Towera Ngwira on the barriers to healthcare women are facing
28 September 2026
Amnesty International
Towera Ngwira, 29, is a women’s rights activist from Malawi, who is focused on empowering adolescent girls and young women to access quality education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.
In this piece, she shares the barriers girls and young women face when it comes to healthcare and why it’s essential they’re aware of their rights…
by Ian Mitchell
September 16, 2026
The UK is materially ending its direct support for 10 countries in Africa. In one of the poorest and least-supported, Malawi—a country of around 22 million people—the UK has provided financial support totalling around £1.6 billion in today’s money since 2009. So, what has that support achieved?
We asked Graham Symons to collate the government’s published results to answer that question. Here, I summarise some key results and lessons, and consider them against the new government’s focus on values and security.
Continued: https://www.cgdev.org/blog/what-has-uk-aid-achieved-malawi
Raphael Likaka
Sept 10, 2026
Zomba youth have been warned against unsafe abortion amid concerns that the practice could leave them facing serious health consequences.
Deputy Youth Coordinator at the Zomba District Health Office, Ellen Manda, said unsafe abortion can lead to serious complications, including fistula, damage to the uterus and, in severe cases, death.
Manda, who is also a nurse at Likangala Health Centre, said the practice can result in excessive blood loss and other injuries. She further warned that some complications may affect a person’s ability to have children in the future.
Continued: https://malawi24.com/2026/09/10/zomba-youth-warned-against-unsafe-abortion/
Dumase Zgambo-Mapemba, Malawi News
18 Jul 2026
The image is hard to shake off: a 10-year-old child carrying a pregnancy instead of a school bag. Yet this is no longer an isolated tragedy.
It is becoming a disturbing reality in parts of Malawi, particularly in Mchinji and Kasungu, where rising rates of teenage pregnancy are exposing deep failures in child protection, education, and sexual and reproductive health services.
According to the Malawi News Agency, Mchinji District alone recorded 4,155 pregnancies among girls ages 10–19 from January to March 2026, including some as young as 10.
Continued: https://www.pressreader.com/malawi/malawi-news/20260718/281835765467040
Nkhata Bay District Hospital recorded 236 post-abortion cases between January and April this year, a figure health officials describe as alarmingly high.
May 27, 2026
NKHATA-BAY, Malawi — Health authorities in Nkhata-Bay are raising concern over a sharp increase in post-abortion complications, intensifying debate around Malawi’s restrictive reproductive health laws, writes Tionge Hara.
Nkhata Bay District Hospital recorded 236 post-abortion cases between January and April this year, a figure health officials describe as alarmingly high.
Hospital spokesperson Christopher Singini confirmed the statistics, noting that many of those seeking emergency treatment are young people.
Continued: https://africabrief.substack.com/p/unsafe-abortions-fuel-health-crisis
By Pemphero Malimba
22 Apr 2026
Debate has emerged over renewed calls for a referendum to decide whether Malawi should proceed with reforms to the legal framework governing abortion.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Health, Anthony Masamba, has made the proposal.
Continued; https://www.pressreader.com/malawi/the-daily-times-malawi/20260422/281586657184049
March 17, 2026
Raphael Likaka
Her Liberty Organization, in partnership with the Girls Activist Youth Organisation (GAYO), has urged young people in Zomba District to avoid unsafe abortion practices, warning that such methods pose serious health risks.
The two organizations are jointly implementing a project titled “Enhancing the Reproductive Health Outcomes for Women and Girls,” with support from Amplify Change.
Continued: https://malawi24.com/2026/03/17/her-liberty-gayo-advises-youths-against-unsafe-abortion/
Views are mixed on whether to make contraceptives available regardless of people’s age and marital status.
Witness Tapani Alfonso and Dennis Samuel Chikoko
11 Mar 2026
Malawi has made significant strides in promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and improving maternal health (Ibrahim-Nyirenda, 2024; United Nations Population Fund, 2024). For example, according to the National Statistical Office (2024), modern contraceptive use increased (from 53% to 66% for married women aged 15-49) between 2016 and 2024, and maternal mortality declined from 439 to 224 deaths per 100,000 live births. The fertility rate among women aged 15-49 dropped from 4.4 to 3.7 children per woman over the same period.
Despite these achievements, Malawi continues to grapple with significant SRHR issues, especially among the youth. Challenges range from early sexual debut and early marriage to gender-based violence and high rates of teenage pregnancy, school leaving, and abortion complications leading to maternal deaths (Latif, 2020). Among female and male adolescents who are sexually active, only 15% and 31%, respectively, use contraceptive methods (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2005), and about one-third (32%) of young women aged 15-19 have had a pregnancy, an increase from 29% in 2016 (National Statistical Office, 2024).
March 11, 2026
Across Africa, a series of transformative legal and policy wins signal a clear regional trajectory–the recognition of reproductive healthcare as a constitutional and human right, not a political or socioeconomic privilege.
From Rwanda to Zambia, Kenya to Malawi to Nigeria, courts and parliaments are reaffirming the message that women and girls must not be punished for exercising their reproductive rights, or denied the care they need.
But what makes these transformations different is not simply the number of legal wins–it is the clarity they provide. Across diverse legal systems and political contexts, the message is becoming harder to ignore: reproductive rights are enforceable rights grounded in constitutional guarantees, and inseparable from dignity, equality, and the right to health for all women and girls in Africa.
Continued: https://reproductiverights.org/news/a-defining-moment-for-reproductive-rights-in-africa/
By Mandipa Machacha and Tsidi Leatswe
8 December 2025
When Tadala Zindawa**, (21) from Tata village in Lilongwe’s Chitukula area, fell pregnant while in secondary school, she was overcome by fear and panic. Scared of her parents’ disapproval and with abortion criminalized in Malawi, Tadala resorted to unsafe methods using Aloe Vera or Surf Soap to induce abortion. The procedure not only failed, but it led to severe pain and heavy bleeding. She survived after post-abortion care, but the psychological and physical scars are lifelong.
Nevertheless, Tadala is one of the lucky ones.
Every year, hundreds of women and girls in Malawi die or are injured from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. According to the Malawi Ministry of Health and the Guttmacher Institute, about 141,000 abortions occur annually in Malawi, the vast majority unsafe and accounting for 6–18% of maternal deaths.
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