Malawi

In 2007 Progressio opened a new country programme in Malawi in southern Africa. Our new country representative, Lloyd Simwaka, has set up an office for Progressio Malawi in Lilongwe and is exploring potential partnerships with local NGOs and Civil Society Organisations who will be able to benefit from the support that our development workers can bring to their work.

Our partnerships, through which we will share skills and provide advocacy, will be with organisations working on Progressio's three themes: tackling HIV and AIDS, strengthening people's participation in their society's governance and decision-making structures and processes, and promoting environmental awareness and sustainable management of natural resources.

HIV and AIDS in Malawi

Out of the estimated Malawi population of 12.9 million, approximately 940,000 are living with HIV and AIDS, including nearly 100,000 children, and the disease has left over half a million orphans. Overall, according to Malawi's National AIDS Commission in 2007, 14 per cent of 15 to 49 year olds are estimated to be living with HIV, one of the highest prevalence rates in the world.  

Malawi however also has one of the highest rates of antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage in southern Africa, with 114,375 people having started free antiretroviral therapy by mid 2007. A total of 8.1 per cent of those on ART are children. However, although treatment is free in hospitals, access remains a huge challenge for many people due to high transport costs to reach treatment programme sites, and for those who fear stigma and discrimination within their communities. Malawi has increased its number of treatment centres from 60 in 2005 to 146 in mid 2007, and has set a target of 208,000 people to be receiving free antiretroviral treatment by 2010.

Although many challenges remain in dealing with the disease, Malawi has worked hard at stemming a rise in the HIV infection rate and has increased the provision of testing and treatment services each year.

Civil Society Participation

Malawi has a healthy and thriving NGO community with many international donor and sending agencies working in the country. The UK Department for International Development (DFID) pledged an aid budget of £70 million in 2006/07 for Malawi to help improve health, fight poverty and combat food shortages.

Poverty remains the key issue in Malawi and the country is ranked 166th poorest out of the world's 177 ranked countries (UNDP 2006). Around half the population live below the national poverty level (approximately £0.25 per day), with around a fifth unable to meet their daily food requirements. The 2006/2007 season brought large harvests, but the distribution of food to areas that experienced dry spells remains a major challenge.

Enrolment in schools has increased since primary school education was made free in 1994, and overall youth literacy stands at 71 per cent. However, class sizes and drop-out rates remain high, with an average pupil classroom ratio of 107 pupils to each teacher and a drop-out rate of 22 per cent in class one and 14.8 per cent (of which 8.6 per cent are boys and 22.8 per cent are girls) in the last year of primary school. Gender imbalances continue with girls only making up 23 per cent of secondary school enrolments. Since the 2004 elections, women hold 14.6 per cent of seats in parliament (compared to 0.7 per cent in Yemen and 45 per cent in Sweden) and Malawi remains a very patriarchal society.

To strengthen democratic processes in Malawi further reforms are needed within parliament, the electoral process and in the procurement of goods and services. The media needs to strengthen its independence and new policies and systems are needed to help the government respond to issues surrounding gender imbalances across many sectors and society generally. 

Sustainable Environment

Water scarcity and drought is a major and growing problem in Malawi. Investment in water and sanitation is low and unfortunately implementation of policies in this sector has been weak and beset by problems, including the lack of a coherent planning structure and corruption.  An estimated 30 per cent of water stands across Malawi are not functioning. Most agricultural production is rain-fed, leaving small- and medium-scale farmers particularly vulnerable to dry or drought periods: these are predicted to worsen as temperatures increase by between 1.5 and 3ºC and annual rainfall drops by between 10 and 15 per cent due to global warming (UNDP 2006) across the southern Africa region. 

Bordering almost all of eastern Malawi is the fresh water Lake Malawi, the third largest in Africa. Lake Malawi is more than 643 kilometres (400 miles) long and 700 metres (2300 ft) deep, and is home to over 1,000 species of fish, 350 of which are unique to the lake. Unfortunately a rising local population and urbanisation has led to increased pollution and overfishing, causing environmental degradation, a lowering of fish stocks and a loss in species diversity. Despite the vast water mass available in Lake Malawi and the Shire River, very little has been done to take advantage of these available water resources to mitigate the effects of climate change and help alleviate people's vulnerability to drought. 

Today in Malawi less than two million hectares of the original four million hectares of forest cover remains, with a continuing annual deforestation rate of around 3.5 per cent. Malawi is one of the more densely populated countries in the region with much of its arable land taken up by major commercial plantations. The main drivers of deforestation are charcoal production and the collection of firewood for local use, as 90 per cent of Malawians use firewood and charcoal for cooking. Brick burning for the booming construction industry and tobacco curing - tobacco is the country's main foreign exchange earner - have also exerted a lot of pressure on Malawi's natural forests. Additionally the extensive market in wood handicrafts for tourists in Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and elsewhere has exacerbated the problem. Ongoing deforestation and farming on steep slopes have led to significant soil erosion and the loss of millions of tonnes of valuable and productive topsoil.