Malawi

Cervical cancer accounts for 37 per cent of new cancers in women in Malawi. Since 2018, MSF has been working to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer and bring down deaths from the disease in the districts of Blantyre and Chiradzulu. MSF head of mission Marion Péchayre explains how.

Near the end of January 2022, tropical storm Ana caused severe flooding in Malawi. Home to around 16,000 people, this had a serious impact on patients’ access to care, in Makhanga peninsula. MSF worked closely with the Malawian Ministry of Health to respond to the emergency and provide medical help to people affected.

Children and teenagers living with HIV are particularly vulnerable to stigmatisation and to the psychological burden of the disease.

Cervical cancer kills over 2,300 women in Malawi every year, or two thirds of those who become infected with it, despite it being an easily preventable disease.

In late January 2020, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, MSF implemented an HPV vaccination campaign for 8,500 nine-year-old girls in the Chiradzulu district of Malawi.

In 2018, an estimated 311,000 women died of cervical cancer. More than 85 per cent of those women lived in low- and middle-income countries. In the same year, 570,000 new cases were diagnosed.

A new model of care could help communities spot the symptoms of HIV and speed up the referral process, so that HIV positive patients receive care quickly and effectively.

International and domestic funds available to fight HIV and TB declined in 2018: MSF warns about the current funding decline and its impact on patients.

An MSF program in four districts in southern Malawi is helping thousands of women who earn their living from sex work to overcome barriers to health services, in part by training and employing sex workers as health workers in their communities.

In the wake of damage and devastating flooding caused when Cyclone Idai hit Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe late last week, our teams are responding in the affected areas.