National Resilience Strategy (2018-2030)

5.2.7 Beneficiary and Civil Society Groups 68 6. MONITORING AND EVALUATION FRAMEWORK 71 7. RISK MANAGEMENT 73 ii LIST OF FIGURES: 1. Combined Risk of Drought and Flood 2 2. Trends in Humanitarian Responses to Shock-Affect Populations 5 3. Stunting Rates in Malawi 7 4. Multi-Year Food Insecurity and Stunting 9 5. Climate-related Shocks and Reducing Fiscal Deficits 9 6. Frequency of Shocks by District 10 7. NRS Theory of Change 18 8. Lifting Households Towards Resilience 23 9. National Resilience Strategy: Resilient People, Agriculture, and Environment 26 10. National Resilience Strategy: Pillars and Components 35 11. Agriculture to Nutrition Pathways 37 12. MNSSP II Thematic Areas 50 13. Targeting for Social Support and Protection Programmes 51 14. Malawi SUN Implementation Framework 57 15. Forest & Land Restoration Priorities 62 16. Flood Risk & Soil Loss 62 17. Risk Exposure, Drought, and Poverty 63 18. NRS Implementation Arrangements 68 LIST OF TABLES: 1. NRS Common Programme Framework 14 2. NRS Integration Matrix 20 3. NRS Geographical Coverage 21 4. NRS Indicative Interventions 24 5. Alignment between NRS and SDGs 31 6. Expected Outcomes of Pillar 1 41 7. Expected Outcomes of Pillar 2 46 8. Expected Outcomes of Pillar 3 59 9. Expected Outcomes of Pillar 4 65 10. NRS Governance Framework 69 11. NRS Risk and Mitigation Measures 73 ANNEXES: I. Preliminary NRS Common Programme Framework 74 II. Monitoring and Evaluation Framework 75 iii Acronyms ACE Agriculture Commodity Exchange LDF Local Development Fund ADD Agriculture Development Division MALCID Malawi Committee on Irrigation and ADDRMO Assistant District Disaster Risk Drainage Management Officer MDA Ministry, Department, Agency ADMARC Agricultural Development and Marketing MGDS Malawi Growth and Development Strategy Corporation MIB Malawi Irrigation Board AGYW Adolescent Girls and Young Women MK Malawi Kwacha ARC African Risk Capacity MNSSP Malawi National Social Support ASWAp Agriculture Sector-Wide Approach Programme AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome MoAIWD Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Water CMFEWS Community-based Flood Early Warning Systems Development CCA Climate Change Adaptation MoEST Ministry of Education, Science and CCIP Climate Change Investment Plan Technology CSA Climate Smart Agriculture MoFEP&D Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning CoBRA Community Based Resilience Analysis and Development CPC Civil Protection Committee MoHP Ministry of Health and Population CSO Civil Society Organization MoITT Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Tourism DADO District Agricultural Development Officer MoGCDSW Ministry of Gender, Children, Disabilities and DC District Commissioner Social Welfare DCCMS Department of Climate Change and MoLGRD Ministry of Local Government and Rural Meteorological Services Development DEC District Executive Committee MoLHUD Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban DFID (UK) Department for International Development Development DNHA Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS MoTPW Ministry of Transport and Public Works DoDMA Department of Disaster Management MNEP Malawi National Energy Policy Affairs MoNREM Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy, and DoE Department of Energy Mines DoF Department of Forestry MRC Malawi Red Cross DoI Department of Irrigation MT Metric tons DNHA Department of Nutrition and HIV and AIDS MVAC Malawi Vulnerability Assessment DP Development Partner Committee DPD District Planning and Development Officer NA New Alliance for Food Security DRR Disaster Risk Reduction NAIP National Agriculture Investment Plan DWR Department of Water Resources NCCMP National Climate Change Management EAD Environmental Affairs Department Policy EPA Extension Planning Area NCIC National Construction Industry Council EU European Union NDPRC National Disaster Preparedness and Relief EWS Early Warning System Committee FAO Food and Agriculture Organization NES National Export Strategy FAW Fall Army Worm NFI Non-food Item FEWS Flood Early Warning System NFRA National Food Reserve Agency FISP Farm Input Subsidy Programme NGO Non-Governmental Organization GBI Green Belt Initiative NIP National Irrigation Policy GDP Gross Domestic Product NMSNP National Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Policy GIS Geographic Information System NRS National Resilience Strategy GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale NSO National Statistics Office Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH NWP National Water Policy GoM Government of Malawi PDNA Post-Disaster Needs Assessment HEA Household Economy Approach PPP Public-Private Partnership HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus PWP Public Works Programme IF Irrigation Fund SCTP Social Cash Transfer Programme IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development SGR Strategic Grain Reserve ILO International Labour Organization SMP School Meals Programme IMPIF Irrigation Master Plan and Investment TA Traditional Authority Framework UBR Unified Beneficiary Registry IWD Integrated Watershed Development UNDP United Nations Development Programme IPC Integrated Phase Classification UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund i UP United Purpose VSL Village Savings and Loan USAID United States Agency for International WFP World Food Programme Development WB World Bank 2 KEY DATA Title Malawi National Resilience Strategy (NRS): Breaking the Cycle of Food Insecurity Duration Phase I: 2018 – 2022 / Phase II: 2023– 2028 / Phase III: 2029-2030 Vision A country free of chronic vulnerability, and food, and nutrition insecurity, where sustainable economic Statement development creates opportunities for everyone, and where people are resilient to economic and environmental shocks that affect their lives and livelihoods. Overall Outcome Malawi is resilient to economic and environmental shocks and able to sustain inclusive growth, food and nutrition security, and improved well-being for all Malawians. The country has transitioned from recurrent humanitarian appeals to protective and productive investments in complementary interventions targeting chronically food insecure and poor households, supported by effective institutional coordination and multi- sectoral planning and implementation. Combined Pillar 1. Transformed agricultural sector into an