CARE in Malawi

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in Africa and life expectancy is less than 50. Inequality is also a huge problem, with the richest 20 per cent of the population using up nearly half of all goods and services.

In Malawi we:

improve access to quality education
improve healthcare
fight HIV and AIDS
improve agriculture, for example by training farmers on new techniques

It also has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the region. Mainly as a result of HIV, the farm labour force has been shrinking and social services, such as hospitals, clinics and schools, are now suffering staff shortages.

The impact of HIV and AIDS will be felt beyond the current generation as children are being taken out of school early because parents cannot afford fees and they are often needed to support the family.

We play an active role in supporting Malawi’s emerging civil society – its charities and community organisations. The issues we focus on particularly are providing good schools, hospitals and support for farmers.

CARE in action:

Volunteering is an answer
CARE trains volunteers in villages across Malawi to provide what we call 'home based care' to orphans and adults made chronically ill by AIDS.

The volunteers care for these vulnerable people and help them to grow fruit and vegetables to supplement their diets – which is crucial to fighting the onset of HIV.

Responding to food shortages
Most people can never produce enough crops to survive from one year to the next and food shortages are common across southern Africa. They have to rely on ganyu labour (piece-work) on very exploitative terms. Many are trapped in a cycle of debt, unable to repay past loans.

We hand out emergency food aid, but we also help people longer term to make a viable living from farming. We also ensure that people get medicine and information about health risks such as HIV. Making sure that boys and girls have a basic primary education is also central to our work.