Malawi’s social protection efforts are in disarray as donors flee and budget allocations collapse, leaving the sector’s specialists gathering in Lilongwe yesterday perplexed.
At the centre of the crisis is how the Malawi Government—which has over the past five years relied on foreign donors to finance 95 percent of its social protection budget—will save the 3.5 million souls that rely on national social protection programmes as foreign aid retreats.
Already, government has cut the social protection budget in the 2026/2027 financial year from K217 billion in the last fiscal calendar to K123 billion in the current one, affecting one million beneficiaries.
Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation poverty reduction and social protection senior deputy director Dalitso Kalimba—speaking at a national dialogue on inclusive social protection on advancing sustainable finance, human rights and progressive legal framework yesterday—said the decline in the allocation by K93 billion is driven by falling nternational donor contributions.
He said: “The reduction in funding is expected to scale back the reach and capacity of several flagship safety net initiatives.”
In essence, the Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) funding has fallen by 14 percent, Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CSE-PWP) also known as Mtukula pa Khomo has lost 57 percent while Urban Public Works Programme financing is down 35 percent, according to government.
Meanwhile, the country’s runaway population growth rate that outpaces economic expansion means thousands of vulnerable people annually join the millions already in desperate need of social protection.
Over the past three years, for example, economic growth as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) has averaged just 1.7 percent annually, yet population has surged by a yearly average of 2.6 percent over the same period, leading to plummeting per capita income and thus worsening poverty levels.
| Steven Pembamoyo
Last year, a World Bank study showed that 75.4 percent of Malawi’s population or 15.8 million people live below the new international poverty line of $3 (roughly K5 250) per day, worse than 71.7 percent a decade ago.
Amid the budget cuts hurting the destitute, critics fear that elites—including local community leaders and gatekeepers—still salivate over the dwindling social protection resources for personal gain at the expense of millions amid weak corruption prevention measures and a culture of cronyism.
Studies show that the elites tend to capture safety nets such as SCTP and CSE-PWP to enrol cronies, friends, families and those willing to part with a fraction of the handouts in cash or in kind for the privilege.
Thus, the majority of deserving beneficiaries are left in perpetuity with little chance of accessing benefits necessary for them to build resilience to shocks, improve their livelihoods and live with relative dignity.
These poor people pay the price of elite-manipulated information asymmetries and weak monitoring that result in the mis-targeting, leaving the poor repelled by the very nets that are supposed to protect them from the venomous arthropod called poverty.
At yesterday’s Lilongwe meeting, civil society organisations (CSOs) warned that sustainability of the country’s social protection programmes is at risk due to donor fatigue that leaves the Malawi Government with an uphill task to finance the interventions alone.
Northern Region CSOs on Social Protection vice-chairperson Kinnear Mlowoka said the withdrawal of funding by some donors poses a big sustainability challenge.
“This is the major reason we have convened here. We want to find ways how we can alternatively fund the programme without or with little donor support,” he said.
Mlowoka cited increasing budgetary allocation to the programme as one of the possible and sustainable solutions although evidence shows that the overall budget for the programme is declining.
In the 2026/27 National Budget, the allocation for social protection is at K123 billion against K217 billion last year.
Kalimba of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation said government is developing a Social Protection Legal Framework to strengthen the governance, coordination, and implementation of social protection programmes.
“Once finalised, the proposed legislation will provide a comprehensive legal framework for social protection, strengthen institutional arrangements, and promote greater consistency and sustainability in the delivery of social protection services nationwide.”
Embassy of Ireland social protection adviser Phina Rocha advised government to strengthen collaboration with relevant local stakeholders to see the programme continuing.
Malawi’s social protection system currently covers roughly 21.3 percent of the population focusing primarily on social assistance for vulnerable groups and public works for the able-bodied.