engine for shared economic prosperity, food security and poverty Impacts reduction; 2. Scaled-up climate-resilient infrastructure, and enhanced climate-adaptation capacity of all stakeholders, through better access to climate information and early warning and response mechanisms that safeguard lives and livelihoods from shocks; 3. Sustained reduction in the number of chronically food insecure households by scaling up access to predictable social support services, complementary livelihood packages, nutrition services, and expanded access to national programmes; 4. Reduction in stunting of children <5 years of age through well-coordinated and high-impact multi- sectoral investments in nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions; 5. Expanded public, private and community partnerships to safeguard Malawi’s natural resource endowments and ecosystems that contribute to social and economic prosperity; 6. Strengthened national and devolved government institutions, civil society, and private sector actors to adopt effective and accountable practices that prevent, mitigate, and respond to disasters, and promote long-term development; 7. Strengthened women’s empowerment through cross-cutting strategies and measurable outcomes. Indicators (all a) Percentage reduction in extreme poverty. disaggregated b) Prevalence and depth of food insecurity (measured by Food Insecure Experience Scale (FIES). by gender and c) Reduction in number of people requiring emergency food and cash assistance as a result of flood, age) drought, and other emergencies, disaggregated by gender. d) Return on investment, money and livelihoods saved from averting food and nutrition crisis compared to past crises. e) Percentage of poor Malawians graduated from the social safety net transfers through protective and productive asset creation and cash transfers, disaggregated by gender. f) Percent of poor Malawians living above the poverty line who do not backslide into poverty, disaggregated by gender. g) Percentage annual growth in agriculture GDP. h) Percentage increase in availability, access, quality, and affordability of recommended food groups in local and regional markets. i) Percent increase in hectares managed through integrated watershed development practices (protective forest cover in priority catchments). j) Annual reduction in percent of children <5 years of age stunted. k) Percent reduction in anaemia in children <5 years of age and women of childbearing age. l) Percent change in Women Empowerment in Agriculture (WEAI) Score (mean empowerment gap). m) National and devolved government institutions implement coordinated multi-sectoral plans supporting NRS priorities. n) Optimal funding levels for multi-sectoral programmes and sector-specific programming in NRS priority areas are allocated by the GoM Treasury and Development Partners (priority areas defined during implementation) Target Areas  319,000 ultra-poor, labour-constrained, and vulnerable households across all 28 districts. and Population  15% of poor households in all 28 districts.  Up to 50% of household population with lowest welfare status.  Areas the most vulnerable to recurrent crisis based on multi-criteria mapping: priority drought-prone areas, catchments and flood hotspots, irrigation sites, degraded ecosystems, and non-grid connected households without energy access. iii Statement by the President The National Resilience Strategy (NRS) represents a The NRS recognizes that building resilience depends on pivotal shift in the way our country will address poverty an enabling environment that propels agricultural reduction, food and nutrition security, and inclusive growth. Agricultural investments must increase resilient growth for all Malawians. productivity and diversity in local and regional markets, while driving exports. Diversification and integration of For too many years the people of Malawi have cycled in nutrition-sensitive interventions are imperative in the and out of seasonal and multi-dimensional poverty. In face of climate change, and for nutritious and 2016-17, over 40% of the population needed sustainable diets. Agricultural growth will stabilize humanitarian assistance, which had devastating prices, increase productivity, and mitigate shocks. impacts on livelihoods, nutrition, and our progress to expand inclusive economic growth as outlined in the Sustaining such growth requires effective disaster risk Malawi Growth and Development Strategy III. It is reduction and response systems through coordinated imperative that the GoM, its partners, and citizens investments in flood control, drought mitigation, and reignite our ambitions and actions as we collectively high functioning early warning and response systems. deal with the increasing, more frequent, and rising Shock-sensitive and nutrition-sensitive social protection severity of extreme weather events linked to climate will protect the most vulnerable. change. Malawi’s commitment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Agenda 2030, The Malawi National Social Support Programme II lays and Agenda 2063, remains steadfast. the foundation for vulnerable groups to meet basic needs, while embarking on a path of resilient growth Malawi is eager for more predictable and productive through asset creation, access to education, higher investments that address vulnerability and risk, and value agricultural livelihoods opportunities, and build resilience at the household and systems levels so increasingly in the service sectors. Livelihoods growth that people can build healthy and productive lives and will impact all pillars of the NRS through job creation nourished families, free from poverty. I want Malawi’s and skills building in agriculture, nutrition, the youth to have food in abundance, education, and environment, and renewable energy,. Well-managed gainful employment so they can prosper and build the urbanization will also build Malawi’s resilience. future of the country. I want to see our farms prosper, Investments in optimal nutrition services are also our markets overflow, and our environment protected integral to the NRS, and will scale up nutrition-specific for all to enjoy. When the next emergency arrives, I want and nutrition-sensitive activities. to see all our systems respond effectively, from the national level down to communities who are most Investments in catchment protection, forestry, rural affected. electrification, renewable energy, and climate