Malawi

  • 65 years is the average life expectancy in Malawi

  • For every three Malawians who fell out of poverty between 2010 and 2019, four fell back in due to the impact of climate conditions

  • 46% of the population have access to a formal health facility (UNICEF, Malawi factsheet)

  • 84% of the country’s population live in rural areas (UNICEF, Malawi factsheet)

What is happening in Malawi?

Malawi is among the poorest countries in the world and is vulnerable to weather-related disasters, including droughts, floods and cyclones. High dependence on agriculture exacerbates the impact of climate shocks, which contribute to failing harvests. 

Malawi’s economy has been severely hit by the Covid pandemic. Debt poses a serious economic problem, with public debt totalling 55% of GDP in 2020. As of 2018, 65% of the urban population of Malawi live in slums, and 73.5% of people (as of 2019) live at a PPP level of poverty. With high debt, slowing growth and a lack of government expenditure, it is hard to see these statistics dramatically improving in the near future.

Malawi is currently experiencing the deadliest outbreak of cholera in its history, with over 39,000 cases and over 1200 deaths reported.

What’s the health situation?

Malawi has the lowest ranking health system of any country not affected by a civil war. It even has a worse system than many war-torn countries. Most hospitals in the country don’t have a pharmacist. There are only around 200 pharmacists in the entire country. Poor transport infrastructure deters many from accessing the healthcare they need.

1000 cases of child cancer are expected annually in Malawi. Cancer facilities are largely understaffed meaning children are often diagnosed too late, meaning that treatment cannot be successful. In countries like Malawi, fewer than 30% of children with cancer are cured due to a lack of access to oncology medicines despite many of these being easily treatable.

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See how your donation makes a difference

£5 can help us to give 15 people treatment

£20 will provide 16 children with antibiotics

£100 will provide 83 pregnant women with life saving medicine.

£450 will provide am emergency medical kit to 60 families.

Whatever you give, you could be making a life-changing, even life-saving difference to someone every month.

See how your donation makes a difference

£5 is enough to source and send £600 worth of medical supplies a year to people in need; enough to help approximately 50 people around the world.

£10 is enough to source and send £1,200 worth of medical supplies a year to people in need; enough to help approximately 100 people around the world.

£25 is enough to provide around 750 treatments in a year, helping approximately 250 people in need; and for some, is the difference between life & death.

£100 is enough to provide medicines and supplies for approximately 1,000 people a year living in disaster-hit and vulnerable communites.

Whatever you give, you could be making a life-changing, even life-saving difference to someone every month.

How are is IHP helping?

IHP works its partners in Malawi to ensure facilities and healthcare workers are equipped with oncology and cancer-related treatments they need to provide the best treatments to children with cancer. IHP supplies essential primary healthcare medicines, such as antibiotics, antihypertensives and treatments for intestinal worms.

Stories from Malawi

Our partners in Malawi

World Child Cancer