This study was conducted in Mwanza district in southern Malawi with the aim of investigating the individual’s,
community’s and health workers’ perception of male involvement in maternal health care. In-depth interviews and
focus group discussions were the methods used for data collection. The participants’ responses generated two main
themes namely male involvement in health facility care and outside the health facility. The participants’ perception
of male involvement in facility care concentrated around six sub-themes describing male involvement as; couple
HIV counselling and testing; a government law; a strategy for fast services for women; unfair programme for
women without partners; a foreign concept; an act of love. We conclude that male involvement in the health facility
care was fragmented and associated mainly with first antenatal care; couple HIV counselling and testing; suggesting
poor integration of male involvement into the existing maternal and child health programmes and that there is need
to engender maternal health care services