Cologne/Nairobi Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, Grand Hospitaller of the Sovereign Order of Malta, met in Nairobi with the Vice-President and Minister of the Interior, Arthur Moody Awori. The Vice-President received the Member of the Government of the Order of Malta on the occasion of the Grand Hospitaller's visit to the Malteser International programme in Africa. Boeselager was accompanied by the President of Malteser International, Nicolas de Cock de Rameyen, and further high-ranking representatives of Malteser International and European and US associations of the Order of Malta.

'I am very glad and grateful for the commitment of the Order of Malta via Malteser International in Kenya and for your support in the struggle against tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria', Vice-President Moody Awori said. He particularly complimented on Malteser International's work in the Remond Prison in Nairobi where the organisation runs a health centre for the prisoners and the staff of the biggest prison in Kenya. 'For a long time, nothing was done for the prisoners', Moody Awori continued. 'Thanks to the good cooperation between our health authorities and Malteser International, we are now in a position to provide essential help for our prisoners. This is very important for us because in case that somebody becomes delinquent and is arrested it does not mean that he loses his human rights and, thus, the right to quality medical care.'

Moody Awori pointed out that the Kenyan Government and particularly the Ministry of the Interior as well as the Ministry of Health were deeply interested in a continuation and even a further extension of the cooperation with the Order of Malta and Malteser International. 'We are pleased to collaborate with professional, competent and reliable partner organisations and we very much hope that we will cooperate also in future in further projects.'

Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager expressed his sincere gratitude for the good cooperation between the Order of Malta, Malteser International and the Kenyan authorities to the Vice-President who also holds the office of the Minister of the Interior. 'Kenya is a reliable partner for us. That is also the reason why we have chosen Nairobi as the location for our regional office where all project activities in Sub-Saharan Africa are coordinated. It is very good to know that we have got reliable partners here who share the burden of work with us.'

Attention editorial offices! Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager will stay in Africa until 25 May 2007 and visit projects in Kenya (Nairobi), in South Sudan (Yei) and in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo He is available for interviews. Please call +49 221 98 22 155 or +49 171 425 63 44.

Pictures for download as well as a Travel Diary with web logs are available here: http://www.malteser-international.org.

For more Information please contact: Petra Ipp, Senior Desk Officer Communication, Malteser International Phone: +49-221-9822-155, Fax +49-221/9822-179; petra.ipp@malteser-international.org; www.malteser-international.org