About the CBI

February 2006
 Bureau of African Affairs
November 2005


Background Note: Malawi

Flag of Malawi is three equal horizontal bands of black at top, red, and
green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band.

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Malawi

Geography
Area: 118,484 sq. km. (45,747 sq. mi.); land the size of Pennsylvania, with a
lake the size of Vermont.
Cities: Capital--Lilongwe. Other cities--Blantyre (the commercial capital),
Zomba, Mzuzu.
Terrain: Plateaus, highlands, and valleys. Lake Malawi (formerly referred to
as Lake Nyasa) comprises about 20% of total area.
Climate: Predominately subtropical.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Malawian(s).
Population (2002 est.): 11 million.
Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 3.4%.
Ethnic groups: Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni,
Ngonde, Asian, European.
Religions: Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs
3%, other 2%.
Languages: English (official), Chichewa (official), regional dialects, i.e.,
Chitumbuka, Chiyao, Chilomwe.
Education: Years compulsory--none. Attendance (1998 est.)--primary, 79%.
Literacy (2003 est., age 15 and older)--63%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2003 est.)--105.15 deaths/1,000 live births.
Life expectancy (at birth, 2003 est.)--37 yrs.

Government
Type: Multi-party democracy.
Independence: July 6, 1964.
Constitution: May 18, 1995.
Branches: Executive--president (the president is both chief of state and head
of government), first and second vice presidents, cabinet.
Legislative--unicameral National Assembly (193 members). Although the
Malawian constitution provides for a Senate, in practice the legislative
branch's upper house does not exist. Judicial--High Court, Supreme Court of
Appeal, subordinate Magistrate Courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 28 districts.
Political parties: United Democratic Front (UDF, ruling party), Malawi
Congress Party (MCP), Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), Republican Party (RP),
National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Movement for Genuine Democratic Change
(MGODE), People's Progressive Movement (PPM), People's Transformation Party
(PETRA), and Congress for National Unity (CONU). MCP, PPM, and PETRA are the
three opposition parties in Parliament.
Suffrage: Universal at 18 years of age.
Central government budget (2004/2005 proj.; at end-2004 exchange rate):
Revenues and grants--$712.8 million (MK 76.9 billion); expenditures--$792.6
million (MK 85.6 billion).
Defense (2003-2004 est.): 2% of national budget.

Economy
GDP (2003 est.): About $1.7 billion.
Annual real GDP growth rate (2004 est.): 3.9%.
Per capita GNI (2003 est.): Approx. $160.
Avg. inflation rate (2004): 11.1%.
Natural resources: Limestone, uranium (potential), coal, bauxite, phosphates,
graphite, granite, black granite, vermilite, aquamarine, tourmaline, rubies,
sapphires, rare earths.
Agriculture (approx. 38.6% of GDP): Products--tobacco, sugar, cotton, tea,
corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, coffee, rice, groundnuts. Arable
land--34%, of which 86% is cultivated.
Industry (16% of GDP): Types--tea, tobacco, sugar, sawmill products, cement,
consumer goods.
Trade (2001 est.): Exports--$456 million: tobacco, tea, sugar, coffee,
peanuts, wood products. Partners--U.S., South Africa, Germany, Japan. Imports
--$535 million: food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods,
transportation equipment. Partners--South Africa, Zimbabwe, Japan, U.S.,
U.K., Germany.
Fiscal year: July 1-June 30.

GEOGRAPHY
Malawi is situated in southeastern Africa. The Great Rift Valley traverses
the country from north to south. In this deep trough lies Lake Malawi, the
third-largest lake in Africa, comprising about 20% of Malawi's area. The
Shire River flows from the south end of the lake and joins the Zambezi River
400 kilometers (250 mi.) farther south in Mozambique. East and west of the
Rift Valley, the land forms high plateaus, generally between 900 and 1,200
meters (3,000-4,000 ft.) above sea level. In the north, the Nyika Uplands
rise as high as 2,600 meters (8,500 ft.); south of the lake lie the Shire
Highlands, with an elevation of 600-1,600 meters (2,000-5,000 ft.), rising to
Mts. Zomba and Mulanje, 2,130 and 3,048 meters (7,000 and 10,000 ft.). In the
extreme south, the elevation is only 60-90 meters (200-300 ft.) above sea
level.

