2.2.1 Malawi Vision 2020

Vision 2020 is a policy framework that sets out a long-term development perspective for Malawi. It emphasizes long term strategic thinking, shared vision and visionary leadership, participation by the population, strategic management and national learning. The Vision 2020 states that “by the year 2020 Malawi as a God fearing nation, will be secure, democratically mature, environmentally sustainable, self-reliant with equal opportunities for and active participation by all, having social services, vibrant cultural and religious values and a technologically driven middle-income economy”.

2.2.2 Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy

In May 2002, Government launched the MPRS which presented a first attempt to translate long-term vision into medium term focused action plans. The MPRS became the overarching medium term strategy of the Government for reducing poverty in the country. The goal of the MPRS was to achieve “sustainable poverty reduction through empowerment of the poor”.

The MPRS was built around four strategic pillars namely: sustainable pro-poor growth; human capital development; improving the quality of life of the most vulnerable; and good governance. In addition, it had four key cross cutting issues namely: HIV and AIDS, gender, environment, science and technology. The implementation period for the MPRS was three years ending in the 2004/05 fiscal year.

In the second half of 2005, the MPRS was reviewed to draw lessons from its implementation. The lessons are summarized in the report “Comprehensive Review of the MPRS 2005” and the findings informed the strategic direction of the MGDS. The notable achievement of the MPRS was the decline in poverty levels from 54.1 percent to 52.4 percent. Also important was the fact that Ministries and Departments implemented their activities in line with the MPRS framework. However, there were some short falls that hampered the implementation process. These included failure by Ministries and Departments to translate the activities into the budget and Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), slow implementation of the devolution process, and funding not based on priorities defined by MPRS.

2.2.3 Malawi Growth and Development Strategy

Government launched the MGDS in 2007. It was designed as an overarching operational medium-term strategy for Malawi to attain the nation’s Vision 2020 and the MDGs for the period 2006 to 2011. The main aim of the MGDS was to create wealth through sustainable economic growth and infrastructure development as a means of achieving poverty reduction. It presented a policy framework that balanced issues related to both economic growth and social development.

To ascertain immediate economic benefits for the people of Malawi, the MGDS focused on the following six key priority areas: Agriculture and Food Security; Irrigation and Water Development; Transport Infrastructure Development; Energy Generation and Supply; Integrated Rural Development; and Prevention and Management of Nutrition Disorders, HIV and AIDS. These key priority areas were also expected to accelerate the attainment of the MDGs in the areas of health, education, gender, environment, and governance. They were isolated from the MGDS five thematic areas namely; sustainable economic growth; social protection and disaster risk management; social development; infrastructure development and improving governance. The MGDS recognized that issues of HIV and AIDS, science and technology, gender, empowerment and environment were cross cutting and as such they were streamlined within the five thematic areas.

Annual reviews were conducted throughout the period of MGDS to draw lessons from its implementation. These lessons, among other things, informed the strategic direction of the MGDS II.

2.2.4 International Development Commitments

The MGDS II recognizes Government’s commitment to several global agreements and declarations including the MDGs, and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Government through the MGDS II is committed to the MDGs as internationally agreed targets for eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environment sustainability; and developing global partnership for development. The country has made progress on all its targets and is on track to attain five of the eight MDGs targets by the year 2015.

On eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, the poverty headcount has declined from 50 percent in 2005 to 39 percent in 2010 while the proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy requirement has decreased from about 22 percent in 2005 to 15 percent in 2009. Under universal primary education, there has been an increase in primary school net enrolment from 73 percent in 2006 to 83 percent in 2009 while youth literacy rate has increased from 74.9 percent in 2005 to about 84 percent in 2009. Progress has also been made on gender equality and empowerment of women. The ratio of girls to boys in primary school has increased from 0.95 in 2005 to 1.03 in 2009. The proportion of seats held by women in Parliament has significantly improved from 14 percent in 2004 to 22 percent in 2009 (Malawi MDG Report, 2010).

In addition, progress has also been made on reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. Infant mortality rate has declined from 76 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2004 to 66 per 1,000 live births in 2010, while under-five mortality rate has declined from 133 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2004 to 112 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2010. Maternal mortality rate has declined from 984 births per 100,000 live births in 2004 to 675 births per 100,000 live births in 2010. The HIV prevalence rate among pregnant women aged 15 to 24 years has declined from about 14.3 percent in 2005 to 12 percent in 2009, while deaths associated with tuberculosis cases has declined from 19 percent in 2005 to 8 percent in 2009 (DHS Report, 2010).

Although progress has been made in all the goals, Malawi is still lagging behind in achieving targets in three goals, namely; improve maternal health, achieve universal primary education and promote gender equality and women empowerment. In this respect, efforts will be made to achieve all the MDG targets during the implementation of this strategy.

2.4.1 Aid Effectiveness

At the start of the MGDS, Malawi received significant debt cancellations under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) in 2006 when the outstanding external debt stock was reduced from US$2.97 billion as of end 2005 to US$0.52 billion in August 2006. This debt relief led to increased fiscal space arising from the debt service savings, thus permitting increased Government spending on priority areas. The debt relief led to improved debt indicators thereby increasing the scope for the Government to acquire more external aid in the form of concessional loans.

Aid disbursement remained stable over the last three fiscal years of MGDS implementation, 2007/08 to 2009/10. Traditional donors continued to provide the majority of the aid support with EU contributing the largest disbursements in 2009/10 Fiscal Year (FY) followed by World Bank and DfID. Other key donors were USAID, Norway and AfDB. During the same period, new donors like the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of India began to play an increasingly important role. However, aid has been concentrated in a small number of sectors with Economic Governance being the largest recipient sector of overall donor support followed by Health; Agriculture; Education; and Water and Sanitation in that order in 2009/10 Fiscal Year. In contrast, the 5 smallest recipient sectors were Public Administration; Tourism, Wildlife and Culture; Energy and Mining; Gender, Youth Development and Sports; and Trade, Industry and Private Sector Development.

During the same period, aid predictability was high but undermined by a couple of key donors with aid disbursement modalities shifting from Pooled Sector Support to General Budget Support. Budget Support increased to 30 percent in 2009/10 FY from 21 percent in 2008/09 FY of total donor receipts by Government while Pooled Sector Support declined from 24 percent in 2008/09 FY to 17 percent in 2009/10 FY.

In this regard, Government will assume that external resources will be forthcoming to support the MGDS II activities following international commitments made by the G8 Nations at the Gleneagles Summit in 2005 as well as similar commitments by both bilateral and multilateral donors.

2.4.2 Macroeconomic Performance

MGDS projected a 6 percent annual GDP growth rate as the level at which meaningful poverty reduction would be achieved. The economy performed well as GDP growth rate averaged 7.5 percent at the end of the five year period. The above average growth rate emanated from good performance in strategic sectors such as agriculture, construction, mining and services. During MGDS implementation, domestic resource mobilisation increased as a share of GDP from 17.5 percent of GDP in 2006 to 22.6 percent of GDP in 2010 while expenditure averaged 35 percent of GDP. Expenditures throughout the period were within their MGDS target of 39 percent of GDP. Consequently, fiscal balances significantly improved to -2.9 percent of GDP.

Within the same period, monetary policy was geared towards achieving price stability whilst providing sufficient room for private sector activity. Reserve money continued to be the nominal anchor for prices and money supply and its growth was programmed to expand at about the pace of nominal GDP to contain inflationary pressures and manage domestic demand. Subsequently, inflation declined from 10.1 percent in December 2006 to 6.3 percent in December 2010.

2.4.3 Sector Performance

Agriculture: The country’s introduction of the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) to smallholder farmers in the year 2005/06 has demonstrated the importance and value of investing in food crops as a step towards sustained economic growth and poverty reduction. The 2010 MDG Report attributed the country’s sharp decline in poverty levels between 2005 and 2010 to FISP. Welfare Monitoring Survey¹ reports indicate that the number of Malawians at risk of hunger has been decreasing overtime due to FISP. In the period before 2005 about 5 million Malawians were at risk of hunger. This reduced to about 500,000 in year 2008. Furthermore, maize production increased from 1.22 million metric tons in 2005 to 3.4 million metric tons in 2010 (Economic Report, 2011).

Energy: During the implementation of MGDS, the sector registered a number of achievements including establishment of the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) in 2007; rehabilitation of Tedzani I & II in which 40MW of installed capacity was restored. In addition, there has been an increase in the percentage of households with access to electricity from 4 in 2005 to 9 in 2010. This is partly due to successful implementation of rural electrification program which has increased the number of trading centres connected to electricity from 45 in 2005 to 182 in 2010. Furthermore, there has been a decline in the proportion of population using solid fuels from 94.8 percent in 2005 to 78 percent in 2010.

