Malawi is a small, rural country in southern Africa that has drawn international attention for its high prevalence rates of malaria and HIV/AIDS. Access to reliable health care is often to blame for problems such as a high infant mortality rate, high incidence of pneumonia, and other diseases that could be prevented or treated.

Recent trends in health care have been positive, but significant increases in population and a push toward urbanization could account for misleading data. As Eyob Zere, Matshidiso Moeti, Joses Kirigia, Takondwa Mwase, and Edward Kataika point out, inequities in health care are significant [Page 786]in the country, which is common for sub-Saharan Africa. The rich more commonly access treatment for disease than the poor, although the poor, who are more often malnourished, ...