Water and sanitation assessment of home-based care clients in Malawi.

Malawi remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Currently ranked 165 out of 177 on the Human Development Index Malawi also has an adult HIV prevalence rate of 12%. Estimates of the sero-prevalence rate for adults 15 to 49 years old in the Northern Region disaggregated by city urban and rural sectors are as follows: Mzuzu 23.3% semi-urban areas 21.9% rural areas 9.5%. Meanwhile only 20% of Malawian households have access to piped water (only 9% of rural households). On average rural households are required to travel 19.4 minutes to the nearest water source while urban households travel an average of 4.9 minutes. Malawis poverty combined with its steady HIV prevalence means that regular water and sanitation problems become even more acute. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) with financing from the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated a water and sanitation assessment of home-based care (HBC) clients in Northern Malawi. (excerpt)