Education: Government implemented a number of programmes in the education sector leading to the following achievements: primary school net enrolment increased from 73 percent in 2006 to 83 percent in 2009. The proportion of pupils starting grade one who reach grade five increased from 69 percent in 2000 to 76 percent in 2008 (UNDP, 2010). Completion rate in primary school has improved from 26.8 percent in 2005 to 53 percent in 2008. Primary school dropout rate has declined from 22 percent in 2005 to 5 percent in 2008.

Health: The sector registered a number of achievements including reduction in infant mortality rate from 76 per 1,000 in 2004 to 66 per 1,000 in 2010; reduction in under-five mortality rate from 133 per 1,000 in 2004 to 112 per 1,000 in 2010; reduction in maternal mortality rate from 984 per 100,000 in 2004 to 675 per 100,000 in 2010; reduction in the prevalence of HIV among 15-24 year old pregnant women attending antenatal care from 14 percent in 2004 to 12 percent in 2009; reduction in malaria in-patient case fatality rate from 7 percent in 2004 to 3.2 percent in 2010 and increase in proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel from 38 percent in 2004 to 75 percent in 2009 (DHS, 2010).

Nutrition: A number of interventions were implemented to improve nutrition. The interventions include school health and nutrition programmes; vitamin A supplementations; and nutrition support programmes. These interventions have resulted in improvement of nutrition indicators. For instance, the percentage of underweight children decreased from 22 percent in 2004 to 13 percent in 2010 (DHS, 2010).

Mining: During the implementation of MGDS, contribution of mining to GDP rose from 3 percent in 2005 to 10.8 percent in 2010 partly attributed to the Kayelekera Uranium Mine (Annual Economic Report, 2010).

Transport: The transport sector carried out a number of interventions aimed at improving the quality of infrastructure. Some of the recent achievements include an increase in paved road network from 3,663 km in 2004 to 4,073 km in 2010; 215 km of the paved road network rehabilitated out of the 293 km during the same period (RA, 2011). The preparation of the Transport Sector Investment Plan (TSIP) will bring about coordinated and competitive development of all transport modes and enhancement of intermodal transport along the corridors. In addition, in the roads subsector Government has adopted the Road Sector Programme (RSP) to guide both the medium and long term investment programmes in the subsector.

Water Development: The sector made notable achievements and these include increased adoption of improved irrigation technologies, construction of dams, rehabilitation of irrigation schemes and promotion of Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH). The country’s proportion of the population with access to basic sanitation increased from 84 percent in 2005 to 93 percent in 2009. There was an increased percentage of the population with access to safe potable water from 73 percent in 2005 to 84 percent in 2009 (WMS, 2009).

Natural Resources and Environmental Management: The sector registered remarkable progress in a number of areas including compliance with the Environmental Management Plans (EMP) of development projects and programs; setting standards on pollution control and waste management; increased public awareness on environment and natural resources management; increased land area under industrial plantations; improved protection of river catchment areas, increased land area under industrial plantations from 1609 ha in 2005 to 5784 ha in 2010; reduced tonnage of ozone depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) from 5.9 tonnes in 2005 to almost zero in 2010; and increased customary land area planted with trees from 77,810 ha in 2005 with 194,524,672 trees to 187,791 ha with about 275 million trees planted in 2010 (Department of Forestry, 2010).

Tourism: To improve tourism, Government undertook a number of development projects that transformed the tourism landscape. These include construction of access roads to tourist sites in Mangochi; improvement of airports and airstrips and construction of Mpale Cultural Village. In addition, Government started constructing a 1500-seater International Conference Centre which is expected to boost the tourism potential of the country.

Private Sector Development, Industry and Trade: A number of reforms were undertaken including establishment of a commercial court and simplification of trade regime. These reforms coupled with macroeconomic and political stability led to attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). According to the Reserve Bank of Malawi, FDI in 2010 amounted to USD 9.2 million.

Science and Technology: During implementation of MGDS, Government carried out a number of reforms aimed at improving research and development and application of science and technology in the country. These reforms include establishment of the National Commission for Science and Technology as an apex body in all matters of research, science and technology; and review of the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy; and development of the National Intellectual Property Policy.

Rural Development: On rural development, a number of interventions were made to assist rural communities. These include community development programmes; subsidized farm inputs; rural industrialization; public works programme; construction of school buildings, teacher’s houses and clinics; water supply schemes; and improvement of other rural social infrastructure.

Wildlife and Culture: The sector registered a number of achievements and these include improved quality and standards of tourism units; improved wildlife conservation; animal translocation and restocking; construction and rehabilitation of national monuments and other cultural infrastructure; and research on national heritage.

Land: Government implemented a number of initiatives including re-allocation of land to poor households largely through the Community Based Rural Land Development Project (CBRLDP) and introduction of land administration and management courses at tertiary level. The sector also embarked on design and implementation of a computerized title deed registration system.

Population: Under this sub-sector, there was an increased provision of sexual and reproductive health services which raised awareness and contributed to a high proportion of the population using contraceptives. During the same period there was an increase in primary school girls’ completion rate. These contributed to a reduction in the fertility rate from 6.0 in 2005 to 5.7 in 2010 (DHS, 2005; 2010).

Child Development and Protection: A number of initiatives were implemented to address some of the challenges faced by children. Achievements include increased number of early child development centres from 5,945 in 2005 to 8,933 in 2010; increased primary school net enrolment; increased number of girls accessing primary level education thereby helping to achieve gender parity; and decreased infant mortality and child mortality rates. In addition, regulatory and policy framework for the protection of children has been put in place.

Youth Development and Empowerment: Achievements under this sub-sector include; increased access to capital through the establishment of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund; expansion of the university student intake; construction of secondary school boarding facilities for girls; improving access to sexual and reproductive health, HIV and AIDS services; and establishment of information centres.

Social Support and Disaster Risk Management: A number of initiatives were implemented aimed at fighting poverty. These resulted in the decline of poverty incidence from 52 percent in 2004 to 39 percent in 2009. This trend was accompanied by a reduction in ultra-poverty from 22 percent in 2005 to 15 percent in 2009. This achievement is largely attributed to agricultural farm inputs subsidy programme which on average benefited 1.3 million Malawians per year since 2005. In addition, Government implemented Targeted Support to School Meals; Public Works programme; Village Savings and Lending; and Microcredit programmes. Government also continued piloting the Social Cash Transfer (SCT) programme.

Information and Communication: A number of achievements were made including connection to the optic fibre cable resulting in improved delivery of telecommunication services; increased mobile phone coverage; increased provision of broadcasting services; increased postal and courier service and automation of some of Government’s operations and services.

Housing and Urban Development: Achievements registered under this sub-sector include the following: maintained houses under government lease, constructed Government Offices; conducted quinquennial valuations and supplementary valuation rolls; decentralized the Rural Housing Programme; commenced a National Slum Upgrading Programme; and developed Guidelines on Safer House Construction. In addition, Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) continued to construct houses.

Economic Governance: Malawi experienced a stable macroeconomic environment characterized by a high GDP growth rate, low inflation rate, a stable exchange rate, and sustainable levels of both domestic and foreign debt. The challenge is therefore to sustain and accelerate the positive economic growth and continue with a stable macroeconomic environment.

Democratic Governance: The country experienced positive developments including successful presidential and parliamentary elections; a motivated civil service; a growing number of civil society and non-governmental organizations; and deepening constitutionalism. On justice and the rule of law a number of legal and policy reforms were carried out. These included legal and policy reforms, and the strengthening of some of the key institutions of governance that led to increased access to legal system.

Gender: Achievements made under gender sector include increased proportion of women in the National Assembly from 14 percent in 2004 to 22 percent in 2009; increased number of women in decision making positions in public service; establishment of victim support units; and achievement of gender parity at primary school level.

Capacity Development: Initiatives implemented in the public sector have had a number of positive results. These include an increased number of trained personnel in key sectors including health and education, institutional development of ministries, departments and organizations; establishment of Leadership Development Framework and implementation of the Public Sector reform program.

HIV and AIDS Management: Prevalence of HIV and AIDS among pregnant women within the age group of 15 to 24 years has declined from 15 percent in 2005 to 12 percent in 2009. Factors contributing to this positive development include increased awareness programmes in HIV prevention and behavioural change, increased access to a number of preventive interventions, increased access to HIV and AIDS Testing and Counselling (HTC) sites, and the PMTCT programme.

Sub-Theme 1: Agriculture

The agriculture sector remains the main driver of economic growth in Malawi. It employs about 80 percent of the total workforce, contributes about 75 percent to foreign exchange earnings, and approximately 30 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The sector contributes significantly to national and household food security. It is, therefore, evident that investing in agriculture will foster economic growth and development and assist in attaining the aspirations of Malawians as stipulated in the country’s Vision 2020.

