POLITICAL INSTABILITY, REFUGEES, AND A HEALTH CARE CRISIS IN MALAWI

ABSTRACT Between 1985 and 1992 political instability in Mozambique caused large-scale out-migration of Mozambicans to Malawi. Malawi was sought as a place of refuge since it neighbored Mozambique, was politically stable, and seemed to be better equipped with food and health resources. Such factors encouraged close to one million Mozambican refugees to seek refuge in Malawi. The growth of Malawi's refugee population strained Malawi's already densely populated, ecologically degraded, and economically troubled landscape, creating stress within its health care system. By the 1990s Malawi's limited health care facilities showed signs of collapse. This paper argues that Malawi's experience with Mozambican refugees upset the stability of its health care system, burdening resources and leading to degradation of health care for Malawians and refugees alike. It is suggested that political instability has profound effects on health care systems, as a host country attempts to address the combined health care needs of...