October 13, 2008

No More Extra Pay for Positive Civil Workers in Malawi

The Malawi government suspended extra monthly payments to 38,000 HIV-positive civil workers, Agence France-Presse reports. The cuts resulted from “gross abuse” of a program aimed to improve workers’ nutrition and help them access HIV treatment.

“Some people who are not HIV positive have been cheating to access the facility,” says Mary Shaba, a principal secretary for the president’s office on nutrition, HIV and AIDS.

Under the year-old program, HIV-positive public workers received an extra $35 in cash per month. Malawi’s 120,000 civil servants earn about $70 each month.
But meeting basic nutritional needs can cost up to $40 dollars annually, a price tag many Malawians can’t afford.

Some 85,000 people die of AIDS-related illness every year in the African nation. The Malawian government plans to review the program and find a way for only eligible workers to receive monetary aid.

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