Recognizing the importance of the sector in fostering economic growth for the country, the Government of Malawi has been allocating substantial resources during the implementation of the MGDS as compared to the period prior to the MGDS. The average sector’s budget has been around 16 percent of the national budget for the five years of the MGDS implementation as compared to an average of 6.1 percent during the period before the MGDS. Average per capita spending on agriculture rose significantly from US$3.21 during the MPRSP period (2000-2005) to about US$16.25 during the MGDS period (2006-2009). With the increased resources, the sector implemented a number of interventions in land resource conservation, research, extension, crops and livestock development and capacity building to improve productivity and enhance its contribution to the country’s economic growth and contribute to the attainment of the MDGs of eradicating poverty and hunger by the year 2015.

The country’s introduction of the FISP to smallholder farmers in the year 2005/06 has demonstrated the importance and value of investing in food crops as a step towards sustained economic growth and poverty reduction. In the last six years to 2010, increased food production has contributed substantially to reduction of poverty and eradication of hunger in the country. Welfare Monitoring Survey⁵ reports indicate that the number of Malawians at risk of hunger has been decreasing overtime due to FISP. In the period before 2005 about 5 million Malawians were at risk of hunger. This number dropped to about 500,000 in 2008. Furthermore, maize production increased from 1.22 million metric tons in 2005 to 3.4 million metric tons in 2010. This high production partly contributed to the sector’s average growth of 6.4 percent per annum in recent years which is above the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme’s (CAADP) target of 6 percent. Government is therefore committed to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability in implementing FISP.

Although there has been an increase in maize production and productivity, the sector still faces a number of challenges including low productivity, over dependence on rain-fed farming, low level of irrigation development, and low uptake of improved farm inputs. Furthermore, there are high transport costs, inadequate farmer organizations, insufficient extension services, inadequate markets and market information, limited access to agricultural credit, inefficient input and output markets and low technology development and transfer.

To attain the sector’s objectives and consolidate its contribution to economic growth, the sector has embarked on a coordinated approach to the implementation of programmes as outlined in Agricultural Sector Wide Approach (ASWAp). Focus areas are food security and risk management, agri-business and market development and sustainable land and water management. Other key areas include technology generation and dissemination and institutional strengthening and capacity building.

Agriculture and food security is one of the Key Priority Areas and with details on goals, expected outcome and strategies in the next chapter.

Sub-Theme 2: Natural Resources and Environmental Managemen

Natural resources form a principal source of social well being and economic development in Malawi. However, these resources are under constant stress from unprecedented human, industrial and other developmental activities which if not curbed might generate irreversible outcomes in the long-term. The Malawi UNCA Report (2010) estimates that unsustainable natural resource use cost Malawi about US$ 191 million, or 5.3 percent of GDP in 2010. These activities have resulted into a reduction in the proportion of land under forest cover from 41 percent in 1990 to 35 percent in 2008 (MDGs Annual Report, 2009). This is compounded by increased climate variations experienced in the form of prolonged dry spells, droughts, floods and temperature variability, which in turn have negatively affected the performance of sectors such as agriculture, natural resources, irrigation and water development, and energy.

During the past five years, the sector registered remarkable progress in a number of areas including compliance to the EMPs of development projects and programs; setting standards on pollution control and waste management; increased public awareness on environment and natural resources management; enhanced early warning; improved weather information systems; increased land area under industrial plantations from 1,609 ha in 2005 to 5,784 ha in 2010; and increased customary land area planted with trees from 77,810 ha in 2005 with 194,524,672 trees to 187,791 ha with about 275 million trees planted in 2010.

Despite the above achievements, the sector still faces a number of challenges which require immediate attention for the country to sustain the development achieved so far. Some of these challenges include climate variability, weak institutional capacity for managing climate change, inadequate mainstreaming of climate change issues; weak enforcement capacity of laws and regulations; accelerated deforestation and poor land use management practices.

In Malawi, forestry resources form a principal part of natural resources and contribute significantly to the socioeconomic development of the country. They provide forest goods and services such as catchment conservation, employment, industrial poles, timber for construction, fruits, mushroom and grass for thatching houses, medicine and herbs among others.

In view of this, Government through MGDS II will implement a number of interventions in the forestry subsector to sustain the country’s development. Climate change, natural resources and environmental management are a key priority area with details in the next chapter. The following are the goal, expected outcomes and key strategies for the forestry sub-sector.

Sub-Theme 3: Mining

Malawi has rich mineral resources that if sustainably exploited would significantly contribute towards economic growth and development. These resources include coal, uranium, gemstone, limestone, dimension stones, gypsum and rock aggregates. It is expected that exploration activities currently going on will also reveal a lot of other mineral deposits. For example, recent discoveries indicate that the country has substantial deposits of Niobium, uranium and Zircon at Kanyika in Mzimba.

Government recognises that development of the mining industry can significantly boost economic growth of the country through employment creation and generation of foreign exchange. During the implementation of MGDS, contribution of mining to GDP rose from 3 percent to 10 percent due to the opening of the Kayelekera Uranium Mine in 2009. The sector currently employs over 21,000 people. The overall value of all mineral exports improved from MK43 million in 2006 to over MK17.7 billion in 2010. This resulted in over MK2 billion in revenue generated by government in 2010. The sector increased its ability to supply mineral raw materials to industries by developing capacity of both small scale and large scale miners.

However, the sector faces numerous challenges including inadequate institutional capacity, outdated policies, low investment and non existence of a corporate entity to look at government and local Malawian shareholding in mining ventures. It is for this reason that Government, through the MGDS II will continue to create an enabling environment to attract more investments into the subsector. Mining is a key priority area with details on goal, outcome and strategies in the next chapter.

Sub-Theme 4: Private Sector Development, Industry and Trade

The private sector is the engine for economic growth and wealth creation. Government will continue to ensure creation of a conducive environment for private sector participation in industrial development and trade promotion. Increased industrial activities are critical for generating employment opportunities, expanded manufacturing base, enhancing value addition and diversifying exports. Besides enhancing foreign exchange earnings, trade promotion assists industries to benefit from economies of scale through expanded markets.

In the past five years, the country has undertaken a number of reforms including the establishment of a commercial court and simplification of trade regime. These reforms coupled with macroeconomic and political stability have led to an increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Despite these achievements, the sector still faces a number of challenges including inadequate energy supply, weak institutional and regulatory framework, insufficient supportive infrastructure, narrow export base, inability to meet standards, limited information about trade opportunities, high cost of doing business, limited value addition, and limited credit facilities.

Government, through MGDS II will continue implementing interventions in the sector. Trade and industrial development are key priority areas with details in the next chapter. The following are goal, expected outcomes and key strategies for private sector development.

Sub-Theme 5: Rural Development

Malawi’s population is primarily rural based. It is estimated that 84.7 percent of the country’s population lives in rural areas and is involved in smallholder agriculture with limited access to basic needs such as health, education and transport infrastructure.

Government has prioritised decentralisation as a mechanism for improving rural livelihoods. The process provides people at district, and local levels with the ability to effectively plan and prioritise implementation of activities and democratically elect their local representatives. Furthermore, decentralization has offered a better mechanism for reducing bureaucracy; ensuring quality, timely and equitable provision of services; and enhancing transparency and accountability.

During the past five years efforts have been made to assist rural communities by implementing a number of programmes including community development programmes; FISP, rural industrialization with One Village One Product (OVOP) initiative as one of the major components; public works programme through which construction of some school buildings was carried out; construction of teacher’s houses and clinics; provision of water supply schemes; and improvement of other rural social infrastructure.

However, there is a need to continue implementing programmes to improve livelihoods of the rural communities and generate sustainable long term economic growth. Emphasis will be on fostering participation, ownership, and empowerment of rural communities. In this respect Government through MGDS II will continue promoting decentralisation in the provision of services to rural communities. With decentralization at the core, an integrated approach to rural development will be pursued. Integrated Rural Development is thus one of the key priority areas to be covered in details in the next chapter. In this section, goal, expected outcomes and key strategies for decentralization and rural industrialization will be covered.

Sub-Theme 6: Tourism, Wildlife and Culture

Tourism, wildlife and culture sector is one of the emerging sectors in Malawi with a potential to significantly contribute towards the country’s socio-economic development. Overall, the sector estimates that the contribution of tourism to the economy has grown steadily over the years. The sector has the potential to generate revenue; create employment; and promote MSMEs, among others. In Malawi, the physical environment (including lakes, wildlife, and mountains) and culture are an integral part of the tourism industry as they are a source of tourist attraction and can positively contribute to eco-tourism development of the country. Lake Malawi and the beautiful mountains throughout the country are major tourist attractions. Sustainable management of biodiversity, natural resources and preservation of cultural values alongside development of appropriate infrastructure have potential to boost the tourism industry.

