Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. Malawi
  • News

President discloses brother's AIDS death

    JOHANNESBURG
    Malawi's President Bakili Muluzi on Tuesday publicly announced that his brother had died of an AIDS-related illness in 2001. The president disclosed the information as he launched his country's first and long-awaited policy on tackling the pandemic. He said his family had agreed to make known the cause of his brother's death in order to help "change attitudes, break the silence and initiate open talk about sex and AIDS". Muluzi was quoted by the South African Press Association as saying: "My own brother, third-born in our family, died of AIDS three years ago. I have no apologies to making this publicly known to Malawians. We should be open and break the silence about HIV/AIDS."

    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

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join