A national centre of excellence in public health, the Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM) provides leadership in disease surveillance, prevention, and outbreak response, as well as research to inform policy and practice in public health. Among its goals are to build a robust and sustainable national public health reference laboratory, and to improve the technical capacity of the public health workforce in order to respond effectively and efficiently to major public health threats. The institute provides technical expertise in analysing and interpreting public health data, and introduces innovative public health interventions in collaboration with disease control programs. By using country-specific data on the health burden, efficacy of interventions, and implementation of health programs to make national public health policy decisions, lives are saved and scarce financial resources are appropriately allocated. PHIM also serves as a catalyst for the implementation of International Public Health Regulations that are both appropriate for and sustainable in the local context of Malawi. The development of the Public Health Institute of Malawi is a priority area in the Malawi Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP 2011-2016), and has been described by President Joyce Banda as being a “priority in order to strengthen governance and stewardship of the health sector.” By developing a coordinating body for its national public health efforts, Malawi has a greater capacity to address public health challenges and make a measurable, lasting impact on the determinants and outcomes of health in Malawi.