The sector registered a number of achievements during implementation of MGDS. These include improved quality and standards of tourism units; improved wildlife conservation; construction and rehabilitation of national monuments and other cultural infrastructure; research on national heritage; and animal translocation and restocking. For example, through the restocking programme, the number of animals moved to various protected areas increased from about 100 in 2005 to 283 in 2010 (Department of National Parks and Wildlife).

Despite these achievements, the sector encountered a number of challenges such as inadequate supporting infrastructure; inadequate marketing of Malawi’s tourism products and services; human-animal conflicts; inadequate conservation and awareness; and lack of purpose-built cultural infrastructure.

Therefore, Government through MGDS II will continue implementing interventions in this sub-sector. Tourism is one of the key priority areas with details in the next chapter. Following are goals, expected outcomes and key strategies for wildlife and culture.

Sub-Theme 7: Labour and Employment

Labour as a factor of production is a key component of growth. A skilled and productive labour force contributes meaningfully to economic growth and improved living standards. Earnings from employment drive consumption as well as investment which helps a country to realize sustained growth. Equal opportunity to employment is a right for all productive age-groups.

In the last 5 years, the economy grew by an average of 7.5 per cent, and invariably creating employment. Robust labour statistics is needed to determine the number, level and type of employment created during these years. This is one of the challenges to be addressed by the strategy. It should be noted, however, that according to the Annual Economic Business Survey, private sector formal employment rose from 709,118 in 2005 to 897,277 in 2010.

Other challenges in this sub-sector include low labour productivity, weak institutional and regulatory framework, inadequate skills development and lack of adherence to occupational safety and health standards. Recognizing that employment is cross-cutting, this strategy will emphasize labour intensive investments across all sectors to enhance employment generation and improve labour productivity. To achieve this, the strategy will pursue the following goal, medium term expected outcomes and strategies.

Sub Theme 8: Land

There are three legally recognized types of land tenure in Malawi: customary, public and private with customary land tenure being the most widespread category. Land is a basic factor of production and an important source of livelihood. It is a source of income, nation’s wealth, and provides cultural identity and shelter. Appropriate land interventions can therefore yield multiplier effects to the entire economy. Such interventions include formulation and implementation of appropriate land management and administration policies.

Over the past five years, Government implemented a number of initiatives including reallocation of land to poor households largely through the Community Based Rural Land Development Project (CBRLDP) and introduction of land administration and management courses at tertiary level. The sector also embarked on designing and implementing a computerized title deed registration system.

The major challenge facing the sector is increased demand for land emanating from rapid population growth, high rate of urbanization and improved economic growth. Other challenges include low institutional capacity, poor land practices, and insufficient public awareness on land laws.

Sub-Theme 1: Population

Population influences all aspects of socio-economic development. Due to high fertility rate, Malawi’s population is growing rapidly at 2.8 percent per annum (PHC, 2008). This high population growth exerts pressure on provision of social services especially schools and health facilities and environment among others, resulting in decreased welfare of the average Malawian.

During MGDS implementation, Government increased the provision of sexual and reproductive health services which raised awareness and contributed to an increase in the proportion of the population using contraceptives. During the same period there was an increase in primary school girls’ completion rate. These have contributed to a reduction in the fertility rate from 6.0 in 2005 to 5.7 in 2010 (DHS 2005, 2010). The slight reduction in fertility rate underlines the major challenges that exist. These challenges include relatively low access to contraceptives, low women empowerment, high dropout rate amongst school going girls and early marriages.

To address the above challenges, Government through this strategy will pursue the following goal, outcomes and key strategies.

Sub-Theme 2: Health

A healthy population is key to increased productivity and sustainable economic growth. There is a strong correlation between health status and level of development. In general poor health is costly to households and the economy. In particular, access to health care is low among the rural poor and the cost of maintaining better health is high.

The country’s health indicators show that there are a number of challenges including high prevalence of preventable diseases, high mortality rates, high prevalence of HIV, high incidence of malaria cases, high incidence of TB cases, limited access to maternal health services, low institutional capacity, inadequate supply of essential drugs and inadequate health infrastructure.

During the implementation of MGDS, the country registered a number of achievements including reduction in infant mortality rate from 76 per 1,000 in 2004 to 66 per 1,000 in 2010; under five mortality rate from 133 per 1,000 in 2004 to 112 per 1,000 in 2010; maternal mortality rate from 984 per 100,000 in 2004 to 675 per 100,000 in 2010; and HIV prevalence from 11.8 percent in 2004 to 10.6 percent in 2010 (DHS, 2004 and 2010). In addition there has been a reduction in malaria in-patient case fatality rate from 7 percent in 2004 to 3.2 percent in 2010 (Malaria Indicator Survey, 2010); increase in TB cure rate from 74 percent in 2004 to 88 percent in 2010 (Health Sector Annual Report, 2010) and increase in proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel from 38 percent in 2004 to 75 percent in 2009 (WMS, 2009).

Despite these achievements, the country still faces a number of challenges including high prevalence of diseases, high mortality rates, high prevalence of HIV, high incidence of malaria cases, limited access to maternal health services, low institutional capacity, inequitable access and utilization of EHP services, inefficiency of health care system, high prevalence of health risk factors, inadequate supply of essential drugs, and inadequate health infrastructure.

To adequately address health challenges and to raise the health status of all Malawians, Government has identified Public Health, Sanitation, Malaria and HIV and AIDS Management as a key priority area. Details of the goals, outcomes and strategies of the health sub-theme are presented in the next chapter.

Sub-Theme 3: Education

Education is essential for social-economic development and industrial growth. It is an instrument for empowering the poor, the weak and the voiceless as it provides them with equal opportunity to participate in local and national development. It is through education that group solidarity, national consciousness and tolerance of diversity is enhanced. In essence, Government wishes to ensure better access and equity, relevance and quality, good governance and efficient management in all education sub-sectors. The sector is directly linked to the two MDGs namely 1) achieve universal primary education, and 2) promote gender equality and empower women.

During the last five years, Government carried out a number of initiatives aimed at improving quality and relevance of education as well as access to education. Within this period primary school curriculum was revised and new teaching and learning materials procured and distributed. Teacher training was expanded using Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) and Open Distance Learning (ODL). Primary school net enrolment increased from 73 percent in 2006 to 83 percent in 2009. According to the Education Management Information System (EMIS 2010), dropout rate at standard one declined from 23 percent in 2005 to 12.7 percent in 2010. Survival rate at standard eight improved from 26.1 percent in 2005 to 48.8 percent in 2010. In addition, 17 girls’ hostels each of a maximum capacity of 224 beds were constructed. Furthermore, enrolment in public technical colleges increased from 800 students in 2005 to 1,326 in 2010.

Despite these achievements, the country is still constrained by a number of challenges which render the education system inefficient and inequitable. Some of the challenges include: high illiteracy rate; limited integration of students with special needs; shortage of qualified teachers; inadequate and inferior physical learning infrastructure; poor participation of school committees and their communities in school management; inadequate teaching and learning resources such as libraries; laboratories and computers; low enrolment of girls in technical institutions; relatively high unit cost of training a student in the public universities and technical colleges; and limited human capacity and material resources.

Recognizing the important role education plays in the country’s development, Government has identified education as one of the key priorities. Key outcomes and strategies are discussed in detail in the next chapter under Education Science and Technology key priority area.

Sub-Theme 4: Child Development and Protection

Children are the future of every nation. In Malawi, children aged 0 to 9 years, constitute a significant proportion of the population. Investing in child development guarantees future human capital and productivity. Children are vulnerable to abuse, violence, neglect, malnutrition and subject to harmful cultural practices. The AIDS pandemic has hit children hard by creating a growing number of orphans and making them destitute. They therefore need special protection so that they grow into productive and responsible citizens.

Over the past five years, progress was made in addressing some of the challenges faced by children. For example, Early Child Development Centres were increased from 5,945 in 2005 to 8,933 in 2010 (Ministry of Women, Children and Community Development). In addition, primary school net enrolment increased; the number of girls accessing primary level education rose to almost achieving gender parity; and infant and child mortality rates decreased. Regulatory and policy framework for the protection of children was also put in place.

Nevertheless, children in Malawi still face a number of challenges which are of social, economic, political and cultural in nature. These threaten their individual potential and the future of the nation in general. It is in this context that addressing child issues is one of the priorities of Government’s development agenda. Key outcomes and strategies are discussed in detail in the next chapter under child development, youth development and youth empowerment key priority area.

