Malawi president joyce banda biography

We need to ensure that the American government are doing things so that those African countries are satisfied, yes. But to compare this with another country is not fair. With Ebola, people have focused on external intervention, whether or not the US is doing enough financially, in terms of providing equipment, medicine, so forth.

In your view, what is the way forward for research in Africa, for fighting these diseases, and how would this be funded, and who should facilitate such efforts? JB: The biggest problem we have in Malawi is public health. Weak, weak institutions, across Africa. But as far as Ebola, and other diseases, are concerned, it is also the time it took to respond.

I saw a report, just today, that said that these countries in West Africa were warned as early as April to watch Ebola. Then, it was just one to two cases. By the time they addressed it, the situation was out of hand. But we must also remember that the WHO was also too late. I was in South Africa two months ago, and I was impressed with how prepared they are.

The day I was leaving, they were distributing, in every hospital, the decontamination equipment, quarantine suits, all in case it came into the country. That is what is required, all across Africa. Moving forward, some leaders are thinking about what might happen, others are not. By the way, Nigeria has not done very badly. So it is about political will.

KD: Perhaps the things you are most well-known for in West, in the United States, in Europe, are your actions concerning homosexuality, which earned you praise around the world, but criticism at home, and you have said that this is an issue that has received undue focus and has been misunderstood. I wanted to ask you in person, then, what do you have to say about this issue?

JB: I would say, yes, it has been misunderstood. I have no power whatsoever to change any law in Malawi. It is very unfortunate, because it overshadows most other issues. So the debate went on, and it is still going on. Because at the end of the day, it is the people who pass the law. What I said, in Parliament, was that they should take it to the people, debate it, and bring it back to Parliament.

It did not come back to Parliament. What was very clear, in the end, was that the people were not prepared to change malawi president joyce banda biography law, or even to debate changing the law. Mutharika's sudden death on April 5,ended the tensions between him and Banda. According to Article 83 4 of Malawi's Constitution, the vice president became the successor to the presidency.

However, the Malawian government attempted to obtain a court injunction to block Banda from assuming office. Banda appealed to army commander General Henry Odillo for support, which he provided. She was sworn in as president on April 7,becoming Malawi's first female head of state. In MayBanda announced her intention to repeal the ban on homosexuality in Malawi.

She received an honorary docotorate in from Jeonju University. During Mutharika's presidency, Malawi was left in a poor economic situation due to foreign relations under the Mutharika administration. Within the first week of her presidency, Banda launched a diplomatic offensive to repair Malawi's international relations. Banda devalued the Malawian kwacha in Maybreaking with the late President Bingu wa Mutharika, who had refused to do so.

The announcement of the kwacha's devaluation by 33 per cent against the United States dollar, an attempt to attract donor funding, prompted "panic-buying" in Malawian cities.

Malawi president joyce banda biography

She was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Joyce Banda Foundation for better Education, a charitable foundation that assists Malawian children and orphans through education. It includes an orphan care center that consists of six centres and children. Liberal political views. Joyce Banda is the founder and leader of the People's Party.

Many groups challenged the legitimacy of the flag. On 28 MayBanda led the nation's MPs to vote to revert the flag back to its independence flag, which was originally adopted in All parties, except the DPP, voted in favour of reverting to the independence flag. Banda stayed in self-imposed exile in the United States as a distinguished fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center and Center for Global Development for three years, prior to returning to Malawi in Banda entered the presidential election as a candidate for the People's Partybut withdrew her candidacy two months before the election; [ 63 ] she later endorsed opposition candidate Lazarus Chakwera.

Before becoming vice-president, she was the founder and CEO of the Joyce Banda Foundation [ 66 ] for better Education, a charitable foundation that assists Malawian children malawi president joyce banda biography orphans through education. It is a complex of primary and secondary schools in the Chimwankhunda area of Blantyre. It includes an orphan care center that consists of six centres and children.

It provided seeds to over 10, farmers and has provided other donations. The foundation has constructed four clinics in four of the villages it assists. The foundation also assists in rural development. Banda is the founder of the National Association of Business Women in Malawi that was established in It is a registered non-profit foundation in Malawi.

Its activities include business training, technical training, record keeping and management skills. Banda has been involved with many grassroots projects with women since the age of 25 to bring about policy change, particularly in education. She used the prize money to fund the building of the Joyce Banda foundation for children.

She also announced that the presidential jet would be sold. InBanda became a member of the Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health, [ 73 ] a group of sixteen sitting and former heads of state, high-level policymakers and other leaders committed to advancing reproductive health for lasting development and prosperity. Contents move to sidebar hide.

Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item. President of Malawi from to Her Excellency. Personal and family life [ edit ]. Political life [ edit ]. Public offices — [ edit ]. Vice-President — [ edit ]. Factions in DPP [ edit ]. People's Party [ edit ].

President — May [ edit ]. Transition of power [ edit ]. Cabinet appointments and loss of presidential election [ edit ]. International relations [ edit ]. Domestic policy [ edit ]. Presidential Initiatives [ edit ]. Flag [ edit ]. Main article: Flag of Malawi. Post-presidential life [ edit ]. Joyce Banda Foundation [ edit ]. National Association of Business Women [ edit ].

Philanthropy and development initiatives [ edit ]. Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health [ edit ]. Accolades [ edit ]. National awards [ edit ]. International awards [ edit ]. Honors [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. Further reading [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Archived from the original on 26 April Retrieved 25 April The Nation. Archived from the original on 26 September Retrieved 5 February People's Party Malawi.

Archived from the original on 15 April