MALAWI

MALAWI STATS



CAPITAL:  LILONGWE
POPULATION: 12,884,000
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/CHICHEWA
BELOW POVERTY: 53%
ACCESS TO WATER: 76%
ACCESS TO IMPROVED SANITATION: 60%
AVERAGE ANNUAL INCOME: $748
CHRISTIAN: 80%

PARTNERED NGO

A vibrant, growing church in Malawi is leading the way forward, providing over one-third of the population with health care and education. Equipped by World Relief, local churches are forming ministry teams to serve the most vulnerable members of their community. As a result, the church in Malawi is experiencing exponential growth.

NEWS
HIV/AIDS: 11.9% of the adult population in Malawi has HIV. Everyday, 200 people become infected. Cultural practices such as wife inheritance and traditional rites of passage contribute to the spread of AIDS as do myths about curinf or preventing the virus. Sadly, AIDS has orpahned 560,000 children in Malawi.

CHILDREN'S HEALTH: Malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea are the three worst killers of children in Malawi. Malnutrition and poor access to quality health services exacerbate the effect of disease. An estimated 60% of Malawi's children are undernourished and approximately 1 out of every 8 children dies before their fifth birthday.

FARMING: With land as Malawi's only major natural resource, 90% of the population depends on farming to make a living. Natural disasters like drought and flooding frequently lead to widespread crop failure, famine and malnourishment.

POVERTY: Rural households that depend on subsistence farming are especially vulnerable to economic shocks. Many of the poorest have no safe outlet for savings because financial institutions find them too risky and exclude them from their services with high fees and unattainable minimum balances.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY WORLD RELIEF