The Minister of Finance, Honourable Sosten Gwengwe, has urged stakeholders in the country to focus on Sustainable Development Goals that will help in laying solid foundations for achieving an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant industrialised nation. Speaking when he launched the National Voluntary Review (VNR) of the agenda 2030 in Lilongwe, held under the theme: Reviewing Malawi’s readiness to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, Honourable Gwengwe said he was pleased to note that Malawi is reviewing all 17 SDGs to appreciate the level of progress and effort in achieving them. The United Nations encourages countries conducting National Voluntary Reviews to mainly focus on five SDGs. “It is pleasing to note that Malawi is reviewing all 17 SDGs to track milestones regarding the achievement of the Goals. I urge all stakeholders to fully own the process and ensure citizens are involved,” said Gwengwe. Speaking earlier, United Nations Resident Coordinator a.i. Shigeki Komatsubara applauded the Malawi Government for undertaking the second VNR in a space of two years, after 2020, saying it demonstrates Malawi’s commitment to achieving the SDGs. “The Malawi Government has shown great commitment in its efforts to effectively implement the agenda 2030 and achieve the SDGs, we are fully committed to support the process to ensure Malawi delivers a credible VNR,” said Komatsubara. The UN Resident Coordinator a.i. said technical support from the United Nations system is being provided through the Monitoring and Evaluation Advisory Group (MEAG). “The MEAG is providing relevant information collected from the UN family, supporting the development of data collection tools, and is helping to review the inputs collected during the consultations and just like the last VNR, the UN system is happy to assist the government in accessing available regional and global resources that will strengthen the VNR process in Malawi,” he said.   Komatsubara added that the UN system has already mobilized around USD 86,000 to help with the consultations, data collection and analysis and other logistical processes. He said the UN will also avail its technical expertise to support the government in undertaking public consultations and engagement across different stakeholders including local leaders, chiefs, faith-based organisations and their leaders, youth, women and children, communities, Persons with Disabilities, and refugees. Voluntary National Review is a mechanism for tracking progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the national level and reporting on them at the global level annually, specifically at the High-Level Political Forum under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. Malawi will present its second Voluntary National Review (VNR) Report on progress around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the 2022 High-Level Political Forum in July this year.

It’s a sunny Tuesday morning in Boyole Village, 25km north of Kasungu district in Central Malawi. The rainy season in the tobacco-growing district is blighted by a prolonged heatwave that makes long walks unbearable for many, but Egrita Phiri appears undeterred. The mother of seven is returning from her maize field when she hears a branded van playing hit songs and messages on the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19. She promptly waves the vaccination express to stop under a mango tree by her house. “There is no better time to protect myself,” she says: “With this, I don’t have to endure long travels in the scorching sunshine or pay for transport to get vaccinated.” As community health workers write down her background information in a register and on a green card, more villagers arrive to get vaccinated. A story of love Some 15 more people got vaccinated by the time the team deployed by Kasungu District Health Office with support from UNICEF Malawi and Kamuzu College of Health Sciences departed for the next stop. UNICEF is also supporting safe storage and distribution of the vaccines the Government of Malawi acquires through the COVAX facility backed by the World Health Organisation. “I am now vaccinated to protect myself and my family from the current and future COVID-19 waves. Surely, I wouldn’t have been vaccinated if the van had not come close to home,” Egrita says. For the wife of village chief Boyole, protecting one another is a love story. “No one is safe until we all get vaccinated,” she said after getting the first jab of AstraZeneca. She is due for the second in March. Her husband got the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine in August at Kasungu District Hospital. The couple first heard of the COVID-19 vaccination on the radio in March 2021 when Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera publicly got his first shot, kick-starting the nationwide campaign. “That showed me the vaccine was safe, but it wasn’t easily accessible,” says the woman whose desire to get vaccinated was ramped up by deaths of over 2 000 Malawians, including two ministers and four lawmakers. The third and deadliest wave forced the government to turn a presidential palace and a stadium into emergency hospitals to lessen pressure on the healthcare system. “COVID-19 doesn’t choose, so my husband did well to protect himself. I have been hearing health workers on the radio saying most of those hospitalised or dying from the virus are those who shun the vaccine. I need to be healthy to take care of my family, crops and the community,” she explains. Symbol of acceptance Egrita’s husband, Group Village Headman Boyole is happy that his wife is no longer a symbol of vaccine hesitancy. He considers the jab as the single most important weapon against the virus, which has claimed over 2000 lives in Malawi. He states: “After three futile trips to Kasungu District Hospital, which cost about K10 000 (about $12), I received the vaccine together