Mobility Constraints in Malawi
“The struggles of poverty can be greatly reduced by improving mobility. Conversely, poor mobility further perpetuates the cycle of poverty.”
To fully gauge the impact a bicycle can bring to a household in Malawi is incredibly difficult. Mobility allows all of us to access the very things we need to survive, and can shape our quality of life.
In Malawi there are approximately 18 million people — over 80% of this population — live in rural areas and need to access urban centers for many basic needs and services. More than 45% of these rural households claim to use a bicycle as their primary mode of transportation, compared to 1% with a motorized vehicle. The remainder of the rural population travel by foot. The bicycles that are currently available to Malawians were generally built using old technology, are poorly designed, break down easily, and do not meet the diverse needs of their users. There is a clear demand and need to improve the quality, affordability and accessibility of bicycles in Malawi.
- 80% or 14.4 million people live in rural areas of Malawi.
- 45% of rural dwellers have a bicycle in their household.
- 1% of rural households have a motorized vehicle.
- 75% of rural households live more than 10 km. from markets or trading centers.
- Over 80% of Health Surveillance Assistants (Ministry of Health employees delivering rural health care) rely on a bicycle to effectively do their job.