Malawi is one of Sub-Saharan Africa's most densely populated countries. The
population of Lilongwe--Malawi's capital since 1971--exceeds 400,000. All
government ministries and the Parliament are located in Lilongwe. Blantyre
remains Malawi's major commercial center and largest city, having grown from
an estimated 109,000 inhabitants in 1966 to nearly 500,000 in 1998. Malawi's
President resides in Lilongwe. The Supreme Court is seated in Blantyre.

Malawi's climate is generally subtropical. A rainy season runs from November
through April. There is little to no rainfall throughout most of the country
from May to October. It is hot and humid from October to April along the lake
and in the Lower Shire Valley. Lilongwe is also hot and humid during these
months, albeit far less than in the south. The rest of the country is warm
during those months. From June through August, the lake areas and far south
are comfortably warm, but the rest of Malawi can be chilly at night, with
temperatures ranging from 5o-14oC (41o-57oF).

PEOPLE
Malawi derives its name from the Maravi, a Bantu people who came from the
southern Congo about 600 years ago. On reaching the area north of Lake
Malawi, the Maravi divided. One branch, the ancestors of the present-day
Chewas, moved south to the west bank of the lake. The other, the ancestors of
the Nyanjas, moved down the east bank to the southern part of the country.

By AD 1500, the two divisions of the tribe had established a kingdom
stretching from north of the present-day city of Nkhotakota to the Zambezi
River in the south, and from Lake Malawi in the east, to the Luangwa River in
Zambia in the west.

Migrations and tribal conflicts precluded the formation of a cohesive
Malawian society until the turn of the 20th century. In more recent years,
ethnic and tribal distinctions have diminished. Regional distinctions and
rivalries, however, persist. Despite some clear differences, no significant
friction currently exists between tribal groups, and the concept of a
Malawian nationality has begun to take hold. Predominately a rural people,
Malawians are generally conservative and traditionally nonviolent.

The Chewas constitute 90% of the population of the central region; the Nyanja
tribe predominates in the south and the Tumbuka in the north. In addition,
significant numbers of the Tongas live in the north; Ngonis--an offshoot of
the Zulus who came from South Africa in the early 1800s--live in the lower
northern and lower central regions; and the Yao, who are mostly Muslim, live
along the southeastern border with Mozambique.

HISTORY
Hominid remains and stone implements have been identified in Malawi dating
back more than 1 million years, and early humans inhabited the vicinity of
Lake Malawi 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. Human remains at a site dated about
8000 BC show physical characteristics similar to peoples living today in the
Horn of Africa. At another site, dated 1500 BC, the remains possess features
resembling Negro and Bushman people.

Although the Portuguese reached the area in the 16th century, the first
significant Western contact was the arrival of David Livingstone along the
shore of Lake Malawi in 1859. Subsequently, Scottish Presbyterian churches
established missions in Malawi. One of their objectives was to end the slave
trade to the Persian Gulf that continued to the end of the 19th century. In
1878, a number of traders, mostly from Glasgow, formed the African Lakes
Company to supply goods and services to the missionaries. Other missionaries,
traders, hunters, and planters soon followed.

In 1883, a consul of the British Government was accredited to the "Kings and
Chiefs of Central Africa," and in 1891, the British established the Nyasaland
Protectorate (Nyasa is the Yao word for "lake"). Although the British
remained in control during the first half of the 1900s, this period was
marked by a number of unsuccessful Malawian attempts to obtain independence.
A growing European and U.S.-educated African elite became increasingly vocal
and politically active--first through associations, and after 1944, through
the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC).

During the 1950s, pressure for independence increased when Nyasaland was
joined with Northern and Southern Rhodesia in 1953 to form the Federation of
Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In July 1958, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda returned to
the country after a long absence in the United States (where he had obtained
his medical degree at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee in
1937), the United Kingdom (where he practiced medicine), and Ghana. He
assumed leadership of the NAC, which later became the Malawi Congress Party
(MCP). In 1959, Banda was sent to Gwelo Prison for his political activities
but was released in 1960 to participate in a constitutional conference in
London.

On April 15, 1961, the MCP won an overwhelming victory in elections for a new
Legislative Council. It also gained an important role in the new Executive
Council and ruled Nyasaland in all but name a year later. In a second
constitutional conference in London in November 1962, the British Government
agreed to give Nyasaland self-governing status the following year.

Dr. Banda became Prime Minister on February 1, 1963, although the British
still controlled Malawi's financial, security, and judicial systems. A new
constitution took effect in May 1963, providing for virtually complete
internal self-government. The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was
dissolved on December 31, 1963, and Malawi became a fully independent member
of the Commonwealth (formerly the British Commonwealth) on July 6, 1964. Two
years later, Malawi adopted a new constitution and became a one-party state
with Dr. Banda as its first President.

