By Grace Makawa:
United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef)’s 2026-27 Citizens’ Budget report shows that the government has allocated billions of Kwacha to education, healthcare, water and sanitation and social protection, but does not provide a clear breakdown of how much of the national budget is specifically directed towards children’s essential needs.
A report, titled ‘Sowing Recovery, Harvesting Growth’, comes amid a K94 billion reduction in the broader social protection allocation, which has fallen from K217 billion in the 2025-26 financial year to K123 billion in the current financial year.
Unicef Malawi Chief of Policy, Mathews Tasker, attributed the reduction to declining contributions from development partners.
The reduction has raised concerns about the sustainability of social protection programmes that support vulnerable households, including those with children who depend on such assistance.
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The Citizens’ Budget outlines K58 billion for free primary and secondary education, including examination fees, K45.7 billion for school operations and K11 billion for learning materials.
In the health sector, the government has allocated K108.3 billion for drugs in central and district hospitals while K91 billion is earmarked for hospital operations.
The report also lists K380 billion for water and sanitation.
However, the document does not provide separate allocations for child nutrition, early childhood development and child protection, making it difficult to establish how much funding is specifically directed towards these areas.
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Chairperson for the Parliamentary Committee on Social and Community Affairs, Savel Kafwafwa, expressed concern over the funding gap in early childhood development earlier this year, highlighting the importance of investing in children during their formative years.
Speaking at a child-led engagement meeting, Kafwafwa said early childhood development provides a foundation for children’s learning, health and wellbeing.
The NGO Coalition on Child Rights has also called on the government to increase funding for children’s essential services.
Coalition chairperson Desmond Mhango said the government should increase funding for primary and secondary education administration, provide adequate resources for the newly introduced P Class, establish a dedicated budget vote for the National Children’s Commission and strengthen financing for child protection institutions.
