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Use of modern methods of family planning varies by district. Modern method use ranges
from a low of 31% in Mangochi to a high of 68% in Chiradzulu. Modern contraceptive
use increases with wealth; 53% of women from the poorest households use a modern
method of family planning, compared to 61% of women from the wealthiest households.
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The use of any method of family planning by married women has dramatically increased
from 13% in 1992 to 59% in 2015-16. Similarly, modern method use has increased
eightfold from 7% to 58% during the same time period. The most common media source
of family planning messages is the radio. Four in ten women and 64% of men heard a
family planning message on the radio in the few months before the survey. Women and
men were much less likely to have seen a family planning message on television or in a
newspaper/magazine. Overall, 42% of women and 17% of men were not exposed to
family planning messages via any media source.
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HIV prevalence data were obtained from blood samples voluntarily provided by women
and men interviewed in the 2015-16 MDHS. Of the 8,497 women and 7,542 men age 1549 eligible for testing, 93% of women and 87% of men provided specimens for HIV
testing.
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Overall, 8.8% of Malawians age 15-49 are HIV positive. By district, HIV prevalence is
lowest in Salima (3.0%) and highest in Mulanje (20.6%). HIV prevalence is higher
among women (10.8%) than among men (6.4%). HIV prevalence is higher among
women and men living in urban areas. Among women, HIV prevalence is lowest at age
15-19 (3.3%) and highest at age 40-44 (19.8%). Among men, HIV prevalence is lowest at
age 15-19 (1.0%) and highest at age 45-49 (19.2%).
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The graph below shows the prevalence by residence of men and women between ages 15
to 49
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