Michelle Kohler

Although not having had the opportunity to work in Malawi myself; through volunteering in Tanzania, I have gained experience of working in East Africa. With Malawi having health indicators amongst the worst in the region (a life expectancy of 49 years does not seem acceptable in the 21st century). I believe that there is great potential for development. I also feel that, in the longer term, a focused effort to strengthening links with Malawi to facilitate economic and social growth has the potential to have knock-on effects in the region as a whole. It is highly disappointing to learn that DFID are cutting funding to Malawi and I fully support the statement on your website. From my perspective it appears ill thought through with regards to the long-term impacts, with the consequences of reducing funding for an already depleted health workforce being particularly worrying.