In 1970 Dr. Banda was declared President for life of the MCP, and in 1971
Banda consolidated his power and was named President for life of Malawi
itself. The paramilitary wing of the Malawi Congress Party, the Young
Pioneers, helped keep Malawi under authoritarian control until the 1990s.
Increasing domestic unrest and pressure from Malawian churches and from the
international community led to a referendum in which the Malawian people were
asked to vote for either a multi-party democracy or the continuation of a
one-party state. On June 14, 1993, the people of Malawi voted overwhelmingly
in favor of multi-party democracy. Free and fair national elections were held
on May 17, 1994.

Bakili Muluzi, leader of the United Democratic Front (UDF), was elected
President in those elections. The UDF won 82 of the 177 seats in the National
Assembly and formed a coalition government with the Alliance for Democracy
(AFORD). That coalition disbanded in June 1996, but some of its members
remained in the government. The President was referred to as Dr. Muluzi,
having received an honorary degree at Lincoln University in Missouri in 1995.
Malawi's newly written constitution (1995) eliminated special powers
previously reserved for the Malawi Congress Party. Accelerated economic
liberalization and structural reform accompanied the political transition.

On June 15, 1999, Malawi held its second democratic elections. Dr. Bakili
Muluzi was re-elected to serve a second 5-year term as President, despite an
MCP-AFORD alliance that ran a joint slate against the UDF.

Malawi saw its first transition between democratically elected presidents in
May 2004, when the UDF's presidential candidate Bingu wa Mutharika defeated
MCP candidate John Tembo and Gwanda Chakuamba, who was backed by a grouping
of opposition parties. The UDF, however, did not win a majority of seats in
Parliament, as it had done in 1994 and 1999 elections. Through the
politicking of party chairperson and former President Bakili Muluzi, the
party successfully secured a majority by forming a "government of national
unity" with several opposition parties. President Bingu wa Mutharika left the
UDF party on February 5, 2005, citing differences with the UDF, particularly
over his anti-corruption campaign.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The Government of Malawi has been a multi-party democracy since 1994. Under
the 1995 constitution, the president, who is both chief of state and head of
the government, is chosen through universal direct suffrage every 5 years.
Malawi has a vice president who is elected with the president. The president
has the option of appointing a second vice president, who must be from a
different party. The members of the presidentially appointed cabinet can be
drawn from either within or outside of the legislature. Malawi's National
Assembly has 193 seats, all directly elected to serve 5-year terms. The
constitution also provides for a second house, a Senate of 80 seats, but to
date no action has been taken to create the Senate. The Senate is intended to
provide representation for traditional leaders and the different geographical
districts, as well as various special interest groups, such as women, youth,
and the disabled.

The constitution provides for an independent judiciary. Malawi's judicial
system, based on the English model, is made up of magisterial lower courts, a
High Court, and a Supreme Court of Appeal. Local government is carried out in
28 districts within three regions administered by regional administrators and
district commissioners who are appointed by the central government. Local
elections, the first in the multi-party era, took place in on November 21,
2000. The UDF party won 70% of the seats in this election.

The third multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections, originally
planned for May 18, 2004 were postponed by two days following a High Court
appeal by the main opposition Mgwirizano (Unity) coalition. The run-up to the
poll was overshadowed by opposition claims of irregularities in the voters'
roll. European Union and Commonwealth observers said although voting passed
peacefully, they were concerned about "serious inadequacies" in the poll.

Principal Government Officials
President--Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika
First Vice President--Dr. Cassim Chilumpha
Second Vice President--vacant

Ministers
Agriculture and Food Security--Uladi Mussa
Industry, Science and Technology--Khumbo Chirwa
Irrigation and Water Development--Gwanda Chakuamba
Defense--President Mutharika
Economic Planning and Development--David Faiti
Education and Human Resources--Katherine Kainja-Kaluluma
Finance--Goodall Gondwe
Foreign Affairs--Davis Katsonga
Health--Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba
Home Affairs and Internal Security--Anna Kachikho
Lands, Housing and Surveys--Bazuka Mhango
Information, Communications and Tourism--Patricia Kaliyati
Justice and Constitutional Affairs--Henry Duncan Phoya
Labor and Vocational Training--Dr. Ken Lipenga
Local Government and Rural Development--George Chaponda
Social Development and People with Disabilities--Clement Chiwaya
Trade and Private Sector Development--Martin Kansichi
Mines, Natural Resources and Environment--Henry Chimunthu Banda
Sports, Youth and Culture--Jaffali Mussa
Women, Child Welfare and Community Services--Joyce Banda [Mrs.]
Transport and Public Works--Henry Mussa
Statutory Corporations--President Mutharika
Civil Service--President Mutharika