financing will protect and sustainably manage natural resources, It is with this vision that I endorse the NRS as an and generate jobs, particularly for our youth. instrument of change. The NRS is the first Government- led multi-sectoral strategy to be managed under a I champion and stand behind the NRS, and expect to common framework for implementation, coordination, witness real change. I therefore call on the Lead and monitoring, evaluation, and learning. The strategy Government Ministries, and all other Ministries, calls on all Ministries, Development Partners, and Development Partners, stakeholders, private sector, stakeholders to plan strategically to achieve collective and citizens, to rally behind the NRS by taking action, results. and working together to achieve the vision of a more resilient, healthy, and prosperous Malawi. The NRS creates the coordination framework and the momentum needed to ensure that sectoral activities May God Bless Malawi and its People. are effectively achieve impact, furthering Malawi’s progress to meet the SDGs in 2030. His Excellency Peter Arthur Mutharika iv President of the Republic of Malawi v vi Joint Ministerial Statement We wish to express our gratitude to His Excellency While our sector policies and strategies all aim to the President, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, for break down vertical silos, we acknowledge the being the champion of the National benefits of making greater strides in joint Resilience Strategy. We also extend our implementation approaches and integrated service appreciation to officials in the Department of delivery, with a view to reducing fragmentation and Disaster Management Affairs for driving the efforts improving the effective channelling of human and to develop the NRS in the wake of extreme droughts financial resources to support and sustain household and floods, and the seasonal food security and system-level resilience in NRS priority districts. crises Malawi continues to face. In the spirit of this pivotal change in approach, we We wish to affirm our support to the therefore embrace a new, and more robust and National Resilience Strategy, and underscore our coordinated way of working guided by the NRS commitment to work together to achieve its Common Programme Framework (CPF). We objectives. Under the MGDS III, our Ministries are champion this effort to apply NRS geographic, eager to join forces with Development Partners and technical, and beneficiary targeting criteria, and all stakeholders to put the NRS into action. intentional multi-sectoral design. The CPF will serve We embrace the change required to continue as a guide for prioritizing, coordinating, and to work together to achieve more profound and channelling resources across sectors that will ensure more sustainable results to strengthen resilience. greater collective and measurable outcomes. It will also serve as a vehicle for enhanced learning, The continuous cycle of food and nutrition insecurity, documenting the evidence base, and scaling up coupled with the increasing threat of climate sustained pathways out of poverty, climate change, are holding Malawi back from achieving resilience, and economic growth. real and sustained development gains. While urbanization is increasing in Malawi, rural In keeping with the statement of support from His development and agriculture will continue to be Excellency the President, we therefore commit to the main drivers of Malawi’s development over the raising the bar, and stand ready to work together with next 15 years, and is thus foundational to the our Development Partners, local organizations, and success of the NRS, and reaching our vision of: civil society to drive the NRS agenda forward. “A country free of chronic vulnerability, food and nutrition insecurity, and where sustainable We are committed to the additional investment economic development creates opportunities required in management, multi-sectoral design, for everyone, and where people are resilient to coordination, and monitoring and evaluation, and economic and environmental shocks that affect their learning required for successful implementation of lives and livelihoods”. the NRS vision. Accelerated growth and progress toward increasing resilience requires coordinated We recognize that the NRS aligns with the MGDS III, investments in agriculture, disaster risk reduction, the Malawi Social Support Programme II, the early warning, preparedness and response, human National Agriculture Investment Plan 2017/18- capacity, livelihoods, and nutrition, and climate 2022/23, the National Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Policy change. Working together, we will achieve the 2017-2022, the National Climate Change Policy, objectives of the MSDG III and move closer to 2016, the National Gender Policy, and all supporting reaching the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals policies and strategies that guide our core NRS for a more productive, competitive, and resilient development investments in Malawi. Malawi. Honourable Goodall Gondwe, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning, and Development Honourable Joseph Mwanamwekha, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Water Development Honourable Jappie Chancy Mhango, Minister of Transportation and Public Works Honourable Aggrey Masi, Minister of Natural Resources, Energy, and Mining Honourable Jean Kalilani, Minister of Gender, Children, Disability, and Social Welfare Honourable Atupele Muluzi, Minister of Health and Population Honourable Kondwani Nankhumwa, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Honourable Henry Mussa, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Tourism XXX, Minister of Education, Science, and Technology vii Honourable XXX, Minister of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development viii Statement by Development Partners On behalf of development partners in Malawi, we A discussion paper formulated by the welcome the National Resilience Strategy and Department of Disaster Management Affairs congratulate the Government for embarking on this (DoDMA), and subsequent exchanges, led to long-term process to address the structural the establishment of multi-stakeholder vulnerabilities affecting poor people’s lives, sub-groups composed of representatives contributing to chronic and acute food insecurity, from government, civil society, academia, the and hampering progress on