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 160,000 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 12,500 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.
In 2017 we helped to distribute more than 1.2 million antibiotic treatments for trachoma and in 2018, we performed 596 operations for people with the advance stages of the disease. Surveys show the country is on track to eliminate the disease by 2019.
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
Reaching remote areas
Every Wednesday, Madalitso ventures into rural communities in Malawi to treat people with visual impairments.
Read Madalitso’s story
Your donation could help to protect sight
DONATEMore from Malawi
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.
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, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique and more.
Winesi’s update
After years of fear and struggle, Winesi and his family have found happiness and hope for the future thanks to a cataract operation funded by people like you.
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.
How field surveys can help us fight trachoma
In February 2017, Sightsavers supported our partners with the ambitious task of conducting field surveys for trachoma in Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi.
BBC invites Sightsavers to discuss trachoma elimination
Sightsavers Director of Neglected Tropical Diseases Simon Bush was invited onto the radio programme to talk about whether the end is in sight for trachoma.
Eye health: the community approach
The CATCH programme aims to ensure that people in trachoma-endemic areas benefit from improved health through the provision of eye care services.
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Where we work