Socio-economic support for good health in rural Malawi

East Afr Med J. 2000 Mar;77(3):168-71. doi: 10.4314/eamj.v77i3.46616.

Abstract

Objective: To study the socio-economic support for good health among subsistence farmers in rural Malawi.

Design: A cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Lungwena, a rural area with 17,000 inhabitants in southern Malawi.

Participants: Seven hundred and ninety five pregnant women who attended the antenatal clinic at Lungwena Health Centre between June 1995 and September 1996.

Interventions: Interviews about socio-economic conditions. Measurements of cultivated land areas and distances between home and the local health centre.

Main outcome measures: Proportion of households lacking literate adults, adequate water source and sanitation, easy access to modern health care or food security.

Results: Only 14% of the interviewed women could read and write and half of the households had no literate members. Every fifth household was lacking both an access to safe drinking water and a proper sanitary facility. The distance to the health centre was more than 5 km among half of the households and only 37% had enough land to grow food for all family members. When other potential means of obtaining food were taken into account, 27% of the households had no food security. Numerous households were lacking more than one socio-economic prerequisites of good health: three or more were missing from a quarter of the families.

Conclusions: Socio-economic prerequisites of health were commonly missing in Lungwena. Subsequent health interventions should strengthen the investments into general poverty alleviation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Food Supply
  • Health Status*
  • Humans
  • Malawi
  • Pregnancy
  • Prenatal Care*
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Water Supply