Providing social protection for ultra-poor people in Malawi

Context

Malawi is one of the world’s poorest countries – 70 per cent of the population live on the equivalent of less than two euros a day. Social protection is a key prerequisite for stability, poverty reduction and sustainable development.

In 2025 Malawi is adopting its new National Social Protection Policy, which takes a lifecycle approach to addressing social protection measures and programmes. What this means is that, in order to reduce poverty and vulnerability, individuals’ various needs must be considered at different stages of their lives and the implementation of social protection must be tailored to meet those requirements. The policy also highlights the supporting role played by gender equality. As a result of this new approach, the social protection system is becoming increasingly complex. Although there have been crucial successes, coordinating and implementing the various social protection programmes continues to be challenging.

Objective

The Government of Malawi is increasingly successful in implementing its national strategic programme. The aim is to provide social protection for the population, to coordinate the various responsible parties effectively and to reach the population through various precisely targeted protection services.

Approach

The project works closely with the Poverty Reduction and Social Protection (PRSP) Division and with three district administrations in Nkhotakota, Balaka and Thyolo. It supports the social protection system and its institutions in three priority areas:

• Expanding expertise and knowledge across the country and in the districts and supporting implementation of the social protection strategy.
• Further developing and improving the Unified Beneficiary Registry in order to identify recipients of social protection and humanitarian programmes efficiently and reliably.
• Supporting recipients of social protection in making the best possible use of the services that they receive and lifting themselves out of poverty.

Last update: March 2025