Magister Artium - MA / Malawi is endowed with a progressive, transformative and comprehensive legal and policy framework that guarantees the promotion and protection of human rights and justice for its citizenry, including women. The country is a party to multilateral human rights conventions, treaties, and protocols that strive to nurture and safeguard a culture that protects marginalised groups and has, thus, enacted relevant laws to domesticate the instruments. However, studies have shown that the legislative framework has not translated into practice that can create meaningful impact on the lives of ordinary citizens. My study explored the experiences of women that seek child maintenance through the Lilongwe Child Justice Court in Malawi.

Tobacco plays a very significant role in Malawi’s economy by being the largest foreign exchange earner for the economy. The Integrated Production System was implemented in 2012 to promote contract production and also improve quality of tobacco which would therefore fetch higher prices for farmers. Contract farming has been believed to be potentially beneficial, but many farmers still choose not to produce under contract. This study examines factors that influence farmers’ tobacco contracting decisions. 300 farmers were interviewed for the study using a structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed with logit model using SAS software. Expected auction market price, expected fertilizer cost for contract tobacco production, and the number of years farmers have grown tobacco are negatively related to producers’ adoption of contract production. Expected contract market prices, expected non-contract fertilizer cost, loan expectations, number of years farmer has previously contracted and offarm income are positively related to contract adoption .

Malawi is currently identified as one of the poorest countries in the world, based upon economic factors and the large dependence of the country on foreign aid. Poverty is endemic, but how does one measure factors such as happiness and contentment that exists in many communities? How does one account for cultural richness and diversity? Known as the warm heart of Africa, Malawi lives up to its reputation through the warmth and hospitality shown by its people. In spite of an absence of a strong formal architectural history, one cannot help but be impressed by the crude vernacular architecture that is found throughout the country. Together these two conditions, the warm heart and vernacular architecture lead to the question concerning the role of architecture in augmenting Malawis image globally. How can these pre-liminal conditions come together as a force that would start scripting the path of progress for Malawi as a nation? This thesis evaluates the current pre-liminal situation in Malawi through the study of its activities, events and culture. It proposes an intervention in the form of a new library which at its core is developed around the principles of liminality. From the gathering spaces to the local construction techniques and the use of shaded spaces in and around the building, this thesis is an attempt to trigger a liminal shift in Malawi. / Master of Architecture

In this study, six regression equations are used to determine the effects of credit and other factors on the nutritional status of boys and girls in Malawi. No significant effects of access to credit on child nutritional status were found. Same-sex parental preference for child nutrition was found. Infrastructural variables are determined to have the most significant influence in reducing child malnutrition levels. Access to credit is a new measure and its limitations are brought out in the study. / Master of Science

The study sought to identify factors motivating young people aged 14-25 years to use voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV in Malawi by interviewing 145 young people. The study identified barriers affecting and strategies promoting young people's access to VCT. The research results indicate that young people go for VCT mainly to know their HIV status. The availability of VCT services, and the provision of VCT services by peers motivate young people to access VCT. Some young people do not access VCT services due to fears of being found HIV+ve and because of the poor attitudes of the health service providers. Providing more information about VCT, involving young people as VCT providers, using youth friendly health service providers, providing VCT in a separate room for young people and through mobile services will increase young people's access to VCT services in Malawi. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Management Sciences: Marketing, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / Achieving customer satisfaction has been the goal of every organisation. In recent times, the postal business world over has experienced a sharp decline in the volume of mail due to more efficient alternative channels of communication. The dwindling volumes of mail have necessitated that public postal operators diversify into financial services as one way of generating more revenue. The Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC) is faced with challenges ranging from cash scarcity, increasing competition from banks and other financial services players like mobile phone companies. At the same time, the customer in the modern age is well informed and demanding high quality service. As such, the MPC needs to ensure that customers remain satisfied with the quality standards being delivered in its network. The importance of achieving service quality and satisfaction are enormous. High quality service and customer satisfaction are tools for competitiveness, productivity and profitability. The aim of this study is to analyse service quality in the Malawian public postal service. A modified SERVPERF questionnaire was used to assess customers’ perception of service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The service quality dimensions of tangibles, reliability, empathy, assurance and responsiveness were used to evaluate customers’ perception of service quality. The 400 respondents were selected using convenience sampling and the eight Post Offices where this research was conducted were selected using purposive or judgemental sampling. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. Spearman rho was used to ascertain the relationship between variables. Man-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare differences between two independent variables. The findings of this study show that customers’ perception of service quality was generally good across all the five service quality dimensions and that all the dimensions of service quality have a positive relationship with customer satisfaction. In addition, the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty was found to be positive and significant. Recommendations are made in respect of improving the service quality dimensions because they have a direct impact on customer satisfaction which in turn affects customer loyalty.

