Oxfam Ireland Core Country: Malawi
Country Statistics
| Population: | 13.6 million |
| Year of Independence: | 1964 |
| Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 births): | 92.1 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | 43 years |
| People living with HIV and AIDS: | 14.2% / 900,000 (2003 est.) |
| Literacy (people aged 15 and over that are literate): | 62.7% (2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 53% (2004 est.) |
| Currency: | Malawian Kwacha |
Map of Malawi
Oxfam in Malawi
Joint Oxfam Livelihoods Programme
Malawi is a small land-locked country with a population of approximately 13 million, a very limited industrial base and minimal mineral resources. Malawi is one of the twelve poorest countries in the world.
Life expectancy continues to decline and is now estimated to be 38.5 years, the sixth lowest rate in the world. Many factors contribute to Malawi's poverty: GDP per capita is $570 with only two other countries in the world with a lower figure. HIV and AIDS is now the main cause of death among adults between 20 and 40 years. The education system fails to benefit the poorest members of society. Farming practices which fail to adequately plan for the effects of frequent drought and unsustainable farming techniques continue to be issues that give rise to chronic poverty among small landholders. Discriminatory land law and lack of participation by people in their own Governance are the other main factors which cause poverty in Malawi.
Oxfam's Livelihoods Programme has been designed to address these core issues and has 3 main components: The Shire Highlands Sustainable Livelihoods Programme in the districts of Mulanje Thyolo and Phalombe has been ongoing since 1997. This programme works mainly through Government Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Youth, and Water development and works to build the capacity of government to provide necessary services to the poorest members of the population. The Programme works directly with village development committees and aims to enable people to develop strategies to improve their livelihoods and to demand accountable, effective and transparent services from local and national Government.
The Livelihoods Support Programme
The Livelihoods Support Programme supports 19 partner organisations to increase access to food and income; improve education; reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS on people infected and affected by AIDS; and to increase people's participation in their own governance.
HIV and AIDS and Livelihoods - Experiences in Mainstreaming from Malawi
The Advocacy Programme
The Advocacy Programme in Malawi recognises the impact of changing ineffective government policy to help poor communities. The programme works out of a rights based perspective and enables poor people to become aware of their rights as citizens as well as advocating for pro-poor policy change. The key issues in the programme are land policy reform, debt relief and HIV/AIDS.
The Humanitarian Programme
During 2002 and 2003, Oxfam Ireland supported a humanitarian programme in response to the serious drought in the country. The key activities carried out included a nutrition programme, which provided food to children under five years old and to pregnant and lactating women. A food security programme was also supported which distributed seeds and provided on-farm training to vulnerable farmers in order to assist them to harvest a second crop. The current programme is now evaluating and learning from these initiatives in order to integrate emergency preparedness measures into the long-term livelihoods programme and in order to ensure that HIV and AIDS concerns remain at the centre of the programme in Malawi.
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