Jack McConnell on a visit to Mingi Secondary School, Malawi

The first minister pledged �120,000 of funding to help train up to 300 Malawi staff to improve healthcare in the country.

The overall aim of the visit is to formalise aid arrangements for schools, hospitals and other projects.

Scottish medics and midwives are working in the country already.

It has one of the worst records for infant and maternal mortality and a scheme is in place to enhance nurse training.

Dr Tariq Mahid, who works at the Bottom Hospital in the Malawi capital Lilongwe, said its poor resources contributed to many maternal deaths.

Speaking on BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme, he said: "We lack basic equipment and the biggest problem we have is lack of staff.

"Sometimes at night we only have two midwifes for a Labour ward with up to 30 deliveries in a night."

Doctor Graham Walker, of the Simpson Memorial Hospital in Edinburgh, is helping his counterparts in Africa to deal with their problems.

No human being could fail to be moved and angered by the reality of the conditions in Bottom Hospital Jack McConnell First Minister

He said: "We've been here for nine days as part of a team from throughout Scotland to come and help out at Bottom Hospital."

Midwife Elaine Coburn said maternal services in Malawi were markedly different from those at the Simpson Hospital and elsewhere in Scotland.

"Services here are restricted by, not just money and equipment, but by midwives," she said.

"At home we would have significantly more midwives working on a shift and midwives here have an extremely difficult task.

"One of them can be in theatre with three caesarean sections and the other is left to look after 14 or 15 women in labour. That is the stark contrast."

Historic ties

Mr McConnell said: "The statistics for mothers who die in child birth and for infant mortality are shocking.

"No human being could fail to be moved and angered by the reality of the conditions in Bottom Hospital.

"This is about individual families and we in Scotland must do what we can to help."

Pupils from Sanday, in Orkney, are in Malawi at the same time visiting a school.

Scotland's aid capacity is fairly limited and the Scottish Executive wants to focus on Malawi, which has historic ties to Scotland through David Livingstone and the Kirk.

The first minister said: "I cannot stand the idea of the wasted potential of the children of Africa.

The school is twinned with one in Orkney

"Not only in the tens of thousands who die every day of preventable diseases and of poverty and starvation, but also the many others who are blinded from a young age who have avoidable disabilities that could be cured if they were living here in Scotland."

After an overnight flight, Mr McConnell was met at the start of his week-long trip by government officials and the British High Commission.

He has already been warned by Bob Geldof that he must also confront political corruption in Africa.

Sir Bob had hit out at world leaders for failing to tackle poverty.

Geldof is one of 17 commissioners appointed to the Commission for Africa by Prime Minister Tony Blair.

He said that the G8 leaders should not gather at Gleneagles in July unless they planned to change their attitudes towards African nations.