Thesis (MCur)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Pneumonia is the greatest single cause of mortality in children less than five years of age throughout the world causing more deaths than those due to AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Approximately 50% of all childhood pneumonia deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Children in developing countries being treated for pneumonia frequently have one or more comorbid conditions which increases their risk of dying. The proper management of the child with severe or very severe pneumonia is essential to reduce case fatality. Standard case management (SCM) of pneumonia, has been shown to be an effective intervention to reduce deaths from pneumonia, but what is lacking is a means of delivering it in low-resource/high burden countries. A major barrier to wide application of this intervention in low-income countries is weak health-care systems with insufficient human and financial resources for implementing SCM to a sufficient number of children at a level of quality and coverage that would result in a significant impact. The objective of this dissertation is to address this issue by investigating ways of improving delivery of standard case management of pneumonia in district hospitals throughout Malawi, a high HIV-prevalent country which would result in a decrease in the in-hospital case fatality rates (CFR) from pneumonia in children less than five years of age. We reviewed the evidence base for SCM. Then we evaluated the development and implementation of a national Child Lung Health Programme (CLHP) to deliver SCM of severe and very severe pneumonia and a programme to provide uninterrupted oxygen supply in all paediatric wards at District Hospitals throughout Malawi. We demonstrated that it was feasible to implement and maintain both programmes country-wide. Thirdly we evaluated the trend in case fatality rates in infants and young children (0 to 59 months of age) hospitalized and treated for severe and very severe pneumonia over the course of the implementation of the CLHP. The findings from this study showed that in the majority (64%) of cases, who were aged 2-59 months with severe pneumonia there was a significant effect of the intervention that was sustained over time whereas in the same age group children treated for very severe pneumonia there was no interventional benefit. No benefit was observed for neonates. Fourthly we investigated factors associated with poor outcome reported in the previous study, in a subset of this cohort to determine the individual factors including demographics of the study population, recognised co-morbidities and clinical management that were associated with inpatient death. This study identified a number of factors associated with poor pneumonia-related outcomes in young infants and children with very severe pneumonia. They included co-morbidities of malaria, malnutrition, severe anaemia and HIV infection. The study found that the majority of reported comorbid conditions were based on clinical signs alone indicating a need for more accurate diagnosis and improved management of these comorbidities that may lead to improved outcomes. Other identified factors included a number of potentially modifiable aspects of care where adjustments to the implementation of SCM are indicated. These included enhancing correct classification of the severity of the disease, the use of correct antibiotics according to standard case management, more extensive availability and use of oxygen together with oximetry to guide its use,. Finally recommendations were made to address the identified reasons for poor outcomes and suggested future research. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Pneumonie is die grootste enkele oorsaak van sterftes by kinders jonger as 5 jaar in die wêreld en veroorsaak meer kindersterftes as die menslike immuungebrekvirus (MIV), malaria en tuberkulose saam. Ongeveer 50% van kindersteftes van pneumonie kom in sub-Sahara-Afrika voor. Kinders in ontwikkilende lande, wie vir pneumonie behandel word, het dikwels een of meer bydraende toestande wat die doodsrisiko verhoog. Kinders wie ernstige of baie ernstige pneumonie onderlede het moet korrek behandel word om sterfte te voorkom. Die standaard protokolle om kinderpneumonie korrek te behandel het getoon om effektief te wees om die sterftesyfers te verlaag. In lae inkomste lande bestaan die strategieë nie om die protokolle aan te wend nie. ‘n Groot struikelblok in die aanwending van die pneumonie behandelingsprotokolle in lae-inkomste lande is die swak gesondheidsorgsisteme met onvoldoende menslike en finansiële hulpbronne. Die tekorte gee aanleiding tot die beperkte implementering van pneumonie protokolle wat die omvang en kwaliteit van die pneumonie protokolle beperk en daarom impakteer die protokolle nie op die kindersterftesyfer nie. Die doel van die verhandeling is om hierdie probleem aan te spreek deur navorsing hoe om die pneumonie protokolle landwyd in alle distrikhospitale in Malawi, ‘n land met ‘n hoë MIV prevalensie, aan te wend om sodoende die kindersterftesyfer (kinders jonger as 5 jaar) as gevolg van pneumonie te verlaag. Ons het die getuienis van die pneumonie protokolle ondersoek. Hierna is ‘n nasionale Kinderlong Gesondheidsprogram ontwikkel en landwyd geïmplementeer. Volgens die program is kinders met ernstige en baie ernstige pneumonie volgens Wêreldgesondheidsorganisasie (WGO) protokolle behandel. Ononderbroke suurstoftoevoer in alle pediatriesesale in distrikshospitale in Malawi veskaf. Die navorsing het getoon dat die implementering en instandhouding van pneumonie behandelingsprotokolle is landwyd moontlik. Verder het ons die tendens ondersoek of die kindersterftesyfer in babas en jong kinders (0 tot 59 maande) wat in die hospital opgeneem en behandel is vir ernstige en baie ernstige pneumonie tydens die implementering van pneumonie protokolle verminder het. Die bevindinge van hierdie verhandeling wys dat in die meerderheid (64%) van die kinders tussen 2 en 59 maande met ernstige pneumonie, en met die toepassing van die pneumonie protokolle, statistiesbetekenvol die sterfte syfer verlaag het. Die protokolle vir die behandeling van baie erstige pneumonie het nie dieselfde wenslike effek gehad nie. In neonate (jonger as 2 maande) was daar ook geen verlaging in die sterftesyfer nie. Laastens het ons die redes vir die swak uitkomste ondersoek in ‘n substudie en veral klem gelê op bydraende siektes en kliniesesorg tekorte geassosieer met pneumonie sterftes. Die studie het ‘n aantal faktore geïdentifiseer wat bygedra het tot die sterftesyfer in kinders met baie ernstige pneumonie en in neonate. Die geïdentifiseerde bydraende faktore het malaria, wanvoeding, erge anemie en MIV-infeksie ingesluit. Voorkomende maatreëls moet vir die geïdentifiseerde faktore ingestel word. Aanpassings in die pneumonie protokolle is voorgestel. Ten slotte word aanbevelings gemaak om die geïdentifiseerde redes vir swak uitkomste aan te spreek en verdere navorsingidees word aanbeveel.

