My Nest

A female condom It has been 20 years since the first female condom came on the market but over 13 years since Malawi launched it, as the only female-initiated preventive measure against unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Female condoms remain largely marginalised and inaccessible in Malawi even when studies show that there is some high level of awareness and acceptability in the country. Nevertheless, most Malawian women cannot use it because it is neither available to them nor do they have the knowledge on how to use it. Factors such as pricing, lack of funding, high illiteracy rate, cultural and religious belief exacerbate the low use of female condoms. At only K50 a man gets a three pack of condoms while at the same price a woman gets a pack of two female condoms. In contrast, the male condom enjoys wider promotion and accessibility, despite the fact that its use in achieving safer sex almost entirely depends on the cooperation o

No through road. People brave the rising water to cross to the other side. Far left is an ambulance trying to cross the flooded road The heavy rains that have been pouring for the past week have caused the two main rivers, Ruo and Thangadzi to burst and cause havoc to many people living in the area of T/A Mulolo in Nsanje District. Nsanje District’s Assistant Disaster Risk Management Officer, Humphrey Magalasi said disaster management officers are failing to do the assessment of the damage caused by the floods because most roads have become impassable. Nsanje District is one of the districts in Malawi that experience flooding almost every year. Efforts to move the people upland in the past have proved futile.

In the picture is T/A Mulolo's house. He said five of his 15 goats and six dogs have been swept by the raging waters.

Floods in T/A Mulolo in Nsanje District have caused some schools to be temporarily closed as school blocks have been turned into temporal shelter for those affected by the floods. The picture shows some houses submerged in water from bursting Thangadzi River which feeds into Shire River is Malawi's longest and biggest river.