A national quality assurance programme for point-of-care testing in Malawi.

Country situation, including HIV statusMalawi is a landlocked country, stretching over 94 084 square kilometres of land and 24 404 square kilometres of fresh water, whose economic backbone is agriculture. Malawiâ??s HIV positivity rate is estimated at 10.0% (Table 1). HIV prevalence varies widely by geographic regions, where it is 14.5% in southern Malawi, 7.6% in central Malawi and 6.6% in northern Malawi. Prevalence also differs by level of urbanisation in line with population density. Rural Malawi has a positivity rate of 8.9%, which is half the rate of the 17.4% found in urban areas.