Simon Davies :: Malawi

Home Blog Contact Publications/Research Countries Worked In Teaching C.V. Links	Facts and Figues :: Per capita GDP is about US$800 in terms of purchasing power. The population is aorund 13 million of whom over 80% are considered to be rural. It borders Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania and around one fifth of the country is taken up by Lake Malawi. The country has an HIV/AIDS infection rate of around 14%. Around 75% of the country is Christian of various denominations, 20% Islamic and 5% indigenous beliefs. The literary rate is 63%, but this is 50% for females and 75% for males. Thare are also huge regional disparities with the north being far more educated and the south more industrial. Here are a few links that provide some facts and figures about Malawi: CIA World Factbook DfID United Nations Development Programme World Bank Malawi National Statistics Office International Monetary Fund Demographic and Health Survey
	Blogs :: There are loads of blogs on Malawi including lots written by Malawians. Good places to start are Global Voices Online or Word Press.
	Books :: Here is a small selection of the excellent books available on Malawi. "Magomero: Portrait of an African Village" by Landeg White follows the fortunes of one of the first villages to be influenced by Europeans and missionaries. It was the centre of the 1915 uprising against colonial rule and has played a pivotal role in Malawian history. The author vividly describes every-day life for the villagers in different periods from the 1850s to the 1980s. The changes in the village are linked with changes in the outside world including tribal warfare in Mozambique and Zululand, British trading companies, and Portuguese and Arabic traders and colonialists. The book is well researched using sources as diverse as the writer's personal interviews, legal texts and colonialists’ memoirs. It is easy and pleasurable to read, and shows well how African life has changed to circumstances and the links between white settlers and natives. Well worth a read for anyone interested in the central/southern/eastern Africa region. "The Great Rift" by Michael and Elspeth King is a short book packed with information about health, politics and development in Malawi under the Banda dictatorship. Michael King worked as a doctor and Elspeth King taught at a university in Malawi for over 20 years putting them in a great position to see the effects of different development policies. They discuss the horrorfying results of the population explosion for food availability and link this to mass child vaccination programmes and active Government policy to encourage child birth. The consequences of over-fishing in Lake Malawi and the resulting migration of former fishermen to other areas of the country is analysed. The book notes how the Malawian Government refused to aknowledge any poverty within the country, even in the face of overwhelming food shortages, and discusses the consequences of this. Michael King saw the beginning of the HIV/AIDS crises, and notes the insufficient response to it due to political correctness. Both authors were present during the events which led to Banda's fall, with Michael treating many of the victims in hospital and Elspeth in the priviledged position of being able to access information from her students. The book is exellently written and highly accessable, and is a brilliant introduction to the country. "Dark Star Safari" by Paul Theroux is a travel book about Paul Theroux' trip from Cairo to Cape Town. As a younger man, Paul Theroux spent several years teaching in Malawi, and this is just one of several books by this prolific travel writer on the country. Wonderfully written and easy to read, this book makes an excellent introduction to Africa in general and other books by the same author focus more on his experiences in Malawi.
	Travel :: There are several exellent travel books on Malawi. Below are a few products from amazon.co.uk which might be useful.
	Research :: Malawi is a well research country from many different social and economic perspectives. Social Networks Project, Penn State University :: A lot of original research on health including HIV/AIDS, religion, gender and gift-giving/transfers. Qualitative and quantiative data downloadable. International Food Policy Research Institute :: They collect data and analyse it. Work on poverty, food availability, agriculture, nutrition, HIV/AIDS,... Repec Working Papers :: Lots of Economic papers on Malawi on all topics from agriculture, household, gender, exchange rate, natural resources, poverty, education, ... Google Scholar :: A search for "Malawi". Add other key words for more specific information on different topics. Chancellor College, University of Malawi University of Malawi
	ChiChewa :: Several languages apart from English are spoken in Malawi. In the north ChiTumbuka dominates whilst in the central and southern regions ChiChewa is the major language. Other languages include Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Zulu, ... One excellent ChiChewa course I have used is available in pdf format online here. On the right is also a link to another course available through amazon.