Malawi

The Current Situation

Malawi has made significant progress in reducing hunger and undernutrition. From 1990 to 2015, prevalence of undernourishment has fallen by more than half (from 45 percent to 21 percent), and as of 2015/16 just 4 percent of children suffer from wasting (low weight for height). Yet challenges remain, as Malawi has experienced cycles of food shortages in recent years. Moreover, undernutrition persists despite some progress. Currently, 42 percent of children are stunted (low height for age) and 29 percent of women of reproductive age are anemic.

Compact2025 activities in Malawi

Compact2025 is committed to partnering with Malawi and relevant stakeholders to this acceleration to the end of hunger and undernutrition by 2025. To achieve t hese outcomes, Compact2025 has undertaken several specific activities in the country:

Compact2025 Malawi Forum: Moving from relief to resilience, October 2017
National Roundtable Discussion, May 2016

Overview

On May 26, 2016, a roundtable discussion was held in Lilongwe to bring together stakeholders from agriculture, social protection, nutrition, gender, water, sanitation, and government. Among the outcomes outlined in a scoping study informed by the roundtable discussion was the need for the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee to collect and analyze agriculture production data to accelerate early action, implement a new National Social Support Program, and make agricultural commodity policies more transparent with a market-driven approach.

The Roundtable Discussion held in May 2016 resulted in the creation of 5 key recommendations for the progression of Compact2025 activities and outcomes in Malawi. These recommendations are:

Strengthen capacity at all levels
“Break the cycle” with holistic, transparent, and market-driven approaches
Improve accountability and coordination
Fine-tune and implement nutrition-driven policies
Fill data, indicator, and knowledge gaps

Read more about these recommendations from the Malawi Roundtable Discussion. [Meeting synopsis]

A scoping study was also developed for informing Compact2025 activities, providing an overview on food security and nutrition challenges and opportunities in Malawi. Later in 2017, Compact2025 held the "Moving from relief to resilience" forum in Lilongwe on October 31, 2017 to follow up on the recommendations from the roundtable discussion. This forum focused on how Malawi can break the cycle of food shortages and humanitarian responses.