More than twenty years ago, faculty from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were invited by the Malawian government to help the country develop STI treatment protocols. UNC has been working in Malawi ever since.

In partnership with the Malawi Ministry of Health, the University established UNC Project−Malawi, a research, care and training program in the capital city of Lilongwe in 1999.

Like much of sub-Saharan Africa, Malawi faces significant health care-related challenges. Malawi has only 2 physicians per 100,000 people, and the average life expectancy is 39 years. There is a high burden of HIV, malaria, TB and other infectious diseases straining the country’s limited healthcare infrastructure.

Mission

The mission of UNC Project−Malawi is to identify innovative, culturally acceptable, and relatively inexpensive methods of reducing the risk of HIV/STI and infectious disease transmission through research; strengthen the local research capacity through training and technology transfers; and improve patient care for the people of Malawi.

Research

Cancer pathogenesis, epidemiology and treatment
HIV treatment and prevention
HIV vaccine development
Injury prevention
Malaria vaccine development
STI management
TB diagnostics

Clinical Care

Adult medicine
Antenatal
HIV counseling/testing
HIV/AIDS treatment
Internal medicine
Pediatrics
Surgery
STI management

Training

Adult medicine
Epidemiology
Lab science
Medical geography
Nursing
Nutrition
Pediatrics
Surgery

U.S. Contact: Irving Hoffman