Research Areas

This field guide has been prepared with the aim of creating a better understanding of the problems facing Malawi’s forestry sector and the role that communities may be able to play in solving them. It is intended as a handbook for those involved in promoting or practising forest management at village level – frontline extension staff of central and local government, traditional leaders, non-governmental organisations and the wider public.

This report presents the results of the National Forest Landscape Restoration Assessment (NFLRA) for Malawi. The NFLRA process was launched in February 2016 by the Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining in close collaboration with government departments in the Ministries of Agriculture, Water and Irrigation; Lands; Local Government; Finance; Gender and Social Services; and other concerned stakeholders.

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) introduced an African Gender and Development Index (AGDI) to facilitate an effective monitoring mechanism on gender equality and women’s advancement. The AGDI is designed to measure the gap in the status of women and men in Africa and to assess the progress made by African governments in implementing the gender policies they have developed. It is a composite index consisting of two parts, a Gender Status Index (GSI) and the African Women’s Progress Scoreboard (AWPS).

Health indicators for Malawi have generally remained poor over the years. There is a strong consensus amongst stakeholders that human resources pose the major immediate challenge to improving quality and coverage of health care especially in the public health sector. The HIV/AIDS pandemic coupled with the high incidence of local and international migration affecting almost all categories of health workers has far outstripped the numbers entering the public health sector. As a result, the efficient and effective delivery of quality health services is greatly affected.

The Human Resource for Health (HRH) Malawi Country Profile is to serve as a tool for providing a comprehensive picture of the health workforce situation in Malawi. This has been achieved through the presentation of the current situation regarding health policies and management systems, the human resources management information system (HRMIS); and by providing the picture of previous and current stock of health workers in the country as a basis for baseline information on prevailing trends.

Continued shortage of trained health workforce remains the most significant constraint in improving the health status of Malawians and achieving the three health-related MDGs. The Malawi Government through Ministry of Health recognizes that Human Resources for Health (HRH) is the most important component of the health system especially that it is the biggest consumer of health budget, manages other resources, runs the health  services system and is the major player in supporting other health service development goals.

The HIV epidemic in Malawi has evolved, since the first case was diagnosed in 1985, to become one of the major causes of mortality and has placed tremendous demands on the health system and the economy. The epidemic has affected all sections of society – children, youths, adults, women and men. The country’s response to this epidemic has also evolved over the years from a health sector led response to a multi-sectoral one coordinated by one national authority, one strategic framework and one monitoring and evaluation framework.

In July 2013, the WHO released new Consolidated Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Drugs for Treating and Prevention of HIV Infection. The 2013 WHO guidelines advocate for the use of ARVs within a broad continuum of care and include guidance for implementation and M&E. This strategy of harmonization, integration and simplification follows the same principles that were introduced in the 1st Edition of the Malawi Guidelines in 2011.

2013 WHO recommendations include:

Great strides have been made in Malawi since 2000 when rapid testing was introduced, resulting in a rapid expansion in provision and utilization of HIV testing and counselling services at community and facility levels. The Ministry of Health has provided leadership resulting in soaring numbers of persons tested, and the target during HTC week in 2012 was to test 250,000 persons, a goal unthinkable merely 12 years ago. At the end of March 2013, 422,866 patients were alive and on ART.

This section presents the available statistical data on the following sectors, the socio economic sector, the health sector and the education sector. Most of the statistics presented are mainly obtained from the World Bank website, Malawi Growth and Development Strategy which is the overarching policy for economic growth and poverty reduction and for localizing the millennium development goals (MDG’s), the Malawi Health and Demographic Survey (2004) and the Integrated Household Survey (2005). Where necessary information and statistics from other sources has been highlighted.