#malawi

The Malawi government has finally spoken out on the arrest of Malawian farm workers in Israel, clarifying that 12 out of 40 individuals detained are from the country. According to Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu, the 40 individuals, representing 13 nationalities, were arrested for leaving their designated work stations and seeking employment in town without proper authorization. Kunkuyu revealed that the group, including the 12 Malawians, had abandoned their farm work to seek jobs at a bakery in Bnei Brak, violating Israel’s labor laws and regulations.

Malawi and Israel signed a labor export deal in 2022, allowing Malawi to send unskilled laborers to Israel to work in various sectors, including agriculture and construction. The deal aimed to generate more foreign exchange revenue for Malawi and provide employment opportunities for its citizens. Under the deal, Malawian workers are expected to work in Israel for a maximum of 5 years, with a minimum salary of $1,500 per month. The deal also includes provisions for workers’ safety, health insurance, and protection from exploitation. However, the deal has faced criticism and controversy, with some opposition politicians and human rights organizations expressing concerns about the secrecy surrounding the deal and the potential risks to workers’ safety.

The arrest of the Malawian workers has raised concerns about the treatment of foreign workers in Israel and the effectiveness of the labor deal in protecting their rights. Human rights organizations have called on the Malawian government to take action to ensure the safe return of the detained workers and to review the labor deal to prevent similar incidents in the future. The incident has also sparked debate about the benefits and risks of labor export deals and the need for greater transparency and accountability in such agreements.

The mistreatment of foreign workers in Israel is well documented and would explain why the 45 workers escaped the farm to look for work elsewhere

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1. In Brazil's Cerrado, a billion-dollar bet pays off

“For Conservation International, closing that [funding] gap means going where the money is. […] It meant working with a timberland investor. BTG Pactual TIG’s plan was simple: replace degraded cattle pasture with 50 percent sustainably certified eucalyptus for timber production, 50 percent native Cerrado. […] “We are helping them restore 33 farms in Brazil totaling 80,000 hectares,” Coutinho said. “And half of that is conservation and restoration.” […] Researchers have identified more than 1,000 species across the properties so far[….]”

2. This teenager just created a biodegradable plastic to change the world

“[Ayra Satheesh won] the world’s largest environmental competition that empowers young people with mentorship and $100,000 (€85,000) in funding […] for her project Eco Purge, a biodegradable plastic that breaks down safely while releasing catalysts that help remove other existing microplastics from the environment. […] This method involves genetically modifying a bacterium to produce the enzyme, which […] remain stable and are released gradually as the plastic degrades[….]”

3. Bald eagle hatchlings spotted in a Chicago park may be the city’s first for more than a century

“Two bald eagles hatchlings have been spotted in a nest in a Chicago park in what city officials believe is the raptors’ first successful wild breeding in the Windy City in more than a century. […] Park 597 was home to a city water treatment plant until the park district took over the property in 2019 and started restoring the natural habitat. Bell said soil improvements, upgraded vegetation and enhanced habitat for amphibians and reptiles have attracted muskrats, mice and deer, as well as eagles.”

4. In Puerto Rico, an Innovative Water Treatment System Fortifies a Community

“Researchers believe the portable system, the first of its kind in Puerto Rico, can be an essential resource for places that have long lacked reliable access to clean drinking water. […] Beyond technical support, the goal is also to give communities autonomy over whether they use the system, and to encourage them to host events and celebrations about their water work.”

5. How a queer-led yoga community is helping refugees heal & rebuild

“[Y]oga classes are free for [… the t]housands of refugees [who] participate every month in sessions designed to support physical and mental well-being in a community navigating trauma, poverty, food insecurity, and the long uncertainty of displacement. […] During training, participants received two daily meals of protein-rich foods, which many refugees in the camp can afford only once or twice a year due to high food costs.”

"When Ellen Kaphamtengo felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen, she thought she might be in labour. It was the ninth month of her first pregnancy and she wasn’t taking any chances. With the help of her mother, the 18-year-old climbed on to a motorcycle taxi and rushed to a hospital in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, a 20-minute ride away.

At the Area 25 health centre, they told her it was a false alarm and took her to the maternity ward. But things escalated quickly when a routine ultrasound revealed that her baby was much smaller than expected for her pregnancy stage, which can cause asphyxia – a condition that limits blood flow and oxygen to the baby.

In Malawi, about 19 out of 1,000 babies die during delivery or in the first month of life. Birth asphyxia is a leading cause of neonatal mortality in the country, and can mean newborns suffering brain damage, with long-term effects including developmental delays and cerebral palsy.

Doctors reclassified Kaphamtengo, who had been anticipating a normal delivery, as a high-risk patient. Using AI-enabled foetal monitoring software, further testing found that the baby’s heart rate was dropping. A stress test showed that the baby would not survive labour.

The hospital’s head of maternal care, Chikondi Chiweza, knew she had less than 30 minutes to deliver Kaphamtengo’s baby by caesarean section. Having delivered thousands of babies at some of the busiest public hospitals in the city, she was familiar with how quickly a baby’s odds of survival can change during labour.

Chiweza, who delivered Kaphamtengo’s baby in good health, says the foetal monitoring programme has been a gamechanger for deliveries at the hospital.

“[In Kaphamtengo’s case], we would have only discovered what we did either later on, or with the baby as a stillbirth,” she says.

The software, donated by the childbirth safety technology company PeriGen through a partnership with Malawi’s health ministry and Texas children’s hospital, tracks the baby’s vital signs during labour, giving clinicians early warning of any abnormalities. Since they began using it three years ago, the number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths at the centre has fallen by 82%. It is the only hospital in the country using the technology.

“The time around delivery is the most dangerous for mother and baby,” says Jeffrey Wilkinson, an obstetrician with Texas children’s hospital, who is leading the programme. “You can prevent most deaths by making sure the baby is safe during the delivery process.”

The AI monitoring system needs less time, equipment and fewer skilled staff than traditional foetal monitoring methods, which is critical in hospitals in low-income countries such as Malawi, which face severe shortages of health workers. Regular foetal observation often relies on doctors performing periodic checks, meaning that critical information can be missed during intervals, while AI-supported programs do continuous, real-time monitoring. Traditional checks also require physicians to interpret raw data from various devices, which can be time consuming and subject to error.

Area 25’s maternity ward handles about 8,000 deliveries a year with a team of around 80 midwives and doctors. While only about 10% are trained to perform traditional electronic monitoring, most can use the AI software to detect anomalies, so doctors are aware of any riskier or more complex births. Hospital staff also say that using AI has standardised important aspects of maternity care at the clinic, such as interpretations on foetal wellbeing and decisions on when to intervene.

Kaphamtengo, who is excited to be a new mother, believes the doctor’s interventions may have saved her baby’s life. “They were able to discover that my baby was distressed early enough to act,” she says, holding her son, Justice.

Doctors at the hospital hope to see the technology introduced in other hospitals in Malawi, and across Africa.

“AI technology is being used in many fields, and saving babies’ lives should not be an exception,” says Chiweza. “It can really bridge the gap in the quality of care that underserved populations can access.”"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofs4iVGtfHk

Southern sable antelope Hippotragus niger niger

He produces electricity from AIR

Ernest Andrew, an 18-year-old from Malawi 🇲🇼, provides free electricity to his village by ingeniously creating an air-powered generator.

His invention eliminates the need for fuel, oil, or batteries. He has linked several homes.