Ambassador to the United States--Ambassador Bernard Sande
Permanent Representative to the United Nations--Prof. Brown Chimphamba

Malawi maintains an embassy in the United States at 1156 15th Street, NW,
Suite 320, Washington, DC 20005 (tel. 202-721-0270; fax 202-721-0288).
Malawi's Permanent Mission to the United Nations is located at: 600 Third
Avenue, 30th Floor, New York, NY 10016 (tel. 212-949-0180; Fax: 212-599-5021.
Malawi also maintains an Honorary Consulate in the Los Angeles area. Dr. J.F.
Clements, Malawi Honorary Consul, Malawi Consulate may be reached at 44970
Via Renaissance, Temecula, California 92590 (office number, 951-676-2476; fax
number, 951-676-1568; and e-mail, malawiconsul@yahoo.com).

ECONOMY
Malawi is a landlocked, densely populated country. Its economy is heavily
dependent on agriculture. Malawi has few exploitable mineral resources. Its
two most important export crops are tobacco and tea. Traditionally Malawi has
been self-sufficient in its staple food, maize, and during the 1980s exported
substantial quantities to its drought-stricken neighbors. Agriculture
represents 38.6% of the GDP, accounts for over 80% of the labor force, and
represents about 80% of all exports. Nearly 90% of the population engages in
subsistence farming. Smallholder farmers produce a variety of crops,
including maize (corn), beans, rice, cassava, tobacco, and groundnuts
(peanuts).The agricultural sector contributes about 63.7% of total income for
the rural population, 65% of manufacturing sector's raw materials, and
approximately 87% of total employment. Financial wealth is generally
concentrated in the hands of a small elite. Malawi's manufacturing industries
are situated around the city of Blantyre.

Malawi's economic reliance on the export of agricultural commodities renders
it particularly vulnerable to external shocks such as declining terms of
trade and drought. High transport costs, which can comprise over 30% of its
total import bill, constitute a serious impediment to economic development
and trade. Malawi must import all its fuel products. Paucity of skilled
labor; difficulty in obtaining expatriate employment permits; bureaucratic
red tape; corruption; and inadequate and deteriorating road, electricity,
water, and telecommunications infrastructure further hinder economic
development in Malawi. However, recent government initiatives targeting
improvements in the road infrastructure, together with private sector
participation in railroad and telecommunications, have begun to render the
investment environment more attractive.

Malawi has undertaken economic structural adjustment programs supported by
the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other donors since
1981. Broad reform objectives include stimulation of private sector activity
and participation through the elimination of price controls and industrial
licensing, liberalization of trade and foreign exchange, rationalization of
taxes, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and civil service reform.
Malawi qualified for Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt relief.

As of late May 2004, the IMF program begun in 2000 was canceled and a
Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) was implemented. In the wake of questions about
fiscal creditability, the SMP's goal is to give Malawi's newly-elected
government the chance to establish a track record of fiscal discipline.

Real GDP increased by an estimated 3.9% in 2004, from 4.3% in 2003 and 2.4%
in 2002. Inflation has been largely under control since 2003, averaging 10%
in that year and 11.1% (est.) in 2004. Discount and commercial lending rates
also declined from 40%-45% in 2003 to 25% in early 2004. The Kwacha slid from
90 to 101 against the U.S. dollar in mid-2003 and was at 108 to the U.S.
dollar at the end of 2004. As of June 2005, the Kwacha had depreciated
further, to 118 to the U.S. dollar.

Malawi has bilateral trade agreements with its two major trading partners,
South Africa and Zimbabwe, both of which allow duty-free entry of Malawian
products into their countries.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Malawi has continued the pro-Western foreign policy established by former
President Banda. It maintains excellent diplomatic relations with principal
Western countries. Malawi's close relations with South Africa throughout the
apartheid era strained its relations with other African nations. Following
the collapse of apartheid in 1994, Malawi developed, and currently maintains,
strong diplomatic relations with all African countries.

