ election manifestos have promised to make HIV/Aids a priority by tackling discrimination and boosting prevention and treatment in the form of anti-retroviral drugs.
Last week the ruling United Democratic Front party launched a $195-million five-year programme, funded by the UN global fund, to distribute free drugs to tens of thousands of patients. The roll-out was not due to begin until July, prompting accusations that the government rushed the timetable to win votes.
President Maluzi also announced that he had set up a foundation to counter an epidemic which according to the national Aids commission has swelled an army of 450 000 orphans.
”One can deduce that they think there are votes to be had,” said Anna de Cleene, a Lilongwe-based HIV/Aids adviser with Britain’s Department for International Development. In a British Council survey, young people rated healthcare a key concern.
Politicians and relief workers said poverty and food security were more urgent priorities for most Malawians. A decade after shaking off Hasting Banda’s long, eccentric dictatorship, the country is poorer and hungrier.
Another concern is that the ruling party, widely accused of corruption, will compound its hijacking of the state media for propaganda purposes by rigging an election already delayed for two days by irregularities in the voters’ roll.
Maluzi is stepping down after failing to change the constitution to allow himself to run for a third term. Several non-governmental organisations suspected that his HIV/Aids boldness stemmed from wanting to impress the western donors who fund most of Malawi’s budget.
Whatever the motive, the president’s honesty about his brother was music to the ears of Austin Gamba, a 26-year-old street trader who has battled against prejudice since being diagnosed with HIV four years ago. ”Some people still have high blood pressure when they hear about the virus, so it was very, very important that he said that.”
The impact went beyond the cities, to dusty villages such as Chawantha, in central Malawi, where two villagers die of Aids every month.
”As the head man, I now think why shouldn’t I talk about it,” said Alfred Chatheka.
His neighbour, Gillina Maiko (55) who has lost a daughter and three grandchildren to the disease, and fears losing an ailing son, said she was swayed by promises of free anti-retroviral drugs.
Across the region political leadership is growing bolder. Since leaving office Mandela and Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda have admitted losing relatives to Aids. The presidents of Botswana and Uganda are also outspoken, unlike South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki, who denies knowing anyone with HIV.
Only 3% of Malawians with the virus know their status, according to the health ministry, but as treatment spreads the number coming forward for testing is expected to surge — along with their political clout.
Ben Dzowela, a senior ruling party official, said: ”As an aspiring candidate you have to assist one way or another, be it food and blankets for orphans or nutrition and medicine for the infected.
”I’ve lost a brother and sister. We’ve all lost someone.” – Guardian Unlimited Â