Embangweni Hospital is a 130-bed hospital located in the southern part of Mzimba district in northern Malawi. The boundaries of our catchment area are the Zambian border on the west and south, the M-1 highway (main north-south road in Malawi) on the east, and Moses Chilenge and Emazwini villages to the north. The hospital serves a population of about 100,000 people, with referral cases often coming from much further away, including Zambia. It operates 3 remote health centers located in Kalikumbi, Mabiri, and Mpasazi, with plans to open a fourth in 2002. Travel throughout the Embangweni region can be difficult, especially during the rainy months, November to April. The only access to the M-1, a distance of 30 km, is by either the Jenda or Perekezi Forest dirt roads. Embangweni is situated at an altitude of 4,000 feet, in an area of flat brachystegia woodland.

Work to establish Embangweni Station, also known as "Loudon", was begun by Reverend Donald Fraser and his wife, Dr. Agnes Fraser, missionaries of the Free Church of Scotland, at the end of the 19th century. Scottish missionaries came to Malawi following the death of David Livingstone. Clinical work by Dr. Fraser began in 1902. In 1926, under the direction of Dr. W. Turner, the facility expanded to become a rural hospital. A maternity ward was added in 1966. During the 1970s, the hospital doubled its size from 38 to 77 beds. In 1989 under the ministry of Dr. Kenneth and Mrs. Nancy McGill, the hospital greatly expanded its facilities and services to include separate buildings for maternity, pediatrics, male and female general care, as well as an operating theatre for limited surgeries and caesarian-section deliveries. The Primary Healthcare department has greatly expanded in scope and size in the 1990's.