Between 1985 and 1995, Malawi accommodated more than a million refugees from
Mozambique. The refugee crisis placed a substantial strain on Malawi's
economy but also drew significant inflows of international assistance. The
accommodation and eventual repatriation of the Mozambicans is considered a
major success by international organizations. In 1996, Malawi received a
number of Rwandan and Congolese refugees seeking asylum. The government did
not turn away refugees, but it did invoke the principle of "first country of
asylum." Under this principle, refugees who requested asylum in another
country first, or who had the opportunity to do so, would not subsequently be
granted asylum in Malawi. There were no reports of the forcible repatriation
of refugees.

Important bilateral donors, in addition to the U.S., include Canada, Libya,
Germany, Iceland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, and the
United Kingdom. Multilateral donors include the World Bank, the IMF, the
European Union, the African Development Bank, and the United Nations
organizations.

Malawi is a member of the following international organizations: UN and some
of its specialized and related agencies (i.e. UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO), IMF,
World Bank, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Berne Convention, Universal
Copyright Convention, African Union, Lome Convention, African Development
Bank (AFDB), Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market
for East and Southern Africa (COMESA), Nonaligned Movement, G-77, and the
World Health Organization (WHO).

U.S.-MALAWIAN RELATIONS
The transition from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy
significantly strengthened the already cordial U.S. relationship with Malawi.
Significant numbers of Malawians study in the United States. The United
States has an active Peace Corps program, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services, and an Agency for
International Development (USAID) mission in Malawi.

U.S. and Malawian views on the necessity of economic and political stability
in southern Africa generally coincide. Through a pragmatic assessment of its
own national interests and foreign policy objectives, Malawi advocates
peaceful solutions to the region's problems through negotiation. Malawi works
to achieve these objectives in the United Nations, COMESA, and SADC. Malawi
is the first southern African country to receive peacekeeping training under
the U.S.-sponsored African Crisis Response Force Initiative (ACRI) and has
joined the successor program, African Contingency Operations Training
Assistance (ACOTA). It has an active slate of peacetime engagement
military-to-military programs. The two countries maintain a continuing
dialogue through diplomatic representatives and periodic visits by senior
officials.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
The United States has a substantial foreign assistance program in Malawi. The
U.S. Government provides about $31 million annually in development assistance
under USAID's Country Strategic Plan (CSP) for the period 2001-2007. The
primary goal of USAID assistance is poverty reduction and increased food
security through broad-based, market-led economic growth, focusing on four
areas: sustainable increases in rural incomes, increased civic involvement in
the rule of law, increased use of improved health behaviors and services, and
improved quality and efficiency of basic education. The USAID program is
implemented in partnership with the Government of Malawi, nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), U.S. private voluntary organizations, contractors, and
other partners.

The United States is the largest contributor to the World Food Program in
Malawi, providing over $100 million in food and other emergency assistance
through WFP since early 2002. A $4.8 million Global Development Alliance
partnership, signed in September 2004, between Washington State University,
Total Landcare, Cooperation for the Development of Emerging Countries,
Business Consult Africa, Agricane Malawi, the Wildlife and Environmental
Society of Malawi, Nkhotakota District Assembly and USAID has leveraged $2.8
million of funding from private firms to support the community-based
management of the Lake Malawi Chia Lagoon Watershed, addressing interrelated
environmental problems affecting the livelihoods, well-being, and health of
communities in the area. USAID support for Opportunity International Bank of
Malawi is pioneering micro-finance and banking opportunities for low income
Malawians, with almost 16,000 Malawians, half of whom never had a bank
account in their lives, opening saving accounts in the first 15 months of the
bank's life. OIBM, with the savings portfolio in hand, is moving towards a
strong and disciplined micro-lending portfolio. Female entrepreneurs and
businesswomen are prime beneficiaries from these loans. Partnering with the
United Kingdom's Department For International Development (DFID) in the
spring of 2004, USAID provided technical assistance in support of Malawi's
successful presidential elections through support to the Electoral Commission
for the registration process and support to civil society groups, including
key faith-based networks, to provide voter education and monitoring
throughout the country. Two important health data collection initiatives were
funded by USAID in 2004. The Malawi Demographic Health Survey is collecting
high-quality data on fertility levels and preferences; family planning use;
reproductive, child and maternal health; nutritional status of young children
and women; childhood mortality levels; knowledge and behavior regarding HIV/
AIDS; and the prevalence of anemia among children and women and of HIV
infection among women and men. Analysis of Malawi's first Behavioral
Surveillance Survey (BSS) focuses on the knowledge and behaviors of eleven
risk groups, including fishermen, truckers, vendors working in border
communities, commercial sex workers, police officers, and teachers.
Respondents to the survey were asked not only about their knowledge of HIV/
AIDS, but also there own behaviors as well as the behaviors of their
colleagues.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human
Services
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health
and Human Services (DHHS) operates two programs within Malawi: Global AIDS
Program (GAP) and Malawi Malaria Program (MMP).