Sub-Theme 5: Youth Development

The youth, aged 10 to 29 years, constitutes a significant and growing labour force for the country. They provide a vast human resource potential, which, if properly nurtured can greatly contribute to sustainable economic growth and development. The youth are energetic, industrious, and willing to learn and adopt new innovations.

Over the past five years some progress has been made in addressing challenges faced by the youth. These include increased access to capital through the establishment of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund; expansion of the university student intake; improved technical and vocational training, construction of secondary school boarding facilities for girls; improving access to Sexual and Reproductive Health, HIV and AIDS services; and establishment of information centres.

Nonetheless, there still exist a number of social, cultural and economic factors that limit the youth’s contribution to sustainable economic growth and development. Some of these limiting factors include high illiteracy and innumeracy levels; inadequate technical, vocational and entrepreneurial skills; limited access to credit facilities; high unemployment rate; poor access to guidance and counselling services; poverty and deprivation; marginalization in decision making processes; early marriages and teenage pregnancies. High prevalence of HIV and AIDS and limited access to SRH services further compounds the ability of the youth to meaningfully contribute to socio-economic development of the country.

Recognizing the potential that the youth have in fostering the growth of the economy, Government has included Youth Development and Empowerment as a key priority area in this development strategy.

Sub-Theme 6: Nutrition

Adequate nutrition is a prerequisite for human development. It is critical for one’s physical and intellectual development, and work productivity hence an integral element for the socioeconomic development. It is also important in the attainment of most MDGs particularly those related to hunger and poverty, education, child and maternal health, and mitigation of HIV and AIDS. Government having recognized that malnutrition is a silent crisis and is characterized by high levels of nutrition disorders such as stunting, wasting and underweight, included prevention and management of nutrition disorders amongst the priority intervention areas.

Sufficient nutrition is crucial for building and maintaining the immune system to enable it fight infections. In the absence of adequate nutrition, the body’s immune system is weak and vulnerable to attack by various infections. This affects one’s productivity and quality of life. One such infection is HIV and AIDS. The interaction between HIV and AIDS and nutrition will be discussed in detail under Public Health, Sanitation, Malaria and HIV and AIDS Management key priority area in the next chapter.

During the last five years, Government implemented a number of interventions to improve nutrition. The interventions included school health and nutrition programmes; Vitamin A supplementations; and nutrition support programmes. These interventions have resulted in improvement of nutrition indicators. For instance, the percentage of underweight children decreased from 22 percent in 2004 to 13 percent in 2010 (DHS, 2010). In addition, iodine status improved among school aged children and women. Outcomes of severely malnourished children also improved as a result of early case detection and timely treatment.

However, the country still faces a number of challenges mainly emanating from the underlying causes of under-nutrition. These include low household incomes, poor child feeding and care practices, inadequate education and lack of knowledge which lead to poor food processing and utilization and sometimes cultural beliefs which deny women and children consumption of high nutritive value foods. Other constraints include low institutional capacity and inadequate mainstreaming of nutrition in sectoral programmes. To address these challenges, Government will continue to place nutrition issues on its development agenda.

Sub-Theme 1: Supporting the Vulnerable

Vulnerability is defined as people’s inability to meet their basic needs due to exposure to a hazard and lack of resilience. In Malawi, the most vulnerable include the elderly, the chronically sick, orphans and other vulnerable children, persons with disabilities, and destitute families. These categories of people are vulnerable to risk and lack resilience, which constrains them from engaging in higher economic return activities to enable them move out of chronic poverty and ultimately above the poverty line.

During the last five years, implementation of the SCT managed to increase the assets of the poor while the School Meals programme resulted in an upsurge in primary school attendance and retention. In all, the proportion of the disadvantaged receiving conditional and unconditional cash transfer increased from 4 percent in 2005 to 37 percent in 2010. At the same time the Public Works Program increased its coverage from 130,000 people in 2009 to 335,225 in 2010. The government also developed National Social Support framework to guide the design and implementation of social support interventions.

Despite these achievements, social support activities continue to face challenges. These challenges include: unavailability of regulatory instruments for programme implementation which compromise beneficiary targeting, financial sustainability and continuity of programmes. In addition, direct assistance and social transfers were limited in coverage largely due to financial constraints.

In the next five years, Government intends to refocus its attention on productivity enhancement interventions that are developmental in nature as well as provision of welfare support to improve social economic status of the vulnerable section of the population.

Sub-Theme 2: Disaster Risk Management

Malawi faces a number of disasters, both natural and manmade which include floods, drought, strong winds, hailstorms, landslides, earthquakes, pest infestations, disease outbreaks, fire, accidents, refugee influx and civil strife. The magnitude, frequency and impact of disasters have been increasing, in light of climate change, population growth and environmental degradation. Disasters disrupt people’s livelihoods, endanger human lives and food security, damage infrastructure and hinder economic growth and development among others. Disasters also increase poverty of rural and urban households and erode the ability of the national economy to invest in key social sectors which are important to reducing poverty. Poor households, particularly female headed are more vulnerable to disasters since women tend to be more reliant on the environment than men for food and are primary gatherers of water and firewood. It is, therefore, important to address disaster risks for the socio-economic development of the country.

Currently the DRM is facing a number of challenges which include, lack of policy and strategy to effectively coordinate DRM activities; inadequate institutional capacity both at local and national levels to effectively carryout DRM activities; insufficient coverage and depth of disaster reduction activities; lack of an updated and upgraded risk assessment system for early warning; limited investment in knowledge and education for disaster risk reduction; and non-existence of a multi stakeholder forum for coordination of disaster risk management activities.

In the next five years, Government will implement a number of activities aimed at improving preparedness, response and recovery from disaster, and risk management.

Sub-Theme 1: Energy

A well-developed and efficient energy system is vital for socio-economic development. In this respect, increasing generation capacity, improving transmission, distribution and supply of electricity will contribute to an efficient energy system in the economy. Improving the distribution and supply of other energy sources will complement an efficient energy system. During the implementation of the MGDS, the energy sector registered a number of achievements including establishment of the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) in 2007; pre-feasibility study on construction of an Oil Pipe line from Beira to Nsanje which revealed viability of the Oil Pipe line project; rehabilitation of Tedzani I & II in which 40MW of installed capacity was restored; training of 400 biomass briquette producers, 100 briquette stove producers, 230 ceramic liner producers, and establishment of 20 briquette production centres, 24 briquettes stove production centres and 7 ceramic liner production centers in the cities as alternative energy sources to reduce dependence on charcoal and firewood. As a result of promotion of use of alternative sources of energy, there has been a decline in the proportion of the population using solid fuels from 94.8 percent in 2005 to 78 percent in 2010.

In addition, there has been an increase in the percentage of households with access to electricity from 4 in 2005 to 9 in 2010. This is partly due to successful implementation of rural electrification program which has increased the number of trading centres connected to electricity from 45 in 2005 to 182 in 2010. Furthermore, within the same period, 6 villages were energized with Solar/Wind hybrid systems and this too has contributed to the increased access to electricity.

Despite these achievements, energy generation capacity in Malawi is low and has often been cited as one of the major constraints to industrial development. Recognizing the importance of energy in the economic development of the country, Government has put energy as one of the key priority areas in this development strategy.

Sub-Theme 2: Transport

Efficient transportation system provides better connectivity to local, regional and international markets. This reduces cost of production and marketing of goods and services through, among other things, reduction in lead times. Thus investment in the transport system plays a major role in socio-economic development. This investment involves the development of infrastructure and provision of services in all modes of transport, namely road, rail, air and water. Furthermore, the provision of high quality and affordable transport infrastructure improves access to social services such as education, health, markets and communication facilities.

During the implementation of the MGDS, the transport sector carried out a number of interventions aimed at improving the quality of infrastructure. The paved road network increased from 3,663 km in 2004 to 4,073 km in 2010; 215 km of the paved road network was rehabilitated out of the 293 km during the same period. Fuel levy now meets all the country’s routine road maintenance requirements. Other interventions included the preparation of the Transport Sector Investment Plan (TSIP) that will bring about coordinated and competitive development of all transport modes and enhancement of intermodal transport along the corridors. In addition, in the roads subsector Government has adopted the RSP to guide both the medium and long term investment programmes in the road transport subsector.

However, there are critical issues that are negatively impacting on the performance of the transport sector, which include: high construction costs; limited absorptive capacity of the available resources in the road sub-sector; lack of balanced competition and connectivity among the modes; limited supply of skilled artisans; inadequate investment in construction machinery; poor condition of most ports; and old navigation aids.

Government recognizes that improved transport infrastructure and services are crucial for economic development and has included road, rail and water transport as focus areas within Transport Infrastructure and Nsanje World Inland Port key priority area. This key priority area is covered in detail in the next chapter. Air transport is discussed below.

