Terminally Ill Prisoners Female prisoners 56 Elderly 16 2018 Normal Pardon 234 Chronically and Terminally Ill 172 279 03 Prisoners TOTAL 737 2240 1584 Article 9 - Freedom of Expression and Access to Information 127 Pursuant to Section 37 of the Constitution, the Access to Information Bill was passed in December 2016 and assented to in February 2017. The Malawi Human Rights Commission has so far oriented the various information holders, media, civil society, traditional leaders, directors and heads of departments in the civil service as well as training of information officers and orientation of District Commissioners. Additionally, there will be awareness programs on radio and TV as well as at community level and there will be a mapping of all information holders so that there is a comprehensive database. Once this is properly done, the Act will be implemented with the gazetting of a commencement date. 128 As of 2016, the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has granted operating licenses to 14 private radio stations, 21 private television stations, and 41 private community radio stations. The complete list of all radio and television stations is attached hereto as Annex 3. 129 Malawi has taken note of the Commission’s Guidelines on Access to Information and Elections in Africa. The guidelines were disseminated to all key stakeholders ahead of the May 21 general elections and thoroughly discussed at the quarterly meeting of the National Task Force on the Charter. 41

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