inclusive growth. We private sector, and development partners. welcome the commitment by all government These sub-groups gave shape to the NRS. ministries, departments, and agencies to chart a new course for a more resilient and food secure While the NRS reflects existing policies Malawi. and strategies such as the Climate Change Management Policy, Irrigation Master As the government finalizes the Malawi Growth and Plan and Investment Framework, and National Development Strategy III, development partners are Agricultural Policy, it was formulated in parallel of the view that Malawi is poised for a pivotal with Malawi Growth and Development Strategy departure from the cycle of annual appeals for (MGDS) III, the National Agricultural Investment emergency food assistance. To support this Plan, and the new Malawi National Social process, the NRS serves as a common platform for Support Programme, and the National Multi- a broad-based coalition committed to a food Sectoral Nutrition Policy. Accordingly, we secure, resilient, and prosperous Malawi. welcome the phased approach that will enable stakeholders to maximize linkages across the We welcome that the NRS is anchored on a multi- NRS pillars as well as with these important sectoral and multi-stakeholder approach that is strategies, plans and programmes. strongly led and owned by government. Stakeholders recognize that the way in which we The NRS reflects Malawi’s commitment work has not always led to the changes we seek. to contribute towards the momentum As the frequency and intensity of weather-related emerging across Africa, where national hazards is likely to increase, this trend leaves little governments are strengthening the resilience of room for households to recover and rebuild their the most vulnerable through coordinated multi- livelihoods. Programmes and projects to build sectoral humanitarian and development household resilience among the most vulnerable approaches, integrating agricultural growth, have tended to be developed in isolation from adaptation to climate change, social protection, each other, and not always fully aligned with, or led livelihoods, nutrition, and disaster risk reduction. by, Government. While their benefits are often positive at the community level, they have not By strengthening the linkages between been designed or delivered on a scale which these communities of practice, Malawi will facilitates sustainable, transformative impacts advance its delivery of the Sustainable across all of Malawi. Development partners Development Goals, Agenda 2030, and Agenda therefore welcome this common strategy to guide 2063, as well as the New Alliance for Food programming, and we believe that it provides a Security and Nutrition, the Sendai Framework platform to achieve much greater impact on the for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Paris lives of vulnerable people. Agreement on climate change. The NRS emerged from dialogue initiated at the Meeting the objectives contained in the NRS will Development Cooperation Group and High-Level require new ways of working, a commitment to Forum in 2016 among stakeholders deeply joined up programming, robust metrics to concerned about breaking the cycle of food collectively monitor our results over time, and strong insecurity in Malawi. measures for effective governance. Development partners stand ready to support national actors to put the NRS into action. Mia Seppo United Nations Resident Coordinator, and ix Resident Representative of UNDP x Acknowledgements The National Resilience Strategy is a product of various actors in government, non-governmental organizations, and development partners. The commitment of all involved, and the goodwill and collaborative spirit shown throughout the process, are warmly appreciated. Special thanks go to officers at the Department of Disaster Management Affairs for coordinating the process. The success of the National Resilience Strategy reflects the collective effort by implementing ministries and departments at district level, supported by enabling policies. This Strategy is premised on the principles of division of labour and doing business unusual. It is motivated by the conviction that Malawi must accelerate its transition to a food and nutrition secure future by tackling chronic poverty, accelerating agricultural growth and economic opportunity, protecting households from shocks, and reducing disaster risk in the context of a changing climate. By working together, implementation of the National Resilience Strategy will contribute to Malawi’s achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Support from the following organizations is gratefully acknowledged. C.C. Phiri Secretary to the Vice-President and Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  African Development Bank  International Food Policy Research  Catholic Development Commission Institute  Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy  Lilongwe University of Agriculture and  Civil Society Network on Climate Change Natural Resources  Debt and Aid Division (MoFEP&D)  Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Water  Department of Agricultural Extension Development Services  Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology  Department of Climate Change and  Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning, and Meteorological Services Development  Department of Crops  Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability, and  Department of Energy Social Affairs  Department of Environmental Affairs  Ministry of Health  Department of Fisheries  Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy, and  Department of Forestry Mining  Department of Irrigation  Ministry of Transport and Public Works  Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS  Secretary to the Treasury  Department of Planning (MoAIWD)  Poverty Reduction and Social Protection  Department of Water Resources Division  European Union  Trocaire  Food and Agriculture Organization  UK Department for International Development  German Development Cooperation  United Nations Children’s Fund  Global Centre for Resilient Ecosystems and  United Nations Development Programme Desertification  United Purpose  Government of Germany, through KfW and  United States Agency for International GIZ Development  Green Belt Authority  World Bank Group  International Labour Organization  World Food Programme  World Vision Malawi xi Preamble