The CDC GAP office started in November 2001 with an emphasis on establishing
long-term working relationships with the Malawi government, the National AIDS
Commission (NAC) and the Ministry of Health (MOH). The major areas of focus
during the initial phase included strengthening Voluntary Counseling and
Testing (VCT), HIV surveillance, evaluation, infrastructure, and
capacity-building activities.

In its second year of operations, GAP Malawi supported multiple HIV
surveillance activities including sentinel surveillance and the Priorities
for Local AIDS Control Efforts (PLACE) survey. In partnership with NAC, CDC
GAP continued to strengthen VCT, developing multiple national VCT building
blocks such as VCT Guidelines and VCT Training materials. CDC GAP also
improved the communications and data analysis capacity at NAC by helping to
establish their computer system and establish the foundation for data
analysis.

In 2003, responsibility for the HIV technical activity was transferred from
NAC back to the MOH. CDC awarded two cooperative agreements to provide
transitional support for a smooth transfer of activities, roles and
responsibilities. In addition, GAP has cooperative agreements that support
implementation of quality VCT, HIV treatment, and pre-service training to
strengthen HIV testing capacity. Capacity-building is an integral part of all
GAP Malawi activities.

The CDC MMP is jointly funded by USAID and CDC has evolved to provide more
support to the national prevention and control program. CDC MMP has supported
the work of the National Malaria Control Programme in developing the country
strategic plan for Roll Back Malaria (RBM), developing the national "Malaria
Policy," developing guidelines for the management of ITNs Program, and
participating in other national program activities.

The Blantyre Integrated Malaria Initiative (BIMI), a program of CDC MMP, is a
district-wide malaria-control effort, supported jointly by the Government of
Malawi, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). BIMI was established in
Blantyre District, Malawi in 1998 to promote sustainable and effective
strategies to manage and prevent malaria-related morbidity and mortality.

Initial BIMI efforts focused on measurement of baseline data at health
facilities and in the community. The information gathered was used to
identify gaps in malaria control activities, to guide strategies for
implementation of interventions, and to provide baseline measurements so that
the success of program interventions can be monitored.

Peace Corps
The first Peace Corps volunteers arrived in Malawi in 1963. Under the
conservative Banda regime, the program was suspended for several years due to
the "nonconformist" role of some volunteers but was restored in 1978. Since
that time, the program has developed a close working relationship with the
Government of Malawi. In total, over 2,200 Americans have served as Peace
Corps volunteers in Malawi.

The change of government in 1994 allowed the placement of volunteers at the
community level for the first time. With the increased flexibility in
programming, the Peace Corps began working to refocus programming and
identify more appropriate areas for Peace Corps intervention at the community
level. Currently, there are about 100 volunteers working in health,
education, and environment.

Health volunteers work in areas of AIDS education, orphan care, home-based
care, youth and at-risk groups, child survival activities, nutrition, disease
prevention, environmental health, and women's health issues. For many years,
Peace Corps/Malawi had the only stand-alone HIV/AIDS project in the Peace
Corps, and HIV/AIDS continues to be the cornerstone for health activities.

Education volunteers teach in the fields of physical science, mathematics,
biology, and English at Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSSs), generally
community-started and -supported entities.

Environment volunteers focus on community-based management of natural
resources with border communities near national parks and forest reserves
that want to utilize their resources in a more sustainable manner. This
includes the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices,
income-generating activities, and agroforestry interventions.

The Crisis Corps program utilizes returned volunteers in short-term
assignments for specific projects related to HIV/AIDS and food security.
Crisis Corps volunteers are generally assigned with a local NGO to assist
with activities that build capacity and develop materials within the
organizations.

Principal U.S. Officials
Chargé d'Affaires--David Gilmour
Deputy Chief of Mission--David Gilmour
USAID Mission Director (acting)--Mary Lewellen
Peace Corps Director--Pamela Martin
Centers for Disease Control Director--Dr. Margarett Davis

The U.S. Embassy in Malawi is situated in the diplomatic enclave adjacent to
Lilongwe's City Center section. The address is American Embassy, P.O. Box
30016, Lilongwe 3, Malawi (tel. 265-773 166/342/367; fax 265-772-471).