Sub-Theme 3: Water Development

Water development is key to the socio-economic development of the country. It has direct linkages with sectors such as agriculture, industry, natural resources, health, tourism, energy and fisheries. Water is a fundamental catalyst for energy, transport, health, agriculture and biodiversity. Water development will also facilitate GBI development to increase agricultural production and productivity. Furthermore, improved water supply services have direct impact on lives of women and children by reducing the burden of water carriage for households.

Water, sanitation and hygiene services also make a significant contribution to public health and alleviation of the burden on curative health services by reducing disease transmission. Improved water supply, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools significantly contribute to the quality of education by reducing disease burden among children and staff, improving school attendance and retention particularly among girls, improving attraction and retention of teachers and provides more effective learning through a safe and conducive environment.

The sector made notable progress during the implementation of MGDS. These include increased adoption of improved irrigation technologies, construction of dams, and rehabilitation of irrigation schemes and promotion of WASH. The country’s proportion of population with access to basic sanitation increased from 84 percent in 2005 to 93 percent in 2009. There was an increased percentage of population with access to safe potable water from 73 percent in 2005 to 84 percent in 2009 (WMS, 2009).

The water sector is facing challenges which include: degradation of water resources; vandalism of water facilities; limited access to potable water hence women walking long distances to fetch the water; inadequate promotion of hygiene and sanitation; inadequate water reservoirs; inadequate capacity of contractors and consultants; and poor state of suitable infrastructure for the effective management, treatment and disposal of solid and liquid waste. Due to the importance of water development, sanitation and greenbelt irrigation, Government has included them within key priority areas detailed in the next chapter.

Sub-Theme 4: Information and Communication

Information is a vital resource for all human kind throughout all stages of life. It is therefore important that information should be made available in a form that is applicable and usable, and at the right time. Use of ICT enhances the production, transportation and provision of information to the general public for human development as well as for making informed decisions. This sub-theme comprises ICT, and Media and Communication.

During the implementation of the MGDS, the sector made a number of achievements including connection to the optic fibre cable resulting in improved delivery of telecommunication services; increased mobile phone coverage; increased provision of broadcasting services; increased postal and courier service and automation of some of Government’s operations and services.

Despite these achievements the sector still faces a number of challenges. These include: low usage and adoption of electronic and online services; lack of effective regulatory frameworks; high communication costs; high printing costs; lack of coordination and collaboration on ICT infrastructure development; intermittent availability of service, low geographic coverage; low local content in terms of provision of information; inadequate institutional and human capacity and low usage of modern broadcasting technology.

Sub-Theme 5: Housing and Urban Development

Housing and urban development is crucial in the development of the country. Adequate and quality housing is one of the key indicators of development as it relates to basic needs and is crucial in assessing living conditions of a population. Currently Malawi has a high rate of urbanization estimated at 6.3 percent. Proper housing and structured urbanization reduces the rise in unplanned settlements, crime and the strain on government capacity to provide adequate security and social services. Regularization and titling of land is expected to facilitate use of land and property thereon, as collateral to obtain credit from financial institutions for investment.

During the implementation of MGDS, achievements registered include the following: maintained houses under government lease, constructed Government Offices, conducted quinquennial valuations and supplementary valuation rolls, decentralized the Rural Housing Programme, commenced a National Slum Upgrading Programme, developed Guidelines on Safer House Construction and continued construction of houses by the Malawi Housing Corporation.

Despite these achievements, the sub-sector still faces a number of challenges. These include: outdated and inadequate legislation and related procedures; high investment costs; inadequate capacity; lack of housing finance, particularly for low-income households; unclear mandate of local authorities in relation to housing delivery and involvement of traditional leaders in land delivery for housing development within urban areas; limited access to land for housing development; and development of unplanned settlements.

Sub-Theme 1: Economic Governance

A stable macroeconomic environment is vital for economic growth and is a catalyst for investment and industrial development. In the past five years, Malawi experienced a stable macroeconomic environment characterized by a high GDP growth rate, low inflation rate, a stable exchange rate, and sustainable levels of both domestic and foreign debt. This is partly attributed to the Public Finance and Economic Management (PFEM) reforms that were undertaken to ensure financial prudence. However, the economy is still facing a number of challenges including high interest rate, limited coverage of banking services and low access to credit especially in the rural areas.

MGDS II will endeavour to sustain and accelerate the positive economic growth and continue with a stable macroeconomic environment as well as continue to support reforms under PFEM programmes.

Sub-Theme 2: Corporate Governance

Good corporate governance is an important element in the creation of an enabling environment for rapid and sustainable private sector development. Strengthening good corporate governance and implementation of the code of best practices is expected to enhance private sector performance through reduced corruption and fraud within the public and private sector and improve investors’ perception of Malawi. This in turn will lead to increased levels of domestic and foreign direct investment.

Sub-Theme 3: Democratic Governance

Malawi Government recognizes that broad based growth and improvement in the quality of life and social wellbeing can take place if good democratic governance prevails at all levels. Good governance can therefore foster economic growth and aid the attainment of the

National and Millennium Development Goals. Equally important in the attainment of national development goals is good local governance. Local governance entails creation of a democratic environment and institutions at district and community levels, promotion of accountability, encouraging local participation in decision making and mobilizing masses for socio-economic development in their respective areas. Decentralization is one of the implementing tools for local governance.

In the past five years, democratic governance has improved in Malawi. The country experienced positive developments that included successful presidential and parliamentary elections, growing civil society and non-governmental organizations, and deepening constitutionalism.

Sub-Theme 4: Public Sector Management

Effective public sector management is necessary for the creation of a conducive environment for efficient delivery of public goods and services at central and local levels. The Malawi public sector has generally been disciplined and hard working. This is attributable to a number of factors, including an upward salary adjustment in the past five years and an improvement in conditions of service especially in some of the strategic sectors of the civil service.

The public sector, however, is faced with a number of challenges that include salary levels that do not meet basic living conditions especially for the lower grades. This, compounded by slow promotion, slow recruitment and insufficient resources and equipment leads to low morale in the civil service.

Sub-Theme 1: Gender

Gender implies attributes, roles, activities, responsibilities and potentialities associated with men and women, girls and boys. In Malawi boys and girls, men and women assume culturally different identities and traits. The status is worse among females as compared to their male counterparts. For instance, a female headed household has 14 percent less consumption per capita than a male headed household mainly due to gender based differences in access and control over resources (UN Malawi, 2010).

In addition, girls and boys experience some form of GBV during their life time. For example, Burton (2005) showed that 65 percent of girls and 35 percent of boys were subjected to GBV. The experience of violence increases the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. This could probably explain the fact that HIV prevalence among women and girls is still disproportionately higher at 12.9 percent than the national average of 10.6 percent while that of their male counterparts is at 8.1 percent (DHS, 2010).

Evidence has shown that the MDGs targets that are lagging behind have very pronounced gender connotations. This could be evidence of a policy and implementation gap in gender that a number of consecutive National Plans of Action have not been able to address effectively (UN Malawi, 2010).

Most sector plans are not clear on strategies to address gender disparities although this is recognized as being critical. Lack of gender disaggregated data, poor commitment to resource allocation towards gender mainstreaming and institutional capacity to analyze and systematically mainstream gender in all sectors remain the major challenges. In addition, other challenges include high incidences of HIV and AIDS prevalence and poverty among women and girls, increased GBV including intimate partner violence, sexual violence, human trafficking and harmful traditional and cultural practices.

Despite these challenges, a number of achievements were made during implementation of the MGDS which this development strategy will sustain and improve upon. The achievements include: increase in the proportion of women in the National Assembly from 14 percent in 2004 to 22 percent in 2009, increased number of women in decision making position in public service, establishment of victim support units, and achievement of gender parity at primary school.

Sub-Theme 2: Capacity Development

For any country to develop it requires skilled and knowledgeable work force with the appropriate supporting infrastructure and equipment, and proper institutional arrangement. Government recognizes the need to develop capacity at all levels for a successful implementation of its development programmes. This entails change of mind set, orientation of skills, work processes re-engineering, improvement of institutional set up and provision of appropriate supporting equipment.

Initiatives implemented in the public sector have had a number of positive results. These include an increased number of trained personnel in key sectors including health and education, institutional development of ministries and departments, establishment of Leadership Development Framework and implementation of the Public Sector Reform Program.

Despite these achievements, there has been lack of an enabling policy framework to coordinate various capacity development initiatives. There are also concerns that the country’s local institutions of higher learning do not adequately support the needs of the economy. Furthermore, there is inadequate investment in supporting infrastructure and equipment by both the public and private sectors.

