Social Cash Transfer Scheme

The Social Cash Transfer scheme is implemented by the Government of Malawi at the District Assembly level with technical assistance from the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, and UNICEF: and financial support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The scheme is currently being piloted in 7 districts.

Context

Malawi is a landlocked country in sub-Saharan Africa. She shares boundaries with Zambia to the Northwest, Tanzania to the North and Northeast and Mozambique to the East, South and Southwest. The country is divided into three regions namely; Northern, Central and Southern. Malawi is predominantly an agricultural economy. Around 40% of the population is poor; living on less than one US dollar a day (actual amount is $ 33 cents = MK44), in 2007.

More than four million Malawian children live in poverty, which is deep and widespread, characterised by low income, low literacy, food insecurity and high rates of child malnutrition.

The growing HIV/AIDS crisis causes poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Nearly 13% of the country's 7.3 million children under the age of 18 have lost their parents of caregivers, many to HIV related illnesses. About 36 percent of children under the age of five are stunted. More than 15 percent of children who should be in primary school have not enrolled because of poverty, hunger and cultural barriers. The Government of Malawi, in collaboration with development partners and civil society, has been developing a social protection policy to protect, promote and transform the livelihoods and welfare of the poorest and most destitute households. As part of this process, the Government, partnered with UNICEF and the National AIDS Commission, started piloting a SCT scheme in Mchinji District in September 2006. The lessons from the pilot have been instrumental in  informing the social protection policy.

Governments and International communities are increasingly recognizing the value of social cash transfers in promoting human rights and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Social transfers are defined as regular payments of monies provided by a government to extremely poor individuals or households  in developing countries. These transfers not only tackle income poverty, but also address broader developmental objectives such as social development, economic growth, education, shelter and asset accumulation.