Since the early 1990's, Helen Munthali has dedicated herself to fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in Malawi. She was one of four individuals to form the Mzimba Anti-AIDS support group to educate local communities on several issues regarding HIV/AIDS, however the four quickly found themselves overwhelmed with the amount of work involved in the endeavor. In 1993, they created the Tovwirane HIV/AIDS Organization and Helen became the Executive Director of the organization. Tovwirane, which translates to "let's help each other", is a community based program that focuses on three major objectives: reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS, improve the quality of life for people affected by the disease, and mitigate against economic and social impacts of HIV/AIDS. Tovwirane is a community based organization as it focuses its efforts on specific community needs and is comprised of a network of local volunteers. Helen certainly embodies feminist ideals as this organization is carefully structured as one that exists for the community and structures its actions based on community values, needs and beliefs. Helen is also the Director of the Tovwirane Orphan Care, a division of the AIDS organization which provides care and life skills education to children who are orphaned due to AIDS related causes.
Helen was nominated as one of one thousand women for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize for her dedication to the fight against HIV/AIDS
Information on HIV/AIDS in Malawi, end of 2003
Adult* HIV prevalence rate:
14.2%
Adults living with HIV: 810,000
Adults and children living with HIV: 900,000
Women Living with HIV: 460,000
AIDS deaths (adults and children): 84,000
*Adult statistics for persons 15-49 years old
**statistics from deaths that occurred in 2003
Source: UNAIDS
Related Websites
http://www.enda.sn/africaso.org/tovwirane.html
This website contains information on the types of services provided by the Tovwirane Centre.
The official website announcing the one thousand women worldwide that were nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.
 |
Helen Munthali |
|
|
|
