Context
High poverty and growing inequality: Malawi is a small landlocked country and one of the world’s poorest economies, with some of the worst development statistics for a non-conflict country. It ranks 174 out of 187 in the Human Development Index (HDI 2013). Although Malawi has made significant progress against many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) it is still unlikely to meet key targets for eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, universal primary education, gender equity and maternal health. Other MDG targets are at risk and need to be monitored closely. This includes targets to combat HIV and AIDS, Malaria and other diseases. Access to post-primary education for the very poor is extremely low with only 8% of children from the poorest households attending secondary school, and only 0.7% from the poorest quintile accessing tertiary education. Malawi’s population is expected to double from 13 million in 2010 to 26 million by 2030. This is contributing to increased pressure on a depleting natural resource base, exacerbated by an already stressed agricultural sector which accounts for one-third of GDP. Malnutrition remains high. Malawi is vulnerable to climate change and is prone to hazards, particularly droughts and floods, which affect around 5% of the population a year. Urbanisation is low but increasing, rural poverty is entrenched and income inequality is on the rise.
