Donor states started withholding aid, which makes up 40 percent of the country’s budget.
“For every one I have arrested,” she said of government crooks, “I have lost a whole village of votes.”
In February the health minister admitted that Malawi’s central medical stores held only 5 percent of the drugs they were supposed to stock.
Dr. Chiudzu blamed not corruption but an overcentralized state: The hospital is barred from buying supplies itself, yet the Health Ministry, which holds all the procurement power, is unable to meet needs.
Ms. Banda appeared to agree that poor governance was as lethal as corruption. “