1.1 — Whereas the Government of the Malawi is committed to implementing the Malawi Growth and

1.1 Whereas the Government of the Malawi is committed to implementing the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy III to build a competitive, productive, and resilient nation.

1.2 — Whereas realizing the goals of MGDS III requires significant investments to enhance food and nutrition

1.2 Whereas realizing the goals of MGDS III requires significant investments to enhance food and nutrition security and reduce the vulnerability of poor people in rural and urban areas to shocks that affect their ability to improve their quality of life.

1.3 — Whereas Malawi continues to register a substantive number of people requiring recurrent humanitarian

1.3 Whereas Malawi continues to register a substantive number of people requiring recurrent humanitarian support regardless of whether the country registers surplus food production, and witnesses an increase in the number of food insecure people (from 2007-2011 annual average of 350,000 increasing to 1,700,000 over the 2012-2014 period, and more than 6.7 million over 2016-17).

1.4 — Whereas the lack of clear differentiation between chronic and acute food insecure caseloads has

1.4 Whereas the lack of clear differentiation between chronic and acute food insecure caseloads has resulted in the use of humanitarian appeals to address chronic problems, perpetuating responsive over preventative approaches, and continues to divert scarce human and organizational capacity and financial resources from productive investment.

1.5 — Whereas more than 90 percent of national food production relies on a single rain-fed cropping season

1.5 Whereas more than 90 percent of national food production relies on a single rain-fed cropping season among smallholder farmers, making the agricultural sector characterized by low productivity, lack of predictability with high risks to climactic and other shocks.

1.6 — Whereas climate change and population growth are increasing exposure to risk and pressure on

1.6 Whereas climate change and population growth are increasing exposure to risk and pressure on farming and food supply systems, leading to smaller land holdings, less sustainable livelihoods, deforestation, and depleted soils.

1.7 — Whereas breaking the cycle of food and nutrition insecurity requires an enabling economic

1.7 Whereas breaking the cycle of food and nutrition insecurity requires an enabling economic environment, sustained and predictable access by vulnerable households to well-targeted livelihood support packages, increased transparency on resource use and programme delivery, and guidance to all stakeholders operating under a common framework.

1.8 — Whereas, the Government is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and

1.8 Whereas, the Government is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and implementation of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, and has launched the Agricultural Policy, National Export Policy, National Irrigation Policy, National Environmental Policy, Climate Change Management Policy, National Nutrition Policy, National Forestry Policy, National Water Policy, National Social Support Policy, and is formulating its National Meteorological Policy, National Forestry Policy (2016), National Disaster Risk Act, and other key policies, strategies and plans.

1.9 — Whereas, the Government is committed to promoting coherence in the implementation of these policies

1.9 Whereas, the Government is committed to promoting coherence in the implementation of these policies and strategies, new approaches are needed to address key barriers to achieving sustained poverty reduction to address chronic and acute food and nutrition insecurity, and to put Malawi on a climate-resilient development pathway.

1.10 — Now, therefore, the Government of Malawi has conceived of the National Resilience Strategy to

1.10 Now, therefore, the Government of Malawi has conceived of the National Resilience Strategy to transform cooperation and synergy across sectors, stakeholders, and geographic areas so that programming is more coherent, coordinated, and efficient, and results in lasting change that breaks the cycle of food and nutrition insecurity. The National Resilience Strategy will lead to a common programming framework for all development actors that reflects the linkages among different approaches and instruments, and promotes the aggregation of interventions that target the same or different population groups at different times and in different ways that strengthen their resilience and promotes their graduation from chronic poverty.

