Many people in Malawi still cannot afford access to medical care. Photo: action medeor/Markus Bremers Info Many people in Malawi still cannot afford access to medical care. Photo: action medeor/Markus Bremers In focus Malawi Malawi: When poverty determines who receives healthcare Close-up 03 August 2026 Our action medeor colleagues Nele Johannsen and Markus Bremers visited our office in Malawi and saw firsthand the impact of your donations. When Dr. Happy welcomes his first patient early in the morning, he has no idea that he will have to send her away untreated, even though the young woman is in urgent need of diagnostic tests. Her pale face and rapid, irregular pulse suggest the worst and point to a possible heart condition. Yet the Chief Medical Officer at St. Luke’s Hospital in Zomba, Malawi, cannot say for certain. To make a definitive diagnosis, he would need to perform an ECG, an ultrasound scan and a blood test, all essential procedures that the patient simply cannot afford. Nor is she likely to be able to travel to another clinic offering free diagnostic services. As Dr. Happy suspects, the woman in her mid-thirties may not have much time left. “You know exactly what needs to be done, but you cannot make it happen. That is very distressing.” Dr. Happy Chief Medical Officer at St. Luke’s Hospital in Zomba, Malawi What is a Life worth? Dr. Happy is one of only a few doctors providing medical care in Malawi. The country’s healthcare system is under immense strain: for every doctor, there are around 10,000 people in urgent need of medical care. Although healthcare workers fight for every life, they are often unable to save them all. On the one hand, poverty still determines whether people can access diagnostic services or treatment. On the other hand, St. Luke’s Hospital remains one of the few hospitals in Malawi with access to the right medicines, medical equipment and professional expertise, thanks to the support of action medeor. Across much of the country, healthcare professionals continue to face limitations not because of a lack of knowledge, but because the necessary resources are simply unavailable. Dr. Happy experiences this harsh reality every day while treating around 100 patients. Even though he knows what should be done for the young woman he examined that morning, he can only treat her based on suspicion rather than a confirmed diagnosis. The treatment does not work. Without an accurate diagnosis, she could die, the Chief Medical Officer knows. No Cure without a proper diagnosis Sarah also works at St. Luke’s Hospital in Malawi and has seen firsthand the impact of action medeor’s support. In the past, the laboratory technician had to carry out complex analyses of blood samples under a microscope. Not only was this process prone to error, it was also highly inefficient. The young hospital employee could analyse fewer than ten blood samples a day until a turning point came through the support provided from Tönisvorst. The “World’s Emergency Pharmacy”, as action medeor is also known, supplied St. Luke’s Hospital with a blood analyser. Thanks to this device, Sarah can now determine within just a few minutes what is wrong with a patient and pass the results on to the hospital’s doctors, enabling them to prescribe the right medication for successful treatment. Through our support, ten times more people now receive a reliable diagnosis and the chance to recover. Nele Johannsen (far left) and Markus Bremers (back row, right) gained firsthand insights into our projects in health facilities and hospitals through discussions with the action medeor Malawi team and Africa Director Christoph Bonsmann (back row, center). Photo: action medeor. Dr. Happy ist leitender Arzt am St. Luke‘s Hospital in Zomba. Er behandelt täglich rund 100 Patientinnen und Patienten. Foto: action medeor Laboratory technician Sarah is pleased with the blood analyser supplied by action medeor, which now enables her to process a blood count in just a few minutes. Photo: action medeor. 1 2 3 Helping in one of the world’s poorest countries Yet success stories like this are still the exception in Malawi. Although action medeor supports hospitals and health centres across the country with affordable medicines, medical equipment and training to strengthen professional expertise, Malawi remains one of the poorest countries in the world. One in five people suffers from chronic malnutrition, and the maternal mortality rate is twice the global average. Every day, many people die from diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, cholera and HIV. How Does action medeor Support Malawi? Since 2015, the “World’s Emergency Pharmacy” has been working on the ground in Malawi and has established its own operations with warehouses in both the north and south of the country. A team of 13 specialists in pharmaceuticals, medical technology and logistics supplies hospitals and health centres throughout Malawi. From our headquarters in Tönisvorst, Germany, we provide medicines, equipment and expertise to help build healthcare structures that are sustainable in the long term. The impact is measurable: for example, the Magomero Health Centre used to be able to treat only around 150 patients. Thanks to the support of action medeor, that number has increased to 400 patients, and that in a single morning. To help even more people in Malawi, we depend on your support. With your help, healthcare can become affordable and accessible for even more people, ensuring that no one has to die from a preventable or treatable disease. Thanks to your donations, we can continue to deliver what saves lives.