Malawi
Population (2017): 18.62 M
Income Per Capita (2018): 481.27 US
Percentage of GDP on Healthcare: 9.33
training
The year family medicine established: 2016
Type of Training: Masters Program
Length of Training:
5 years medical school
The postgraduate program in Family Medicine is 4 years
Number of institutions that offer family medicine: Postgraduate training in Family Medicine at district hospital, Mangochi District Hospital, and a second postgraduate site at Nkhoma Mission Hospital, (“Global Family Doctor - WONCA Online.”).
Number of family medicine residents graduating each year: unknown.
practice
Number of family doctors in a country (2018): unknown.
Physician to population ratio (2010): 1.9 physicians per 100,000 people, (“Malawi Physicians Per 1 000 People.”).
DALY: 58,748 per 100,000 individuals (Due to all Causes).
Life Expectancy:
Females 2017: 66.2 years
Males 2017: 61.0 years
Mortality rate 2017:
2017 Males: 331 per 1,000 male adults.
2017 Females: 218 per 1,000 female adults.
Infant Immunization-HepB3: % of 1-year-old children received: 92%
College of Family Physicians (Y or N):
NO
Healthcare System
Type of health system: Public, private for profit, and private not for profit sectors. (Makwero, Martha T, et al., 2018.), Level of recognition of family medicine: Recognized within the health care system. FM has aligned itself to the national agenda of strengthening primary health care services delivery and access at district health level and below. A contribution is that FM is committed to capacity building of the multidisciplinary teams within PHC as a whole. (Makwero, Martha T, et al., 2018.), Number of physician in private and/or public sector: approx. 600, (“Does Malawi Have Just 300 Doctors for 16 Million People? | Africa Check.”).
training
Family medicine is taught in medical school. The postgraduate program in Family Medicine is four years in length, and upon successful completion leads to the award of a Masters of Medicine (MMED) degree as laid forth and approved by the University of Malawi. As the family medicine discipline is new to Malawi, a prototypical career path for family medicine trainees and graduates is yet to be clearly defined within the context of Malawi's pre-existing health service structures. This impacts the educational content and processes, as well as the morale of current and potential future registrars—some may question the practicality of committing 4 years to a program that cannot yet assure a clear career path or clearly defined scope of work. Family medicine as a specialty in Malawi is emerging slowly. Malawi has significant shortages in human resources for health, but we see the Malawian family medicine training program as a strategy to combat these challenges.
practice
Other primary care deliverers involve nurses, medical assistants or clinical officers, and community health workers. (Makwero, Martha T, et al., 2018.), A clinical leader and works as a consultant in the primary health care team to ensure primary, continuing, comprehensive, holistic and personalised care of high-quality to individuals, families, and communities. (“School of Public Health and Family Medicine.”), Gatekeeping is done at the lower tiers, such as the primary tier. However, family medicine doctors do not need to refer patients to specialists. Family medicine doctors are functional links between district hospitals and their primary care facilities, thereby transforming PHC at a number of areas. (Makwero, Martha T, et al., 2018.), A community-oriented primary care model is used, ( Smith, Sarah, et al., 2014).