At the first ever National Health Promotion Conference, the National AIDS Commission (NAC) delivered an intriguing articulation of how the law, culture and health promotion depend on each other.
The Director of Programs at NAC, Mrs Chimwemwe Mablekisi, was among the distinguished quadruple of panelists who handled the topic of intersection on Law, Culture and Health Promotion.
Mrs Mablekisi eloquently highlighted the intersection of law, culture, and health promotion, emphasizing the need to align public health efforts with Malawi’s cultural values and legal frameworks. She further stressed the importance of rights-based approaches of health promotion, especially for the marginalized groups including women, youth, and people living with HIV.
“We must ensure our laws protect, our culture supports, and our health messages empower,” said the Director of Programs at NAC.
In strengthening the intersection among the three factors, the Director of Programs emphasized on the need to invest in Research, Data, and Community Feedback through continuous feedback mechanisms by empowering the community in monitoring barriers that impede their access to health and culture dynamics.
The need to have a robust monitoring and evaluation system for Health Promotion was emphasized.
The conference was held under the theme; “Communicating Health: Changing Behaviours, Transforming Lives’’ and was officially presided over by the Minister of Health, Honourable Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, MP at Nkopola Lodge in Mangochi from 28th to 29th May 2025.