About Malawi
                                                                                                                                               Malawi is a landlocked country in the south of the East African rift valley. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Mozambique to the south and east and Tanzania to the north. Over 20% of the country is occupied by Lake Malawi.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. About 65% of the population live below the poverty line. The majority of the people live without electricity, running water and good sanitation.

Most Malawians rely on subsistence farming, but the food supply situation is precarious and the country is prone to natural disasters of both extremes - from drought to heavy rainfalls - putting it in constant need of thousands of tonnes of food aid every year.

 At present, less than 1% of children under the age of five years attend pre-school and only 53% of children go to primary school.

 


 

Health services in Malawi

The overall state of healthcare in Malawi is very poor. Poverty and malnutrition, lack of education and traditional beliefs have all contributed to a situation where several diseases are endemic. There are programs in place to immunize children, but still 1 in 5 children do not reach their fifth birthday.Recent figures from the Malawi Demographic and Health Survey show that 1,120 mothers and 4,200 babies die for every 100,000 live births.

Some statistics place the life expectancy in Malawi as low as 36 years. HIV, Malaria, Cholera and other illnesses all contribute to this.

Limited staffing and unavailablity of medicine are widespread problems in the Malawi Health Service. While efforts are made to distribute medicines to even the most remote health centres, antibiotics, pain relief and parasite remedies are in short supply. In addition, the hospitals are over-crowded and sometimes people must share beds or sleep on the floors. Sanitation problems abound at hospitals.

The reality is that everything from diagnostic procedures to treatment regimes are unavailable to most people.

There is only 1 doctor to every 50,000 people. In England, there is 1 doctor per 263 people.

                   ejjj The Factsnn

  • Malawi is the 7th poorest country in the world.
  • Over 200 people die of AIDS each day.
  • Life expectancy in 1997 was 41; now it is 36.
  • There is only 1 doctor to every 50,000 people.
  • 48% of children in Malawi are chronically malnourished.
  • One in five children die before the age of five.
  • 7% of the population has electricity.
  • 42% of the population is illiterate.
  • 3.4% of the population complete secondary education.
  • 1,120 mothers and 4,200 babies die for every 100,000 live birthsdie for every 100,000 live births.

 HIV

Hardly any country in Sub-Saharan Africa has been unaffected by the AIDS virus and Malawi is more severly touched by it than most. Estimates claim that 16-18% of Malawians are infected with the virus. The greatest number of those infected are between the ages of 18 and 49 and they are dying at an alarmingly high rate, leaving behind young orphans.