Malawi Losing 10 People per Hour to AIDS: Minister

On Monday, Malawian Health Minister Heatherwick Ntaba said the country is losing about 10 people to AIDS every hour; is unable to spend the money necessary for proper strategies to fight HIV/AIDS; and is losing medical professionals to the disease and to overseas posts that pay better. "This is a disaster because it means that the country is losing 240 people every day to HIV/AIDS and at the end of 10 years an estimated 876,000 will die if the trend continues," he said. "Spending $12 per capita on health ... we are not going to make a dent in the fight against HIV/AIDS," he said. The ministry recommends a $36 per capita expenditure on health. People under age 24 comprise about 46 percent of new adult HIV infections, according to ministry research. With help from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, Malawi identified 50 sites to distribute free antiretroviral drugs, but ministry officials said only 50,000 patients now receive them, well below target. Due to death and the "brain drain," about 90 percent of Malawi's physicians' posts and 35 percent of nursing jobs are vacant, said Ntaba.

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