1.11 — The National Resilience Strategy reflects the Government’s ambition to accelerate Malawi’s transition

1.11 The National Resilience Strategy reflects the Government’s ambition to accelerate Malawi’s transition towards a pivotal departure from the cycle of annual humanitarian appeals for food and other emergency assistance by reorienting existing and planned programmes under four thematic pillars: Resilient Agricultural Growth; Risk Reduction, Flood Control, and Early Warning and Response Systems; Human Capacity, Livelihoods, and Social Protection; and, Catchment Protection and Management. xii In 2015-2016, Malawi’s agriculture season experienced a late onset of rains, prolonged dry spells, and incidence of floods across regions of the country. A 1 severe drought made more severe by El Nino exacted a heavy toll of millions of vulnerable people. The Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) indicated a total 6.5 million severely affected people in 24 of 28 districts, later revised upwards to 6.7 million (an estimated 40% of Malawi’s _____________ total population). The delivery of Malawi’s largest humanitarian response in 2016/17 has prompted reflection by government and its development partners on the Introduction need for policy shifts and new approaches that reorient and expand existing _____________ programmes to strengthen household resilience to shocks, accelerate access by households to economic opportunities and benefits from agricultural growth, and to chart a course for new partnerships and joined up programmes under the 2017-2022 Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS). The National Resilience Strategy (NRS) introduces a new sense of common purpose to break the cycle of food insecurity in Malawi by bridging development and humanitarian interventions and prioritizing a continuum of more predictable livelihood support ‘packages’ that target vulnerable households. Successive shocks affecting a larger number of highly vulnerable people calls for a pivotal shift in orientation, one that moves from responding to shocks after they happen, to preventing their occurrence from undermining people’s livelihoods and their ability to benefit from opportunities to improve their well-being. The NRS emerged from dialogue initiated in 2016 between the Government of Malawi and its Development Partners (DPs) to explore more effective approaches to breaking the cycle of food insecurity in Malawi. The content to the NRS is rooted in this dialogue as well as the subsequent analysis contained in the series of discussion papers and reports prepared by various stakeholders. Two assumptions underpin the NRS: first, while droughts, floods and other shocks are inevitable in the region, and to some extent predictable, they need not result in disasters that lead to loss of life and livelihoods; second, while weather-related shocks will likely increase in frequency and severity due to climate change, their impacts will be greater unless root development challenges relating to environmental degradation, population pressures, multi-dimensional poverty and agricultural growth are tackled in a more coordinated and multi-sectoral manner. In alignment with the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS III), the NRS serves as a common programming framework to guide key programmes and investments to work better together to tackle chronic food insecurity and poverty by actively reducing chronic vulnerability and risks, while also strengthening opportunities for households to embark on pathways out of poverty. While the NRS is a national strategy, implementation and targeting will vary across its four components and pillars. Led by national and district 1 governments, the NRS prioritizes coordination and synergy among sectors, and deepens accountability to chronically food insecure households. 2

