Don't Get Sick in Blantyre

Malawi has been suffering from poverty during all of its history as a nation. Now is a particularly difficult time. In addition to a meglomaniac for president, rampant government corruption, widespread poverty, fuel shortages, and intermittant electrical service (to those few hubs that have it at all), you can now add water shortages. [See this story.] That wouldn't be unusual if Malawi were located on the Horn of Africa or close to the Sahara, but Malawi has a definite rainy season.

It's ironic to have water shortages in a country with such a HUGE water source (Lake Malawi) running along the length of most of the country. But there's no infrastructure that taps that resource, and a city the size of Blantyre (nearly 700,00 people) can't depend on wells for its source of water. This short article paints a grim picture. I'm glad I'm not in a hospital in Blantyre; it seems to be an epidemic waiting to happen.