on 23 August 2021 to protect myself, my family and my people. “I wish I had done it in my village for my people to learn from me. The vaccine is safe and my wife was motivated because it didn’t kill me. Bringing it closer to those who need is increasing the number of those getting vaccinated and the understanding that it is safe for everyone.” The vaccinators also address questions face-to-face, clarifying fears, myths and misconceptions. This excites GVH Boyole, who publicly talks about the dangers of COVID-19 and the benefits of the free vaccines, including during meetings and funerals. “Every adult should protect themselves,” he says. “With the express vaccination van, no one bears any financial cost or hardships to get vaccinated. Instead of going to them, the health workers are coming to us.” Mercy Tchale, one of 16 health surveillance assistants at Dwangwa Health Centre, was accustomed to promoting sanitation and hygiene, family planning, immunisation for children aged below five and monitoring their growth curve. However, COVID-19 has pushed her to the frontline where she now promotes preventive measures and administers vaccines to communities surrounding the rural health facility. “The pandemic challenges us to embrace innovative ideas to protect our people and the understaffed health sector from being overwhelmed,” she says. The community health worker assures everyone that COVID-19 vaccines are like any other—a shot at a healthy life in a world struggling with contagious diseases. She explains: “The number of people who were coming to the health facility to get vaccinated was fewer than 20 a day, but now we are vaccinating over 100 when we go to them. “This is a no mean achievement. Clearly, people no longer have to stop doing activities that bring food to their homes and travel long to get vaccinated.” Tackling misinformation Joseph Chitsime, coordinator of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in Kasungu, is excited that the mobile teams have helped clear doses that would have expired on New Year's eve. The team vaccinates in a day the count they once did in eight days, he says. “Before we rolled out the vaccination express on 7 November 2021, we were lucky if 40 people came to get vaccinated in all our health facilities. Now our four teams vaccinate 250 to 300 a day,” explains Chitsime. The express vaccination team includes health promoters who spread accurate messages about the vaccine, HSAs who go door-to-door and stop in strategic places to vaccinate those who are willing and community leaders who mobilise their people.” Original Source

The First Lady of the Republic of Malawi Monica Chakwera has called for more innovative and strategic ways of supporting girls that are withdrawn from early marriages if Malawi is to move towards great milestones in the fight against violence against the girl child. Chakwera made the remarks on International Day of the Girl Child during the screening of ‘A Girl’s Gaze’ – a documentary by Belgian Journalists focusing on issues of gender-based violence, including child marriage, girls trafficking and girls’ position in society, as well as how these are exacerbated by climate change. The First Lady said it was disheartening to watch girls continue to face a lot of challenges even after being withdrawn from the marriages and deciding to start all over. “This documentary has challenged us all to think through and deeply on strategies that will ensure girls withdrawn from child marriages don’t go back there,” she said. Chakwera commended the strides the Spotlight Initiative is registering in eliminating violence against women and girls, but said more efforts are needed from all stakeholders to win the fight against gender-based violence as Malawi still ranks 12th on child marriages globally. “I am very happy to hear that the Spotlight Initiative, which is a partnership between the EU and UN has registered tremendous results in six districts since its inception. I do hope that the good practices in these six districts will trickle down and impact the lives of girls in the other districts as well,” said Chakwera. Speaking earlier during a panel discussion that was organized as part of the event, United Nations Resident Coordinator Maria Jose Torres said, besides other factors such as poverty, climate change has greatly contributed to child marriages in the country. Torres said girls are forced into early marriages due to pressures that homes experience as a result of the effects of climate change such as drought. “Climate change has really exacerbated child marriages in most least developed countries (LDCs), including Malawi. We need to put into action different commitments made to mitigate the impacts of climate change. It is encouraging to note that Malawi has included climate change as a priority in its long-term development strategy, the Malawi Vision 2063,” she said. In his remarks, European Union Ambassador to Malawi Rune Skinnebach said achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls are vital to building fair, inclusive, prosperous, and peaceful societies everywhere. “It is sad that when experiencing acute poverty, families and sometimes girls themselves see marriage as a way to reduce family costs and gain financial security,” said Skinnebach. In her introduction to the documentary, A Girl’s Gaze, General Representative of Flanders in Southern Africa Dr. Geraldine Reymenants said the documentary was developed to raise awareness and stir a debate around issues relating to empowerment of girls. “Let us see the girls included in the documentary as individuals who are being empowered and not as victims,” she added. The screening of A Girl’s Gaze is being spearheaded by the Embassy of Belgium and the EU in partnership with the United Nations in Malawi. Besides screening in Lilongwe and Blantyre, the documentary will also be screened for girls in secondary schools across the country.