1.1 — Situational Analysis Southern Region have a poverty prevalence

1.1 Malawi ranks 173 of 188 countries and territories in the 2014 Human Development Index, with a population of 17.4 million. Poverty in Malawi is high by global standards and, despite periods of relatively fast economic growth over the past decade, has been slow to In 2010, 50.7% of the Malawian population lived below the national poverty line, while 25% were considered to be ultra-poor or living on under US$0.20 per day. Of the ultra-poor, 10% were also labour constrained.1 In 2016, the proportion of the population living below the international poverty line (US$1.9/day, 2011 PPP) increased slightly, from 69.6% in 2015 to 69.8%.2 Malawi’s population is expected to reach 30 million by 2030, representing an annual of one million people per year over the next 13 years3, further intensifying stresses on the carrying capacity of agricultural land, where currently two people share one hectare. By 2040, population density per hectare will increase to five. The prevalence of poverty is higher in than urban ones (55.9 per cent and 25.4 per cent, respectively), although rapid and unplanned urban settlements have resulted in faster growth of urban poverty. In Malawi, the wealthiest households are concentrated in urban areas. Almost half of the rural population (46%) falls in the two lowest wealth quintiles. There are also geographic disparities. Rural areas of the 1 IHS 2010 2 Malawi Economic Monitor, Q2 2016. World 2016 3 Assuming the same age proportions, 8.8 million children in 2015, 16.2 million 2050. Population density - about 139 in 2008 - is projected to grow to around must be matched by more effective and better targeted policy and programme responses. Malawi’s economy is predominantly agro-based with majority of the population directly and indirectly employed in the agriculture sector. Malawi was a net-food exporter in the 1970s and the country is endowed with large tracts of fertile land and immense opportunities for both rain fed and irrigated agriculture. Agriculture remains a key source of economic growth for the country, accounting for 40% of the GDP and over 85% of the total export earnings. Malawi’s heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture renders the country reliant on seasonal livelihoods and one rainy season. Moreover, the heavy dependence on maize limits options even further. Even under normal circumstances rural smallholder farmers face seasonal shocks and may remain in poverty, or move, and then fall back depending on the year. This situation has become worse and worse due the impacts of climate change. The most recent flood and droughts left approximately 6.7 million people food and nutrition insecure. Other environmental shocks that affect Malawi include landslides, forest fires, pest infestations disease, and earthquakes, as well as economic shocks. These shocks are driven by a high dependence on the agricultural sector, which has become increasingly unstable due weather- related events. Compared to 2014, inflation rates in 2015 were lower for the first quarter but were then driven upwards – predominantly by a shortage of food supply. The inflation rate for food was 23.9% while non-food items was 20.0%. Inflation for non-food items was catalysed by speculation by banks and the strengthening of the US dollar. Projections indicate that inflation rates will be lower than 10% by 2018 (Annual Economic Report, 2016). Despite important progress, the agricultural sector operates far below its capacity and the country continuously faces food shortages at national and household levels. Agriculture remains critical for achieving national development objectives such as broad- based growth, diversification of production and exports, poverty reduction, smallholder farmer income generation and food/nutrition security. There are two main types of shocks undermining Malawi’s ability to achieve sustained economic growth, address structural vulnerability, and to break the cycle of food insecurity. The first, economic shocks, include inflation, interest rates, and exchange rates. These shocks are already affected by chronic food and nutrition insecurity led to increasing annual humanitarian responses, from 8% of the country requiring assistance during the 2014/5 lean season, increasing to 18% in 2015/6, culminating with approximately 40% of the population in need of emergency assistance to survive the 2016/7 lean season. Rural households who largely depend on stable prices, access to markets, efficient infrastructure, and favourable weather conditions for their food security are particularly susceptible to economic and climatic shocks, exacerbating chronic food insecurity and catalysing acute food insecurity. When faced with successive and compounding shocks and little time to recover, households engage in negative strategies to cope6, which underlining their resilience and makes them more susceptible to future shocks. Over the last fifteen years, such shocks have contributed to increases in three core indices: 1) the number of food insecure people; 2) the frequency and scale of humanitarian appeals; and, 3) the annual costs of humanitarian/emergency assistance (Figure 2). These challenges reflect growing risk poor and vulnerable people, and as the frequency of these shocks increase so too does the threat of further eroding people’s rebound before the next shock occurs. The National Resilience Strategy recognizes the urgency to help poor Malawians strengthen resilience and reduce their exposure sources of vulnerability. Situational Analysis Southern Region have a poverty prevalence estimated at 63.3%, compared to 48.7% in the Central Region. Some districts, such as Mangochi (73.2%), Machinga (75%), Chikwawa (81.6%) and Nsanje (81.2%) - all in the Southern Region - have higher poverty prevalence than the rural average. decline. Although the poorest districts – those with the lowest capacity to cope to livelihood shocks – are found in the rural areas, environmental shocks such as drought and floods tend to be geographically clustered in the south, notably the Lower Shire. Southern rural populations are among the most exposed and vulnerable to climate-related risks and shocks in Malawi (Figure 1). addition Figure 1: Combined Risk of Drought and Flood4 The Third Integrated Household Survey of 2010/2011 revealed that 40% of Malawians just had enough income to meet expenses, 13% needed to use savings, and 27% needed to borrow money to meet expenses, all in conditions without exogenous shocks.5 rural areas Progress has been made in some key development indicators, for example between 1980 and 2014, Malawi’s life expectancy at birth increased by 18.0 years, while mean years of schooling increased by 2.5 years and expected years of schooling increased by 6 years (UNDP, 2015). However, Malawi still faces significant challenges to achieving poverty reduction, including persistent malnutrition with 37 percent of children under 5 considered to be short for their age or stunted (DHS, 2016), one of the highest rates in Africa; limited access to critical infrastructure with 47% of rural households still spending 30 minutes or more obtaining drinking water (DHS, 2016); relatively high levels of unemployment and underemployment (21% of the population, and 27% of employees respectively) (GoM, 2015); and a high HIV infection rate, the ninth highest in the world at 9.1 percent. Trends that point to growing inequality, including gender inequality, are of deep concern to the Government of Malawi, and Bank Malawi, March 4 Based on Integrated Context Analysis (WFP 2014) 5 The National Resilience Strategy will be guided by the findings of there are estimated to be the (forthcoming) Fourth Integrated Household Survey (IHS4) by 2030 and 27 million by 2016/17, Poverty Assessment for Malawi, the Integrated persons per square kilometer Household Panel Survey (IHPS) 2013, the Flood Impact Assessment 280 persons by 2030. Survey (FIAS) 2015, and complementary analyses. 2 primarily driven by a high dependence on an unstable agricultural sector. The second types of shocks are climatic shocks and are primarily driven by variability in precipitation (causing droughts, dry spells, and floods) and exacerbated by poor soil and land management practices. Included in this category are seasonal shocks owing on Malawi’s dependence on a signal 4-5- month rainy season and high levels of household vulnerability. With more than half of Malawi’s population classified as poor, the vast majority of whom make a living out of subsistence-oriented agricultural activities, the poor are most vulnerable to chronic and transitory food insecurity because of a limited capacity to cope with natural and economic shocks and a lack of resources to acquire the food needed to meet nutritional requirements. Food insecurity and malnutrition, in turn, deepen poverty through its effects on health and individual productivity, and because food insecure households may be forced to sell productive assets during periods of food deficit. and crop National poverty lines in Malawi are comprised of a ‘food’ component (cost of a person’s daily energy requirements of 2,400 kilocalories) and a ‘non-food component’ (cost of a bundle of basic needs). If the expenditure of food and non-food expenditure per person per year equates to, or is less than MWK37,002, households are considered ‘poor’. If equating to or less than MWK22,956, they are considered ‘ultra-poor”, according to 2011 calculations (GoM, 2015). In 2011, 50.7% of the country lived below the national poverty line, equating to 81% living under the international poverty line of US$2 per day (GoM, 2015). Whilst poverty in Malawi is widespread and deep, there are significant regional variations, with poverty levels in the poorest districts almost double the wealthier districts (GoM, 2015). In the last 2 years, Malawi has faced four employment, successive and compounding climatic shocks; from the worst flood in 50 years in 2015, the strongest El Niño in 35 years resulting in a drought, and two consecutively poor harvests. The 2015–2016 agricultural season was greatly affected by the strong El Niño conditions and resulted in erratic rains and prolonged dry spells across most parts of the country. These annual climatic shocks coupled with fluctuating market prices and a large baseline of the population 3 Lake Malawi in the Great Rift Valley to 3,000 meters in the highlands – localized weather conditions can vary. Malawi is blessed with natural resources, including the third largest lake in Africa (Lake Malawi) with an annual mean live storage capacity of 101 km3 of water, the Shire River, Malawi’s largest river, which carries an annual average of 18km3 of water out into the Zambezi River, and notable wetlands, such as Lake Chilwa Wetland. There are high levels of biodiversity, including over 4,000 species of fauna, 5,300 species of indigenous plants, and 1,000 species of micro-organisms (GoM, 2011). While forest types across Malawi differ, Miombo forests dominate in natural forests. Historically high rates of deforestation, estimated to be as high as 2% per annum, in both natural forests and plantations over the past three decades have significantly reduced forest cover. Drivers of deforestation and forest degradation include: production of charcoal (as a source of urban energy/cooking fuel), harvesting firewood for commercial sale (as a source of energy/cooking fuel), agricultural expansion, brick burning, and tobacco processing. for Malawi’s ability to their to multiple

