Malawi

Since a couple of years there are no more school fees in Malawi. As a result, the proportion of children entering school and that of children completing primary school have doubled over the past ten years, but at the price of larger classes and falling standards. On average, the teacher-pupil ratio is 1:70 and, after Malawian pupils have completed sixth grade, their learning achievements fall far below the regional average.

This is why German-Malawian development cooperation supports the government in the area of primary education. Most funds are spend on infrastructure projects. This includes the construction of teachers' residences and the construction of teacher training colleges where primary school teachers get their education. The main objective of the programme is to improve the quality of training. This includes also the training of qualified teachers, a coordinated curricula development and greater administrative efficiency in the Ministry of Education.

About three million Malawian primary school pupils benefit directly from the projects: classes are no longer cancelled, the pupil-teacher relation improves and new and better teaching materials ensure a higher quality as well as a more sustainable education system.

The Malawian health system is characterised by a number of weaknesses and shortcomings with very high maternal and child mortality rates. In addition the number of patients is rising, not least due to the HIV/AISA epidemic. Malaria, tuberculosis and respiratory disorders are common and wide spread. The healthcare system lacks funds, staff and medical equipment in clinics, hospitals and health units. Management of the health services is flawed at central and district levels. The Malawian Ministry of Health has agreed with other international donors on a joint work programme in which the German Federal Government is also participating.

Moreover, through KfW, Germany is also active in a series of bilateral measures. These focus on improving maternal health and child mortality, renovating health units and equipping them, as well as financing vaccines. In light of the high population growth access to modern family planning and other reproductive health services are also promoted.

First improvements can be clearly seen: staffing in Malawi's health facilities improved and HIV-positive women increasingly receive antiretroviral therapy, - preventing the transfer of the HIV virus to their children.

Project example - German-Norwegian Mother-Child Health Initiative  (PDF, 75 KB, non-accessible)

At present, every other inhabitant of Malawi lives in poverty and there are not enough jobs. Food is not secured and people are starving when there is not enough rain in times of drought.

At the same time the country's potentials are mainly in the economic development of rural areas and in their better connection to urban centres. As Malawi is an agricultural country, most people live in rural areas and from subsistence production. However, the low productivity of the subsistence economy is at the core of the problem. Improving efficiency, diversification and the commercialization of locally-produced goods therefore have great priority. In this regard, the new focal area of German Development Cooperation aims at increasing incomes and employment in rural areas, especially for the poorer population.

Local development has so far been promoted via a decentralized approach through the Malawian Local Development Fund (LDF). The LDF supports local communities to improve their economic infrastructure with focus on economic infrastructure like bus stations and local markets. Such measures and the generated revenues improve the financial situation of small towns, they generate income and strengthen the local economy. As a result local administrations and local governments become stronger and the service delivery to the population improves. New and innovative approaches from the private sector are enhanced with funding from the UNDP managed “Malawi Innovation Challenge Fund”.