The United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Ms. Gerda Verburg visited Malawi from 31 August to 3 September 2021. During the visit, she participated in the launch of Malawi’s Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN 3.0) Strategy and interact with various stakeholders on efforts to eliminate malnutrition in the country. Verburg speaks more about the fight against malnutrition in the responses below: The Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement was established over a decade ago to end malnutrition. What progress has the SUN movement achieved in countries like Malawi to eliminate malnutrition since it was established? I’m pleased to share that the SUN Movement has supported its now 64 member states to make some significant nutrition advances. Malawi has created one of the first SUN country movements.  Support comes through an expanding network community that today includes more than 3,000 civil society organisations, some 900 small and medium-sized businesses, and 16 United Nations agencies, both in-country and international. Currently, 23 SUN countries are on track to reach the global breastfeeding target, while 35 are on track to reach the global child overweight target, and 10 are on track to reach the global stunting target – and these figures are increasing each year. It is exciting to see is the transformation of “how” countries are tackling malnutrition. Many are now applying the SUN multi-stakeholder, multisectoral approach. In fact, 42 SUN Member States now have a national nutrition plan which brings together sectors and stakeholders, while 19 countries have included their national SUN Focal Point in their national emergency response team. It is “a must” to include food and nutrition security in each and every emergency response team. Malawi has launched the Scaling Up Nutrition 3.0 Strategy. What does this mean to nutrition efforts in the country? How crucial is this strategy? It was an honour to take part in Malawi’s launch of the SUN 3.0 Strategy. The powerful launch event really demonstrated the strong energy, commitment, and ambition here in Malawi – across all sectors, led by the President – to fight malnutrition in all its forms, towards making good nutrition understood, accessible and affordable for every family in Malawi. I was also touched by the strong and concrete commitments of 10 stakeholder groups, including traditional and religious leaders, media and young people. I will share this inspiring example with other SUN country movements. The SUN 3.0 Strategy further strengthens the “country-driven and country-led” approach of SUN, which has always been at our core. What we saw and heard at the launch event was that the SUN 3.0 Strategy is one catalyst to bring all people together to fight malnutrition as one, because “nutrition is the engine of change and progress”. If Malawi gets nutrition right, socio-economic development, better education, health, productivity, escaping poverty innovation and sustainability will follow easily. Why? Because nutrition is an investment in human capacity and human capacity is the best capital a country has to catalyse development. Malawi is a leader among others in how it is engaging with the SUN 3.0 multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder approach, and should be applauded for this. Considering that Malawi has been implementing SUN interventions for more than 10 years, do you see any difference that the new strategy has from the previous efforts to eliminate malnutrition in the country? Malawi has been a SUN Movement Member Country since 2011, and since then has demonstrated clear achievements. So much so, that it was one of the first SUN Early Risers – those developing countries that had begun to scale up nutrition action at the national level. The expectation now is that, with the implementation of SUN 3.0, Malawi will further gear up to make significant measurable strides in tackling malnutrition by strengthening and expanding its multistakeholder and multisectoral collaboration at community and district levels   Malawi is often criticised for having good policies and strategies which it fails to fully implement. How do you assess the implementation of the previous SUN strategies in Malawi? The numbers speak for themselves here in Malawi. As national SUN Focal Point Dr Felix Pensulo Phiri shared during the launch event, since joining the SUN Movement in 2011, this enabling environment has helped Malawi to reduce stunting from 47% to 33% in 2021; iron deficiency from 51% to 22%; and Vitamin A deficiency from 22% to 4%. These are quite significant figures. But more progress still needs to be made, and new forms of malnutrition are making their way to Malawi, that will now need to be tackled. Overweight is increasing in the country, and it is impacting everyone – children and adults, men and women. This causes not just health issues, but also economic issues for a nation. As the President pointed out at the launch event, trying to respond to problems is more expensive than investing in preventing them from happening. And so, it is encouraging to see that Malawi is now poised to invest in more preventative actions through investing in human and financial capacity. This is the kind of systemic change needed to make malnutrition part of history in Malawi.  