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Where we do it > Malawi
| Population: |
12.6 million |
| Capital city: |
Lilongwe |
| GDP per capita: |
$646 |
| HDI ranking: |
166 out of 177 countries * |
| Life expectancy: |
39 |
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* The UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) measures a country's achievements
in terms of life expectancy, educational attainment and adjusted real income.
Country backgroundVSO’s programme is concentrating on HIV & AIDS, health and social well-being, secure livelihoods (food security) and education in eight rural and remote districts. The districts were chosen due to their excessive poverty levels, high prevalence of HIV & AIDS and low involvement of other international charities.
HIV & AIDS is Malawi’s greatest challenge. More than one in 10 Malawians is HIV positive, life expectancy is only 39 years and 150,000 people are in urgent need of anti-retroviral treatment but there are only 1.6 doctors and 28.6 nurses per 100,000 people in Malawi to administer care.
Volunteers are working with organisations that are campaigning to raise awareness and combat stigma associated with HIV and AIDS, support prevention and increase the availability of treatment, care and support for those infected and affected by the HIV & AIDS epidemic. Volunteers working in this area include business professionals who are improving management functions of community based organisations, medical staff who are supporting the roll-out of anti-retroviral treatment and community rehabilitation therapists offering advice on care, treatment and counselling.
In health, and as part of a joint initiative with the Malawi government, the UK Department for International Development and United Nations Volunteers, VSO is recruiting an increased number of skilled and experienced volunteer doctors and nurse trainers to boost the skills of health professionals in the country as part of a human resources for health policy reform plan.
Secure Livelihoods activity works to ensure people with the smallest plots of land, particularly female-headed households and people living with HIV and AIDS, can feed their families and earn a living by making the best use of their land. There is a focus on training people to use the most productive agricultural techniques to grow high value crops that will make the most income. Agricultural experts are working with local community based organisations to improve farming methods, while business volunteers are developing the skills of local colleagues in areas such as business management and marketing.
Although primary education in Malawi is now free, there is a severe shortage of qualified teachers, which results in inferior quality teaching. Just 51% of classroom teachers are qualified. Although there are three million children registered at primary school, only 18% enter secondary school and less than 5% will ever receive tertiary education, which has the potential to severely impact Malawi’s future. Additionally, although 52% of the population is female less than half of primary school children are girls and just 5% of those completing tertiary education are young women.
Volunteers work with the Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Education, which is an organisation that campaigns and advocates for changes in government policies to ensure improvements in areas such as the relevance of the national curriculum. Volunteers are also working at regional Teacher Development Centres where they are implementing and facilitating teacher-training programmes that ensure teaching methods are inspiring for children and encourage them to stay in school. Finally volunteers are working with organisations such as local youth groups and the Department of Social Welfare to ensure young people who have not been able to go to school can get advice on opportunities for education, training and work.
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Malawi: Programme Summaries |
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