Using music for a healthy living

Three award-winning music outfits from the Northern Region come face-to-face with R&B sensation Lulu at Mzuzu Upper Stadium on Saturday, thanks to refashioned Music 4 Life regional festivals.

The festival, which uses the magnetic power of music to confront an array of health problems at a time the healthcare system is burdened by both curable and incurable diseases, is part of Moyo ndi Mpamba health education campaign being implemented by the Ministry of Health in partnership with SSDI Communications.

Tomorrow afternoon, the performers—comprising 2012 Chibuku Road to Fame champions Lusubilo Band, 2006 five-nation Music Crossroads winner Tiwonge Hango of Tikhu Vibrations and his 2010 counterpart Body, Mind and Soul—will descend onto the vast venue to entertain and sing down cultural practices affecting their wellbeing.

In an interview on Wednesday, the artists offered a glimpse of their themed offerings and a feeling is common among them that making ‘music for health’ sprawls beyond singing about HIV and Aids.

As a matter of fact, Tikhu Band co-founder Tiwonge’s offering dials up efforts towards lessening pregnancy-related death and ensuring every child grows into a health citizen.

Yet malaria has taken centre-stage, with both Lusubilo and Body, Mind and Soul singing down the mosquito-transmitted disease which accounts for the majority of death among pregnant women and children in the country.

“We are ready to roll,” says Body, Mind and Soul poster face Street Rat. “Our theme is malaria, a disease often taken for granted and largely unknown despite being a major cause of death in the country.”

Some think malaria only attacks rural dwellers, like shoreline communities surrounding Lusubilo in Karonga. However, Street Rat, born Davie Luhanga, warns that his Mzuzu hometown is not an exception because it is rainy and the majority of its townships—Chibanja, Ching’ambo, Zolozolo, Geisha, Chibavi, Mchengautuwa and Mzilawayingwe are marshy.

“Most musicians tend to sing about HIV and Aids only, but we need to remind the nation that malaria remains a dangerous killer. So we will use the festival to implore Malawians to always sleep under treated nets and get rid of visible risk factors like stagnant pools and tall grass around their homes,” says the singer on the six-strong band’s set which includes an Afro-jazz song and five freestyles.

Concurring, Lusubilo’s Manaseh Chisiza reckons the Music 4 Life offers a timely dress rehearsal for their tour of Korea slated for October.

“Apart from ensuring we fly to Korea fully prepared, Music 4 Life offers us a singular opportunity to gain exposure and reach out to a bigger audience with our talent and key messages for good living,” says Chisiza.

When asked about the group’s anti-malaria composition, he said: “Incidence of the killer disease is so high in our lakeshore setting we want the people to know it is preventable and curable if we steer clear of risk factors, like using treated mosquito nets for their intended purpose—not for fishing.”

Moyo ndi Mpamba is funded by USAID.

The US agency for international development’s deputy chief of party Alinafe Kasiya said the artists were asked to come up with songs based on the health campaign’s thematic areas—malaria; maternal, neonatal and child health; HIV and Aids; water and sanitation; and good nutrition.

“Music 4 Life is all about using the power of music to spread key messages about health. Malawians like to be entertained and everything is ready for the festival at Mzuzu Stadium on Saturday,” said Kasiya.

Mzuzu Mayor William Mkandawire, who promised to tackle malaria in the mosquito-hit city, will grace the non-profit gig coinciding with the wedding of Tiwonge’s brother Khumbo.

In an interview, the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts-trained Tiwonge said he will perform first and rush back to Mzuzu Gold Club for the wedding of the sibling who backed his rise during their Tikhu heydays.

He says his composition hinge on raising awareness about making sure no life is lost due to pregnancy-related complications and quality early childhood care to give children a quality start in life.

After the Mzuzu leg, the festival will shift to Kamuzu Institute for Sports in Lilongwe on August 16 and Gymkhana Club in Zomba on August 23.