• Make an enquiry

Lake Malawi Medical Volunteer Project

This is a diverse medical volunteer and health care project with huge potential to improve the standard of primary care and support provided to rural communities in Malawi. The project has a strong emphasis on education and awareness, as well as a supporting role in the provision of medical treatment. Volunteers with different levels of experience can be of assistance, either in the outreach work in the community or at under resourced medical clinics.

Background

The governmental health care system in Malawi is organised into three levels.  Local health care centres deal with the most common and easily treated problems and offer maternity services.  More serious cases that cannot be dealt with at this level are referred to district community hospitals, which provide secondary health care, including some basic types of surgery.  Tertiary care is then offered at one of the 3 central hospitals, situated in the North, Central and Southern regions.

However, access to these health services and facilities is poor.  The majority of Malawi’s population lives in rural areas and cannot afford or is unable to reach these centres easily.  Over half the population lives below the poverty line, and Malawi faces constant food uncertainty, high levels of malnutrition and high birth and dependency rates.  Malawi is amongst the 10 countries most affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and has a high prevalence of malaria.

The Malawi Medical Volunteer Project aims to address some of these issues at a local level through education, awareness and improved access to primary health care.

Highlights