African Steps

Founded in 2003, African Steps works in St Peter's Hospital, Likoma Island. Likoma is an 8 hour boat journey away from mainland Malawi and is very isolated. This presents challenges for any charity working there and the result is that few try.

African Steps, however, is acutely aware of the enormous needs of the people of Likoma and is committed to a long term relationship with the hospital. We will continue to strive to improve the lives of the people by the provision of better, albeit basic, healthcare.

Please click here to find out more about our current activities on Likoma Island.

Likoma Island

Likoma Island

The population is about 10,000 people. The people of Likoma have no electricity or running water. The land is extremely difficult to farm, yet despite this the people battle to grow cassava and rice. Many are fishermen, but the waters around Likoma are fast becoming over fished.

The people are among the poorest in the world.

The Islanders are dependent on an old steamer calling once a week to bring provisions. Before the building of the x-ray and ultrasound department by African Steps, patients ( who were well enough to travel) spent 8 hours on the steamer to get to the facilities on main land Malawi.

The main diseases and medical issues facing the people of Likoma are:

• Malaria
• Respiratory and gastrointestinal infections
• Problems of pregnancy and labour
• HIV infection and associated issues
• Tuberculosis

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

Immunisation

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.

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.