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Possible criminalisation of wilful HIV infection

    JOHANNESBURG

    Malawi is in the process of outlawing the deliberate spread of HIV/AIDS, according to Dr Mary Shawa, the principal secretary for nutrition and HIV/AIDS in the Ministry of Health.

    She said an upcoming review of the Marriage Act, which falls within the country's gender-related laws, would force individuals to take responsibility for the action of knowingly infecting an unsuspecting partner.

    A local newspaper, The Chronicle, quoted Shawa as commenting: "Most people have a tendency [to say], 'others gave me [HIV] so I will give others as well', which has fuelled the spread of HIV/AIDS."

    Malawi's National AIDS Commission estimates that more than 14 percent of adults between the ages of 15 and 49 are HIV-positive.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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