Government will therefore reorient and expand existing investment in infrastructure and equipment through, among other initiatives, PPPs. It will also provide a conducive environment for the development of skills and knowledge to respond to the needs of the economy.

5.1.1 Agricultural Productivity and Diversification

The agriculture sector has been experiencing growth in productivity of maize and tobacco. However, this growth has been slow and below the expected potential. The sector therefore is still characterized by low productivity levels. The major contributing factors affecting productivity in the smallholder farming sub-sector in Malawi is low input use, over-reliance on rain-fed agriculture, inadequate access to agricultural credit, inadequate access to output and input markets, and failures in technology development and transfer. This is further exacerbated by climate change effects such as erratic rains and droughts.

The dominance of tobacco and maize in the agriculture sector has limited the potential of other crops, hence the need for the country to develop an agricultural diversification policy. The policy will intensify diversification of traditional and non traditional crops and animals for both domestic and export markets. Efforts will therefore focus on improving access to credit, land, markets and research and development among others. The diversification policy will, among other things, endeavour to move away from tobacco.

5.1.2 Food Security

Maize has remained the main staple food for Malawians hence national food security has mainly been defined in terms of access to maize. The country’s self sufficiency in food has been premised on the implementation of the Farm Inputs Subsidy Programme (FISP). Other food crops such as rice, cassava, sorghum, and potatoes are alternatives to maize in many parts of the country. Furthermore, these are complemented by livestock and fish products. Therefore, this strategy will have a holistic approach to food security taking into account access to a diversified range of food products.

5.2.1 Energy

Malawi continues to face a number of challenges in the energy sector including inadequate capacity to generate electricity which results in frequent blackouts and brownouts. This lack of reliable power is a key constraint to development in Malawi. The current installed capacity of 283 Megawatts is far much less than the estimated demand of 334 Megawatts. Unavailability of access to modern energy services contributes to low economic activity and productivity, lower quality of life and deters new investments across the country, in particular affecting key sectors of mining and manufacturing.

The country is currently experiencing shortages of liquid and gas fuels due to logistical problems. Government will, therefore, continue to emphasize on improving and expanding electricity generation, supply and distribution systems. In addition, government will improve supply of liquid and gas fuels to meet the increasing demand.

5.2.2 Industrial Development

The development of industries is an integral part of a nation’s economic growth and development. It is key to attainment of the country’s aspiration of transforming from predominantly importing and consuming to producing and exporting. Currently, manufacturing sector contributes about 11 percent to the GDP but has high potential of contributing more. An increase in industrial activities contributes to job creation which in turn expands the market base of the economy. Malawi’s industry is facing a number of challenges such as lack of incentives, high interest rates, high transport costs, and unreliable energy supply. Consequently, there are low investments in the sub sector leading to low industrialization and exports of unprocessed products.

Considering that Malawi’s population is rural based and dependent on agriculture, special attention will be given to rural industrialization and agro-processing.

5.2.3 Mining

Malawi has abundant mineral resources that can be exploited. These resources include bauxite, heavy mineral sands, monazite, coal, uranium, precious and semi-precious stones, limestone, niobium, dimension stones and rock aggregates. Government recognises that the development of the mining industry can significantly improve the country’s foreign exchange earnings and contribute to economic growth and development. To derive maximum potential of the mining industry, Government will pursue the following goal, expected outcomes and key strategies.

5.2.4 Tourism

Tourism is one of the merging sectors in Malawi. It has potential to generate revenue, employment, improve infrastructure, and promote MSMEs as well as conservation of wildlife and culture. The sector has direct linkages with other sectors of the economy.

To improve tourism, Government has undertaken a number of development projects that have transformed the tourism landscape. These include construction of access roads to tourist sites, improvement of airports and airstrips and construction of Mpale Cultural Village. In addition, Government has constructed a 1500-seater International Conference Centre which is expected to boost the tourism potential of the country.

However, a number of challenges such as poor supporting infrastructure, poor service delivery, uncoordinated and insufficient marketing of tourism products and inadequate purpose-built cultural infrastructure impede attainment of the sector’s full potential.

To ensure a vibrant tourism industry, Government will pursue the following goal, outcomes and strategies.

5.3.1 Road Infrastructure

Road transport is the dominant mode of transport in Malawi. In this respect, the country has over the years been constructing, rehabilitating, and upgrading road infrastructure. However, most feeder roads still remain in poor condition especially in rural areas. This has been compounded by the enormous backlog road maintenance that has led to high transportation costs in most parts of the country.

5.3.2 Rail Transport

Malawi recognizes that an efficient rail transport is relatively cheaper than road and air transport. Rail transport has potential to significantly reduce transport costs of goods and services because of its predominance in the transportation of bulk freight over long distances.

The railway infrastructure in the country is in poor condition due to lack of maintenance and inadequate investment. A study⁶ commissioned to ascertain the investment required to revamp the rail transport sub sector revealed that there is need for an urgent financial injection into this sub-sector for emergency works before overhaul rehabilitation works can commerce. The poor state of the infrastructure has greatly compromised railway safety and efficiency. The sub-sector is greatly uncompetitive despite the fact that the rail freight cost is cheaper than road and air transport.

5.3.3 Inland Water Transport Infrastructure

Water transport is relatively cheaper than any other mode of transport. It provides a better and cheaper alternative for transporting bulky and heavy goods domestically and internationally. Malawi has an advantage in water transport as it is endowed with lakes and navigable rivers. However, the country’s water transport system is not fully developed and faces a number of challenges including dilapidated port infrastructure; ageing fleet of vessels; and capacity problems. Given the current transport constraints, this mode of transport has been prioritized to compliment other transport modes. Focus will be on the development of Nsanje world inland port and Shire-Zambezi Waterway, construction and rehabilitation of ports along Lake Malawi and acquisition of vessels.

5.4.1 Education

The Government recognizes the role of an educated population as a necessity for sustainable development. It is through the provision of education that people acquire relevant knowledge, skills, expertise and competencies to actively participate in socio-economic activities.

The education system in Malawi comprises three broad categories namely basic education; secondary education; and tertiary and vocational education. Basic education includes Early Childhood Development (ECD) mainly implemented in Gender and Child Development and Community Development Ministry, Primary and Out-of-School Youth and Adult Literacy. Tertiary and vocational education encompasses Teacher Education, Higher Education, and Technical and Vocational Training. Government through this strategy will continue improving quality, equity, relevance, access and efficiency in education.

In basic education, the aim will be to develop the child’s full cognitive, emotional and physical potential through increased retention and completion rates. In complementing this, enrolment in secondary education will be increased, while focussing on upgrading quality, and on retention of girls. The main aim will be to provide the student with an enriched academic basis for gainful employment in the informal, private and public sectors.

Tertiary and vocational education will play a vital role in complementing basic and secondary school education. The main focus at this level will be to produce high quality professionals with relevant knowledge and skills that meet demands of the economy. Access to higher education, technical and vocational training, teacher, and university education will be increased, and universities/colleges will be expanded and rehabilitated, among other initiatives.

The education sector has embarked on a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) to accelerate the achievement of sector outcomes. This approach aims at pulling together all stakeholders within the sector to work towards achieving similar goals and objectives. To enhance quality, equity, relevance, access, and efficiency of education at all levels, Government will pursue the following goal, outcomes and strategies.

5.4.2 Science and Technology

Science and technology is vital for national socio-economic development. Technology is generated through continuous research, hence a well-coordinated research and development is a basis for increasing the stock of knowledge to devise and apply new technologies. In addition, increased application of technology and innovation is the main route for the creation of additional wealth through increased productivity. Government recognizes the importance of this sub-sector and will continue implementing reforms aimed at enhancing contribution of research, science and technology to economic development.

During implementation of MGDS, Government carried out a number of reforms aimed at improving research and development and application of science and technology in the country. These reforms include establishment of the National Commission for Science and Technology as an apex body in all matters of research, science and technology; introduction of science and technology as a subject at primary school level; review of the National Science, Technology and Innovation policy; and the development of the National Intellectual Property Policy.

However, the country continues to face a number of challenges and these include weak scientific and technological development and utilization; weak institutional capacity; weak linkages between research, science and technology institutions and users; limited number of institutions undertaking research and development; inadequate research and development infrastructure; lack of commercialization of results and information systems; and poor utilization of research results.

To address these challenges, Government will therefore seek to create a conducive environment for research, science and technology development by pursuing the following goal, outcomes and strategies.

5.5.1 Public Health

Public health in Malawi mainly focuses on prevention of diseases to prolong life. It constitutes promoting good health practices and life styles through information, education and communication; controlling and preventing diseases; tackling hygiene and the broader determinants of health; and screening for diseases. Since public health interventions target communities, their delivery maximizes benefits and yield significant positive externalities in terms of individuals who do not fall sick as a result of others receiving primary and secondary prevention interventions. This reduces the burden on curative health.

