Source: allAfrica
Thyolo — Thyolo-Luchenza Sex Workers Association has elected new leadership during elections held on Friday at Luchenza Community Centre Hall.
According to the newly elected President Odeta Tsikulamowa who has retained her position, said the newly elected leaders are for the grouping to help them ease challenges sex workers face in the district.
"Some clients refuse to pay after accessing services to so the association will help us to solve such kind of challenges. Apart from that, we also receive bad treatment from police and through this leadership we will gang up and seek justice where we are supposed to access justice," she said.
Tsikulamowa promised that the leadership will look into the welfare of sex workers as well as encourage those on ART to take their prescribed drugs and also protect their clients.
Thyolo District Council AIDS Coordinator, Davis Kavalo as of late the Council has been working with sex works as one way of fighting the spread of the virus and was optimistic that the leadership will continue helping to address HIV issues.
Luchenza Municipal Principal Acting AIDS Coordinator John Maneya said the grouping will help the council to track down activities of Non-Governmental Organizations working in the areas of HIV saying others do not report to the council.
"We hardly access reports because we can't establish who does what and how on HIV issue. It is only local these NGOs that report to us but other international NGO's just come and work here and off they go without reporting to the council," he said.
The elections were held by Luchenza Municipal AIDS Coordinating Committee with funding from National AIDS Commission (NAC).
The newly elected leadership is expected to stay in office for one year.
Currently, the laws of Malawi do not allow prostitution.