NGOs say poor funding impeding child protection strategies

Lack of resources in government institutions is hindering the implementation of child rights and child protection policies in Malawi despite the presence of a robust legal system capable of ensuring child protection, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have revealed.

Addressing the media at a workshop in Blantyre yesterday, Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) director of child rights Noris Mangulama Chirwa said Malawi has a set of comprehensive laws whose full operationalisation and implementation remains a problem due to lack of financial and human resources in government institutions and agencies.

“The office of the social welfare has a very huge responsibility in terms of reducing violence against children but when you go to the districts, and see how much the district social welfare offices get, it’s basically not enough to sustain their operations…it is basically enough to just pay their utilities,” Chirwa said.

NGO Coalition on Child Rights executive member Leon Matanda said the problems can be mitigated if the NGOs and government agencies could lobby for more funding. n