PRACTICAL ASSISTANCE FOR DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN IN MALAWI AND THEIR FAMILIES
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★ Malawi is currently ranked 169 out of 191 countries in the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Human Development Index,
based on health, education and income.
★ The UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) country overview
notes that life for the majority of the 6.8 million children is characterised
by poor access to healthcare and a high incidence of diarrhoea,
malaria and other communicable diseases. Malnutrition levels
have remained high for over a decade and 37 per cent of
children under the age of five are stunted.
★ The UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) 2018
Child Poverty Study provides an interesting insight
into the many challenges confronting
children growing up in the country.
★ A 2011 study entitled Investigating school
quality and learning outcomes among
adolescents in Malawi, prepared by Christine
Kelly for the Population Council, describes the
dire consequences arising from the introduction
of free primary education in 1994
without the necessary investment in
infrastructure and resources.
★ According to UNAIDS, there are approximately
58,000 children under the age of 14 living with
HIV in Malawi and around 540,000 orphans under the
age of 17 who have lost their parents to AIDS. A
number of interlinked problems that are contributing
to the crisis include a severe national shortage of
medical staff, poverty, gender inequality, food insecurity and malnutrition. Access to services continues to be hampered by HIV-related stigma and discrimination.
★ A fascinating study published in 2010 by Professor Craig
McIntosh, Sarah Baird and Berk Özler, entitled In Malawi, money
in girls’ hands boosts school enrolment, is featured on the UNAIDS
website. Small monthly cash stipends paid directly to unmarried adolescent girls and young women aged from 13 to 22 from urban and rural areas in
and around the town of Zomba were found to have had a powerful impact
on their school attendance, reduced drop-out rates considerably and also helped to lower their risk of contracting HIV.
★ WaterAid estimates that a third of Malawians remain without clean water, more than half the population lack access to a decent toilet and
3,100 children die every year due to poor sanitation.
About Malawi
Facts, figures and further information
Charitable status
ChildCare Malawi is unable to register with the Charity Commission because our annual income is less than £5,000. However, we are registered as
a Small Charity with HMRC, which entitles us to claim Gift Aid on eligible donations.
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Picture credits
All images are copyright of
their owners and must not be used for any reason without prior written authorisation.
Main page
Top right © Derek Winterburn.
Centre right © jamesdeanphoto
Centre left © Margaret Moyo.
Bottom © Bill Turnbull.
Row 1 of photo gallery
Left © Bruce Webber/Webber Photography.
Right © Robert Styring ARPS.
Row 2 of photo gallery
Left © Lorne Chapman Photography.
Right © Bruce Webber/Webber Photography.
Row 3 of photo gallery
© Bruce Webber/Webber Photography.
Row 4 of photo gallery
Left © Lorne Chapman Photography.
Right © Joyce Maunde.
Row 5 of photo gallery
© Tom McShane.
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▼ A view of Lake Malawi from Senga Bay with Cape Maclear in the distance. Its tropical waters are thought to contain a greater variety of freshwater fish than any other lake in the world.
Often described as the “warm heart of Africa” because of the friendliness and hospitality of its people, Malawi is a small, densely-populated country in southeastern Africa and one of the poorest in the world. It is
bordered by Tanzania to the
northeast, Zambia to the northwest
and Mozambique to the southwest,
south and southeast. The largest
portion of Lake Malawi, also
known as the Calendar
Lake because it measures
approximately 365 miles
long and 52 miles wide,
belongs to Malawi, with around a quarter belonging to Mozambique.