The Justice and Peace commission of Malawi’s bishops’ conference has called on the country’s government to “ensure that the right to food and essential healthcare services is guaranteed to all citizens of Malawi”.
Maintaining that “life is sacred, and all efforts must be made so that people’s lives are not at risk”, the commission has asked the government to ensure that the Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) and pharmacies are adequately supplied with grain and medicine respectively.
Complaining that with Malawi undergoing a serious economic crisis as well as a drought, the commission’s Martin Chiphwanya said “People are dying of easily treatable diseases”, and that as Malawi’s poor cannot afford to buy medicines in pharmacies, they are resorting to theft and risking their lives by “buying medicines in unlicensed pharmacies and shops”.