<p>Although the under-five mortality rate in Malawi has been declining since 1960, it still remains one of the highest in the world. In order to appropriately target interventions to achieve substantial reductions in deaths among children under the age of five years in Malawi, there is an ongoing need for better knowledge of the proportion of cause-specific under-five mortality in the country. The aim of this study was to estimate the direct contribution of HIV/AIDS to the observed level of under-five mortality in Malawi during the period 2000 to 2004.</p>

There are important disparities between how HIV transmission, prevention, and mitigation are addressed within sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and how they are understood by the international aid agencies that design and implement interventions to combat AIDS in this region. Contending that local responses to the AIDS epidemic hinge on a religious framework, this dissertation examines the relationship between religion and HIV risk at both the individual and collective levels in the setting of rural Malawi - a religiously diverse country with high levels of both religious participation and HIV prevalence. This dissertation advances the Durkheimian idea that participation in harmful behaviors is reduced in places where particular religions or religious rituals are widely practiced. Specifically, it addresses the associations between religion and (1) HIV prevention, (2) actual HIV status, and (3) perceived obligations to support families affected by AIDS. The relationships are assessed by employing multiple methodologies and data sources including participant observation data from religious services, in-depth interviews with religious leaders and lay people, and large-scale survey data. This dissertation provides the first empirical assessment of what religious leaders in SSA say and do about HIV in their communities and shows that many have assumed an activist role in combating the epidemic. The relevant practices religious leaders engage in include: preaching explicitly about AIDS on a regular basis, privately advising members to use condoms, actively policing the sexual behavior of their members -- visiting those suspected to be at risk of contracting the disease and to confront them about their sexual behavior, and advising divorce as a strategy for HIV prevention in cases where a member is likely to be infected by an unfaithful spouse. By synthesizing insights from demographic studies of contextual effects on sexual behavior with the notion of "moral communities" from the sociology of religion, this dissertation emphasizes the importance of conceptualizing religion as a supra-individual phenomenon with important implications for the health of populations.

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