Malawi Programme
Interact in Malawi
Malawi has been chosen as a focus country for Interact Worldwide’s work due to its particularly poor human development and sexual and reproductive health outcomes. An estimated 65% of the population of Malawi live below the national poverty line. Malawi has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world, with on average 11 women dying for every 1,000 live births, mostly due to early childbearing and the high fertility rate. An estimated 1 million Malawians live with HIV with a prevalence rate of 14.1%, however only around 3% of the adult population know their sero-status. Discrimination and stigma of positive people are rife. Women and girls are at higher risk of contracting HIV, with females aged 15 – 24 year olds six times more likely to be infected by the virus than males of the same age range.
IW has been working in Malawi for 5 years, developing partnerships with nation-wide civil society organisations: BLM (family planning association), NAPHAM (National Network of PLHIV), and MANASO (Network of AIDS Service Organisations).A highlight of our work in Malawi is the piloting of the Civil Society Monitoring approach to SRH and HIV/AIDS services. Our current partnerships in Malawi focus on capacity building for HIV/AIDS organisations. We also work to build the capacity of our partners and support them to advocate for specific inclusion of the integration and linkage of HIV/AIDS and SRH in Malawi’s next proposal to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund).
Our current projects in Malawi are:
Empowering People Living with HIV: the “Positive Change through Positive Living” project
*manga means to build in Chichewa