Malawi, most famously known as “the warm heart of Africa”, is a desperately beautiful country. Within its 2,880km borders, the land rises from plains to mountains, transforms from desert landscapes to forests, and to the east it includes Lake Malawi – one of Africa’s largest fresh water lakes with over 250 species of tropical fish.
Formerly known as Nyasaland, Malawi obtained its independence from the British in 1964. President Kamuzu Hastings Banda rose to power and ruled until 1994, at which time the country transitioned into a multi-party democracy. Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika is the current and second democratically elected president.
Despite its peaceful history, Malawi remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Although Malawi’s population is now reaching 14 million and only 20 percent of the land is arable, the vast majority of Malawians continue to rely on subsistence farming. Industry is limited and major exports include: tea, coffee, sugar, and tobacco. Progressive deforestation and land degradation foreshadow difficulties ahead and each year pockets of the country suffer from famine.
Women in Malawi have an average of five children. Twelve percent of children born in this country die before the age of five. It is not uncommon to meet young mothers in the public hospitals who have already buried multiple children. Unfortunately, Malawi also boasts one of the world’s worst maternal mortality rates.
According to the World Health Organization, life expectancy in Malawi is now 46, and most common diseases include an array of preventable and treatable illnesses and parasitic infections. Like most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, HIV is also major problem, WHO/UNAIDS estimate that somewhere around 15 percent of adults are HIV positive. Both in town and in villages, widows caring for their orphaned grandchildren are all too common.
The health care system in Malawi operates at a skeletal level; there are less than 300 physicians in the country which means that for every 100,000 people there are two doctors. The majority of care is provided by nurses and clinical officers but even with these clinicians, clinics and hospitals face a severe staff shortage. It is in this setting that we are putting down roots.