What support will the  the SUN Movement be providing to ensure the new SUN 3.0 strategy is fully implemented in Malawi? The SUN Movement is comprised of a SUN Business Network, a SUN Civil Society Network, UN Nutrition, a SUN Donor Network and a SUN Movement Secretariat. Through our new SUN 3.0 Strategy, these structures will be closely aligned and will work jointly and complementarily to further strengthen support tailored to the demand and need of Malawi. Malnutrition is compounded by the recurring climate crisis as communities and families often lose their livelihoods and food when disasters strike. How can countries like Malawi build resilience for good nutrition? This is very critical question, and very relevant. During the launch event, the President highlighted the importance of diversifying diets here in Malawi. Specifically, he called on the people of Malawi to commit to reducing their nsima consumption by 10% per year and replacing this with other more nutritious foods. I applaud the President  for this very concrete guidance on what is needed and what families can do themselves  All men, women and young people, have a role to play in awareness raising and decision making on good nutrition, and this, together with the reform of the Malawian Food System, will certainly strengthen the resiliency of  your beautiful country to move  towards more food diversity that is nutritious and affordable and less dependence on costly food imports during lean seasons.   Women play a vital role in ensuring good nutrition for households. What is the cost of leaving women behind on nutrition and how can this be avoided so that women are at the forefront of efforts to end malnutrition in communities? Yes, women play a vital role in ensuring good nutrition, and women also suffer disproportionately from malnutrition. But, as I said at the launch event, it is not solely a women issue. Nutrition requires the commitment of everyone – across ministries, throughout communities, and within families. It is about women, but men need to rise up to invest in their families, their communities, and their future. The cost of malnutrition, in all its forms, carries huge direct and indirect costs to individuals, families and to entire nations. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that the impact on the global economy could be as high as US$3.5 trillion per year, or US$500 per individual. Malawi is losing 10.6% of GDP annually due to hampered productivity caused by malnutrition. But malnutrition does more than cost dollars, it costs lives. It is estimated that up to 45% of all preventable child deaths are caused by undernutrition, while severely undernourished children are up to nine times more likely to die than well-nourished children. Ensuring women have access to good nutrition goes a long way to ensuring that their children do too. What things need to change to ensure every child, adolescent, mother, and family realises their right to food and nutrition to reach their full potential? This requires the multi-stakeholder and multisector approach outlined in SUN 3.0. It takes the involvement of stakeholders from government, but also of businesses, civil society, academia, clergy – everyone; and the involvement of all sectors including the health sector, but also the finance, agriculture, social protection, gender, planning, education, religious and local sectors.   Only if all these players really work together on implementation at the family and community levels can game-changing transformation happen in our efforts to bring good nutrition to everyone, everywhere. With the UN Food Systems Summit happening in New York on 23rd September 2021, how can countries like Malawi take advantage of the Summit to boost efforts to end malnutrition? The UN Food Systems Summit and the upcoming global Nutrition for Growth Summit in Tokyo in December provide good mechanisms through which countries, including Malawi, can share their commitments to achieving their nutrition goals. Both summits also promote a country-based multi-stakeholder and multisectoral approach, so leveraging these can also benefit Malawi. I’ve invited the President, the government, and all stakeholders to make strong commitments at each of these summits. By doing this, Malawi could inspire other countries to step up as well. Besides this, 2022 will very likely be the “African year of nutrition and investing in human capacity”, which is a great year to set the pace towards Africa becoming a healthy and nutritious food basket for countries and worldwide.      From a food systems perspective, transformation means progress towards all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We can no longer afford to sit in silos looking at only one aspect without looking at others. For this reason, I was especially pleased to have the opportunity to meet this week with Malawi’s Honourable Ministers of Health, Agriculture and Finance to explore with each this important multisectoral approach. Very fruitful discussions took place in this regard.  Do you have any additional comments on this issue? It was great to participate in the ambitious launch. I now look forward to ambitious impact and the SUN Movement Global Support System will be there to support where needed.