Traumatic Brain Injury in Africa: The Republic of Malawi as an example

Abstract

Background: Due to the high rate of mortality and morbidity, traumatic brain injury is of great significance throughout the world. Preventive concepts have managed to considerably reduce the incidence in many countries in the northern hemisphere, but such an approach either does not exist or has failed in the developing nations of the southern hemisphere, where in some is a lack of data on the current incidence of traumatic brain injury. This is a review of the literature reflecting the current status of traumatic brain injuries in Malawi.

Methods: Issues of epidemiology as well as actuality of the data have been addressed in a PubMed and Medline review for the Republic of Malawi.

Results: There are very good studies about injuries in Malawi. However, they are not recent in a developing society and country. Traumatic brain injury as a neurosurgical and neurocranial problem in Malawi is underrepresented in the recent literature.

Conclusion: There is an urgent need for epidemiological studies of neurological and neurosurgical diseases including traumatic brain injuries to forward structured development in Malawi.

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