Our work in Malawi
Sightsavers has been working in Malawi since the 1950s. Our focus in the country is to improve eye health, protect against blinding diseases and make sure children with disabilities receive the support they need.
Malawi is one of the world’s poorest countries. Almost 85 per cent of the population lives in remote, rural communities that are far from the country’s few eye health centres.
It’s thought that more than 200,000 people in Malawi have visual impairments, with half caused by cataracts.
Sightsavers started working in Malawi in the 1950s. Much of our work in the country involves helping to improve eye care services, particularly in rural areas, so people with visual impairments can be diagnosed and treated.
In Malawi, 8.2 million people live in areas at risk of trachoma, and more than 33,000 people have the advanced stage of the disease that can lead to blindness. Sightsavers is working to eliminate trachoma and provides vital outreach to isolated communities, enabling health workers to reach as many people as possible.
We’re also training teachers to make sure children with disabilities are able to go to school and learn alongside their peers.
At a glance
Total populationWhat we focus on
Key programmes
How we’re making a difference in Malawi
Saving sight
After years of struggle, Winesi has found happiness and hope for the future thanks to a cataract operation.
Read Winesi’s story
Fighting disease
Sightsavers' trachoma elimination programme launched in Malawi in 2014 to protect people from disease.
Read about the programme
Leaving no one behind
We're training teachers and caregivers how to include children with disabilities in pre-school.
Read the blog
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How can Malawi overcome the final hurdle to eliminate trachoma?
We have a lot of work ahead of us to ensure that no one is left behind, but if we can eliminate one NTD, we can then focus on eliminating the others.
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Educating pre-school children when resources are scarce
Sightsavers’ Ronnie Stapleton visited pre-schools across Malawi to train teachers how to include children with disabilities. She also learned a lot along the way.
Sightsavers receives Innovative Practice prize in Zero Project Awards
Sightsavers won the award for its work supporting children with disabilities in Malawi.
Training flipchart for the inclusion of children with disabilities in pre-schools in Malawi
A course designed for caregivers on the inclusion of young children with disabilities in community-based childhood care centres in Malawi.
Including people with disabilities in African political life
Our research shows that a lack of education and financial resources, social stigma and inaccessible physical infrastructure mean fewer people with disabilities are participating in politics in Africa.
Sightsavers petition calls on government of Malawi to protect people with albinism
It is estimated that there are over 134,600 people with albinism living in Malawi, many of whom face deep-seated discrimination.
Treating hard-to-reach people: what we’ve learned from CATCH
The Coordinated Approach to Community Health programme, which finished in March 2019, has restored the sight of more than 21,000 people and generated a wealth of knowledge.
November updates: highlights from around the world
News about a programme that has distributed more than 137,000 pairs of glasses across eight countries. Plus updates from Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique and more.
Winesi’s update
Life is good for Winesi and his family, and it’s a far cry from when we first met him more than three years ago.
March highlights: updates from around the world
Including news from Liberia, where Sightsavers has reopened an eye clinic that has been closed for two years. Plus updates from Senegal, Malawi and more.
Keeping up political momentum on disability and development
By hosting a summit, the UK government is committing to making disability-inclusive development a global priority. We must make sure this political momentum is not lost.
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Where we work