By Mercy Matonga:
As many as 70 percent of children in the country are living below the poverty line worsened by various recent shocks to the country’s economy, a fresh study by the National Statistical Office (NSO) has revealed.
In September 2022, the World Bank indicated that the new international poverty line is set at $2.15 using 2017 prices.
The study indicates that the majority of children in Malawi are lacking basic needs, trapping them further in a vicious circle of poverty.
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The report focuses on effects of different shocks on the economy between 2019 and 2023.
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It especially focuses on vulnerable groups and comes in the aftermath of global challenges such as the Covid pandemic, inflation due to souring fertiliser prices and local factors such as Tropical Cyclone Freddy and other natural disasters.
In the past three years, Malawi has borne the brunt of cyclones such as Ana and Gombe, which left devastation in their wake.
The report cites cyclones as the most devastating in the period under review and argues that they worsened the plight of many children.
“Both the exposure and the frequency of shocks increased over the past years. The proportion of households experiencing shocks reached almost everyone (99 percent) in 2023, while this was only three quarters of the households in 2019-20,” the report reads.
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It adds that the most common shocks were high prices of food and agricultural inputs.
“Households reported a decrease in income, assets, food production and stocks as a result. The coping mechanisms employed varied, with most households using both negative coping (e.g., doing nothing or reducing expenditure) and positive coping (e.g., using savings, increasing farming or work) to mitigate the effects of aggregated shocks. Vulnerable populations were as likely as the rest of the population to be exposed to at least one shock, but rural households had experienced slightly more shocks in the last 12 months. Rural households were also more likely to be unable to respond to the shocks that affected them and did ‘nothing’ in terms of coping,” the report adds.
While presenting the status of children’s living conditions, the report exposed that children in the Central Region are facing multiple challenges including poor living conditions.
“This report reveals a deepening food crisis in Malawi, with nearly all food insecurity indicators pointing towards a worrying trend. Families are skipping meals and experiencing heightened anxiety about securing their next bite. This desperate situation is pushing many towards informal labour to make ends meet,” the report reads.
Speaking during the launch of the report in Lilongwe, United Nations Resident Coordinator Rebecca Adah Dontoh said the report offers the country an opportunity for reflection on the devastating impact of shocks on the most vulnerable populations, particularly children.
She added that the report should also contribute towards building mechanisms to ensure the provision of basic needs for children.
“These are not just statistics; they reflect the everyday lived experiences of our children in Mangochi, Mulanje, Mwanza and countless other districts across Malawi. Indeed, behind every number is a human face. Lack of access to basic needs for children and unequal access to opportunities has real impacts not just on their lives but overall development potential,” Dontoh said.
On his part, Principal Secretary for Economic Planning and Development Patrick Zimpita said the report is a stark reminder of the need to implement economic policies that benefit everyone.
“We, as government, have already introduced the 2023 National Youth Strategy which, among other things, seeks to deal with challenges that have been highlighted in the report,” Zimpita said.
NSO Commissioner Shelton Kanyanda said the report dwelled on issues such as access to multiple basic needs in life.
Kanyanda cited food, health and education among the basic necessities.
“The good thing is that the multi-dimension approach gives us an area where we can zoom in and, in this case, we will call each stakeholder to pick their area of interest to quickly intervene in those areas,” Kanyanda said.
