Malawi’s 2026 Voluntary National Review (VNR) of progress has shown that the country is still struggling to actualise 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets in several sectors, including fighting poverty.
In the review Malawi Government presented at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum in July this year to assess the country’s progress towards the global goals adopted in 2015 to halve poverty and ensure decent living by 2020, Malawi reported falling short on inequality, decent work and access to clean energy targets.
However, there are gains in health and clean water.
The review says more than half of Malawians remain poor, underscoring the scale of the challenge with World Bank data indicating that 71.3 percent survive on less than $2.15 (about K3 764.65) per day.
Reads the report: “This slow progress highlights structural issues such as underemployment, high dependency ratios and an economy characterised by a large informal sector, which continue to limit meaningful poverty reduction.”
Malawi is also lagging on SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy, SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth, SDG 10 on reduced inequalities.
Moderate progress has been recorded on six goals namely zero hunger, quality education, gender equality, industry, innovation and infrastructure, climate action and partnerships.
On the other hand, there has been significant progress on health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, life below water, and peace, justice and strong institutions.
On water, the review says access to improved drinking water sources increased from 87 percent in 2015 to 89 percent in 2024, while 73 percent of the population had access to at least basic drinking water services.
However, the country lacked adequate data to assess progress on SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities and SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production.
The review identifies climate-induced disasters, weak governance and environmental degradation as major obstacles to SDG implementation, noting that increasingly frequent and intense disasters are contributing to food insecurity, poverty, displacement and infrastructure damage.
Governance analyst Benedicto Kondowe said Malawi must invest in productive sectors that create jobs, raise agricultural productivity, expand industrialisation and empower young people.
“The next four years must, therefore, focus less on announcing programmes and more on delivering measurable outcomes that improve household incomes and reduce inequality,” he said.
Water and sanitation expert Willies Mwandira said access to safely managed water remains a challenge, calling for greater investment in reticulated water supply systems.
In an interview yesterday, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha said government is prioritising climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, social protection and digital infrastructure.
“We are deepening partnerships with regional bodies, multilateral institutions, and development partners to mobilise the financing and technical capacity needed to bridge identified gaps,” he said.
The review comes after a United Nations’ 2026 Common Country Analysis for Malawi showed that about 21 percent of the SDG targets are on track, while nearly 39 percent are deteriorating.
Following the adoption of the 17 SDGs in 2015, Malawi presented its first VNR in 2020 and another in 2022.
In the 2022 review, four goals showed significant progress, six moderate progress and three were lagging, while data was insufficient for three goals.