Although Malawi has made progress in a number of areas in the health sector, the country continues to face a number of challenges in public health. These include high prevalence of HIV and AIDS, high incidence of malaria, Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), and relatively high maternal and child mortality rates. Other challenges include emerging public health concerns such as lifestyle related diseases,⁷ and Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) tuberculosis and TB/HIV co-infection.

Government will, therefore, continue to promote and support public health programmes in the country.

5.5.2 Sanitation

Sanitation and good hygiene practices contribute to the reduction of water borne and other related diseases. A clean and healthy environment is not only essential, but also a prerequisite for a healthy and productive society. Compared to many other sub-Saharan countries, Malawi has made tremendous progress in achieving universal access to basic sanitation. Overall access to improved latrine is estimated at 46 percent; with 43 percent in rural areas and 65 percent in urban areas.

During the implementation of MGDS, the country made progress in the area of sanitation and hygiene. These include improved access to potable water from 73 percent in 2005 to 84 percent in 2009 and improved access to basic sanitation from 84 percent in 2005 to 93 percent in 2009 (WMS, 2009).

Malawi still faces a number of challenges in the area of sanitation and hygiene. These include relatively low access to improved sanitation, low access to running water, inadequate sewer facilities, unsystematic disposal of liquid, solid and other forms of waste, inadequate capacity to manage sewer facilities and inability to separate organic and inorganic components of waste to facilitate composting.

Considering the above challenges and the role sanitation plays to improve the health of the population, Government through this strategy will pursue the following goal, outcomes and strategies.

5.5.3 Malaria

Malaria is endemic and continues to be a major public health problem in Malawi. It is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in under-five children and pregnant women. It is estimated that the number of presumptive cases of malaria increased from 3.7 million in 2005 to 6.1 million in 2009. Therefore, Government has prioritized reduction of malaria cases in line with MDG⁸ commitment.

During the implementation of MGDS Government undertook a number of initiatives to combat malaria. These included distributions of insecticide treated mosquito nets (ITNs), piloted indoor residual spraying and changed the primary anti-malaria treatment from Sulphadoxine- pyremethamine (SP) to Artemether-lumefantrine (LA).

Consequently, health facility in-patient death rates due to malaria have decreased from 5.6 percent to 3.4 percent in 2004 and 2009, respectively. ITNs ownership improved from 38 percent in 2006 to 60 percent in 2010. In addition, it is estimated that in 2010, 56 percent of children under five years of age sleep under an ITN up from the 25 percent in 2006.

Realizing that Malaria is still a challenge in Malawi, Government will pursue the following goal, medium term expected outcomes and strategies.

5.5.4 HIV/AIDS Management

Malawi has been negatively affected by the spread of HIV and AIDS pandemic. The pandemic has increased the incidence of other opportunistic diseases such as Tuberculosis and cancer. HIV and AIDS and the resulting opportunistic diseases have affected the quality of human capital, and have increased the burden on health service delivery system.

There is a strong correlation between HIV and AIDS and nutrition status of individuals. Good nutrition is crucial for building and maintaining the immune system to enable it fight infections. In the absence of good nutrition, the body’s immune system is weak and vulnerable to attack by various infections which affect ones quality of life. One such infection is HIV and AIDS. When the body is malnourished, an individual’s immune system is compromised. In addition, Anti-retroviral drug’s effectiveness in undernourished HIV and AIDS patient is decreased and toxicity increased. Malnutrition also accelerates the onset of AIDS and gives rise to other related illnesses. The HIV and AIDS pandemic has worsened the dual burden of malnutrition and disease.

Adult HIV prevalence decreased slightly between 2004 and 2010, from 11.8 to 10.6 percent, respectively. Factors contributing to this positive development include increased awareness programmes in HIV prevention and behavioural change, increased access to a number of preventive interventions, increased access to HIV and AIDS Testing and Counselling (HTC) sites, and the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme.

Despite the successes registered, combating HIV and AIDS remains a major challenge for Malawi. For instance, the disease has rendered 12 percent of children aged 0-17 orphaned and 7 percent vulnerable, according to the 2006 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). In addition, there is still low uptake of PMTCT services among pregnant women and low uptake of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) among children and continued prevalence of cultural practices that enhance HIV transmission. In this regard, Government will implement strategies that are aimed at promoting prevention of new infections.

Goal

The goal is to improve rural livelihoods.

5.7.1 Green Belt Irrigation

Green Belt Irrigation has the potential to increase agricultural production and productivity through intensified farming. Green Belt Irrigation will utilize the available abundant water resources in the country and increase area under irrigation from 90, 000 hectares to 400,000 hectares out of the potential 1,000,000 hectares. This will improve food security and rural livelihoods; promote agricultural diversification and value addition; reduce rural-urban migration; and contribute to sustainable economic growth and development. Government through this strategy has prioritized Green Belt Irrigation by pursuing the following goal, expected outcomes, and key strategies.

5.7.2 Water Development

Water is an important resource for life, agriculture and industrial development. Recent economic developments and population growth in Malawi have increased the demand for water in both rural and urban areas. Government has, therefore, put high priority on water resources management and development.

In recent years, access to potable water has improved throughout the country. Statistics show that total water supply coverage has increased from 58 percent in 2004 to 76 percent in 2009.

In 2008 water supply coverage in rural areas of Malawi was at 64 percent from 58 percent in 2004. Despite these achievements, there are considerable challenges facing the country in the water sector. These include relatively low access to potable water, aging infrastructure, inadequate maintenance capacity, theft and vandalism resulting in more than 30 percent non-functionality of the infrastructure.

In this respect, Government will continue developing the water sector. Focus will include construction of dams, establishment of piped water systems and drilling of boreholes where gravity fed systems cannot work.

5.8.1 Child Development

In Malawi, children aged 0 to 9 years constitute the majority of the total population. According to the 2008 Population and Housing Census, approximately 4.3 million persons of the total population of 13.1 million were children. Children are directly affected by problems stemming from poverty. This is manifested through child labour, high illiteracy rates, poor health, high incidence of malnutrition, high levels of child abuse and neglect.

To address these challenges, Government will establish a National Plan of Action for children and will pursue the following goal, outcomes and strategies.

5.8.2 Youth Development and Empowerment

The youth constitute a significant proportion of Malawi’s population. The 2008 Population and Housing Census reports that 40 percent of the population is young aged 10 to 29 years. With time, the youth population has been growing and this has implications on the socioeconomic development of the country. Investments in the current generation of young people will among other things improve productivity, reduce health costs and enhance social capital. The youth constitute a growing labour force of the country; failure to respond to their needs further aggravates poverty levels. Therefore Government, through this strategy, will pursue the following goal, outcomes and strategies.

5.9.1 Climate Change Management

Malawi experiences a number of adverse climatic hazards such as prolonged dry spells, droughts, unpredictable rainfall patterns, floods and increased temperatures. Recently, these have increased in frequency, intensity and magnitude. This is partly attributed to effects of climate change and in all likelihood will worsen in the future.

Climate change effects also result in loss of human and animal life; compromised water quality leading to diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera and malaria and infrastructure loss. In addition, effects of climate change have adverse impacts on agriculture, fisheries, wildlife, gender, energy, education, health, and forestry sectors. Numerous reports on Climate change indicate that disasters related to climate change have escalated with time. Between 1970 and 2006, Malawi experienced over 40 weather related disasters most of which occurred in the late 1990s. It is estimated that the 1992 drought reduced the country’s maize production by 60 percent of its normal year production bringing about a 10 percent reduction in the country’s GDP (NAPA, 2006). It is therefore, necessary for the country to mainstream climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in all sectors for improved resilience and sustainable development.

Malawi, just like many developing countries, is vulnerable to effects of climate change. In recognition of this, Government has accorded special attention to climate change in this national development strategy. On its path towards climate resilient growth, Malawi, therefore aims at pursuing the following goal, outcomes and strategies.

5.9.2 Natural Resources and Environmental Management

Malawi is endowed with a diversity of natural resources including fertile soils, forests, abundant water, diverse flora and fauna. Approximately 80 percent of the country’s population depends on natural resources for their subsistence and household income. Natural resources and environment play a significant role in influencing social and economic development in Malawi. However, increasing population growth coupled with high poverty levels have led to an increase in exploitation of natural resources. Inadequate alternative livelihoods, unaffordable energy technologies and uncoordinated policies have exacerbated environmental degradation leading to social and economic consequences.

Government will therefore implement the following goal, outcomes and strategies to address the above challenges.