Correction to: Malawi at the Crossroads: Does the Fear of Contracting COVID-19 Affect the Propensity to Vote?

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1057/s41287-020-00353-1.].

Malawi at the Crossroads: Does the Fear of Contracting COVID-19 Affect the Propensity to Vote?

The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has paralysed many sectors of human life, including economic, social-cultural and political processes. In the political arena, several countries have postponed elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other countries, including Malawi, went ahead with their planned elections. Malawi held a presidential election at a time when the number of COVID-19 cases was increasing rapidly. In this paper, we assess the effect of the perceived risk of catching COVID-19 on willingness to vote in the Malawi presidential election that was held on 23 June 2020. Turn out in this election was ten percentage points lower than in the general elections that were held a year earlier. The paper draws on a nationally representative survey of adult Malawians (n = 1155). In our main analysis, we use instrumental variables to account for potential endogeneity. We find that nearly two thirds of Malawians thought that they were likely to catch COVID-19 at some point. Notwithstanding the COVID-19 risk, 86% of the country's citizens were willing to vote. Our analysis shows that an individual's perceived risk of catching COVID-19 is associated with a lower likelihood of voting (ß = - 0.096; p < 0.05). This suggests that voter turnout in Malawi's fresh presidential election may have been highly affected by the perceived risk of catching COVID-19. The policy implication is that instituting and enforcing primary preventive measures may help reduce the perceived risk of catching COVID-19 and mitigate voter apathy.

La nouvelle maladie à coronavirus (COVID-19) a paralysé de nombreux secteurs de la vie humaine, y compris au niveau économique, socioculturel et politique. Au niveau politique, plusieurs pays ont reporté des élections en raison de la pandémie de COVID-19. D'autres pays, comme le Malawi, ont maintenu les élections qui étaient prévues. Le Malawi a organisé l'élection présidentielle au moment où le nombre de cas de COVID-19 augmentait rapidement. Dans cet article, nous évaluons l'effet que la perception du risque de contracter la COVID-19 a eu sur la volonté de se rendre aux urnes à l'occasion de l'élection présidentielle qui s'est tenue le 23 juin 2020 au Malawi. Le taux de participation à cette élection était inférieur de dix points de pourcentage à celui des élections générales qui ont eu lieu un an plus tôt. L'étude s'appuie sur une enquête nationale représentative des personnes adultes du Malawi (n = 1155). Dans notre analyse principale, nous utilisons des variables instrumentales pour tenir compte d'un potentiel biais d'endogénéité. Nous constatons que près de deux tiers des Malawites pensaient qu'ils étaient susceptibles de contracter la COVID-19 à un moment ou à un autre. En dépit du risque de contracter la COVID-19, 86% des citoyens et citoyennes du pays étaient prêt.es à voter. Notre analyse montre que la perception du risque qu'a une personne de contracter la COVID-19 est associée à une probabilité plus faible de se render aux urnes (ß = − 0.096; p < 0.05). Cela suggère que la participation électorale à la nouvelle élection présidentielle au Malawi a pu être fortement impactée par la perception du risque de contracter la COVID-19. En terme de politique, cela signifie que la mise en place et l'application de mesures de prévention primaire peuvent aider à réduire la perception du risque de contracter la COVID-19 et ainsi permettre d'atténuer l'apathie des électeurs.

Socio-economic Inequality in Comprehensive Knowledge about HIV in Malawi.

Background: Having comprehensive knowledge about HIV is crucial in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and in achieving the global aspiration of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Low comprehensive knowledge about HIV can undercut efforts to halt the spread of the epidemic. It is important, however, to also determine if socioeconomic inequality is a factor in having a comprehensive knowledge about HIV in order to ensure that socioeconomic considerations are embedded in interventions. In this paper, the objective is to assess trends, as well as socioeconomic related inequality in comprehensive knowledge about HIV in Malawi. Methods: The current study uses a non-parametric approach and the concentration index. It draws upon secondary data from three rounds of the Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) of 2004, 2010 and 2016. Results: Our results point to an increase in comprehensive knowledge about HIV over the 12-year period, from 28% in 2004 to around 44% in 2016. However, upon using the Erreygers concentration index, a wealth related inequality in comprehensive knowledge about HIV is uncovered. The poorer are less informed and the richer are better informed: comprehensive knowledge about HIV is concentrated among the rich. Furthermore, inequality in comprehensive knowledge about HIV has worsened over this period. Across gender, there is greater inequality among men than women. However, the rural-urban difference in wealth-related inequality in comprehensive knowledge about HIV dropped in 2016. Conclusion: The results show that comprehensive knowledge about HIV has increased. Furthermore, it is established that comprehensive knowledge about HIV is concentrated among the wealthier in the 2004 -2016 period. Our results suggest that there should be a targeted approach in messaging and disseminating information regarding HIV and AIDS, using methods that are pro-poor.

Factors associated with the utilization of postnatal care services among Malawian women.

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that every woman be checked after the delivery of a child. However, only 42% of Malawian women are checked by a skilled health worker within 48 hours after delivery. This study aimed at identifying factors associated with postnatal care (PNC) utilization among Malawian women by using nationally representative data. Methods: Secondary data from the 2015-2016 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) was used for the study. A logistic regression model was used to find the adjusted odds of utilizing PNC services among the women. All the analyses controlled for the survey clusters and weighting. All the analyses were conducted in STATA version 14 at a significance level of 5%. Results: Out of the 6,693 women who had a live birth 24 months prior to the 2015-2016 MDHS, only 48.4% were checked by a skilled health worker within 42 days after delivery. Uptake of PNC was significantly associated with older age, being employed, living in an urban area, delivery through caesarean section, a timely first antenatal care (ANC) visit, uptake of recommended number of ANC visits, and receiving the adequate number of tetanus injections. Conclusion: Interventions to increase utilization of PNC services should be tailored to appropriate populations. Particularly, special focus has to be made towards younger women, the women who reside in the rural areas, who are not employed, and who are generally not well to do. Behavioural change interventions must also target women with low perceived risk after delivery. Information should also be consistently provided by health workers in communities and health facilities to women on perinatal care in order to change the women's risk perception on all levels of pregnancy care and to encourage utilization of relevant health services.