Priority area Health Health care and social protection for all

In recent years, Malawi has succeeded in reducing the mortality rate amongst mothers and children, the high birth rate and the incidence of HIV infections. Despite this progress, however, the country's health services continue to exhibit major shortcomings.

A mother has come to the doctor with her baby, who is now examining the child.

A mother has come to the doctor with her baby, who is now examining the child.

A mother has come to the doctor with her baby, who is now examining the child.

Many people, in particular in rural areas, have no access at all to basic health services. This is not just due to a lack of money, but also to the inappropriate distribution of funds as well as poor management and a lack of personnel at all levels.

Through its development cooperation, Germany wants to support Malawi in its efforts to set up a country-wide health service which provides good and affordable health care, in particular in the areas of family planning and of sexual and reproductive health. To achieve this, the quality of health care services and the training of medical staff are being improved. Germany is also supporting efforts to give a greater role to non-governmental actors, such as church-based health care providers.

A further aim of development cooperation is to provide better social protection for people living in extreme poverty. To this end, Germany is supporting the establishment of an effective social security system. It is involved, among other things, in helping Malawi to implement a social transfer programme, under which deprived households regularly receive payments from the government so that they can afford basic supplies and services. An impact study has shown that the programme is having positive effects on the health, diet and educational attainment of the target group, thereby increasing their chances of being able to earn their own living in future.

back to the overview page on Malawi