1.2 — Climate Resilient Development

1.2 Climate Resilient Development A tropical climate characterizes Malawi, with temperatures that range from 18‐19°C in June, July, August, and rise to 22‐27°C between September and January. Rainfall is most prevalent during November to February, but can continue until April. The timing and intensity of precipitation is influenced by the shifting Inter‐ Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), elevation, Indian Ocean Sea Surface Temperatures, and the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, due to a fluctuating topography – from 800 meters around 6 Distress sale of productive assets, removing children from school to supplement labour and income, reducing quantity and quality of food consumption. 4 Figure 2: Trends in Humanitarian Responses to Shock-Affected Populations in Malawi (2000-2016) Annual Humanitarian / Emergency Response (US$ million) # of Shock Affected People The frequency and impact of shocks are emissions of greenhouse gases, and climate increased by the degradation of the environment change impacts such as extreme heat events in Malawi, including deforestation, loss of soil may now be unavoidable. As the regional climate cover, river bank erosion and siltation of rivers. shifts, heat and other weather extremes which Malawi’s deforestation rate is estimated to be used to occur in Malawi once in hundreds of slightly below 1%. Nonetheless, historic forest years, and considered highly unusual or loss coupled with the continuation of unprecedented today, are slated to become the unsustainable land, soil and natural resource “new climate normal”. The consequences for management practices significantly increase Malawi’s development will be severe as crop people’s vulnerability to climate change, and yields decline, water resources change, diseases intensify the impact of weather-related shocks. move into new ranges or new pests are Further loss of forests will impact every Malawian introduced, and farming systems and crop through: suitability come under increasing threat,  declining availability of wood for charcoal, particularly maize production. Significant crop firewood, timber, poles, and other uses, and yield impacts are already being felt at 0.8°C of water warming, and as temperatures rise, climate  decreasing soil fertility and water retention for change will add further pressure on Malawi’s farmers agricultural and food systems, social services,  increasing the incidence and severity of migration patterns, and infrastructure in urban floods, due to increased water runoff and rural areas.  declining economic productivity due to insufficient and unpredictable hydro power Climate change is expected to further shift production precipitation regimes away from their long- term norms, with the possibility to change the Climate-related shocks in Malawi are no longer intensity, magnitude, and frequency of severe unforeseen. While there will always be weather events. Recent observable events uncertainty around the severity of such shocks, indicate that the frequency of extreme weather climate trends point towards more volatility and events in Malawi has increased - more droughts stress. Warming of at least 1.5°C above pre- and floods have occurred in the last decade industrial levels is locked-in to the Earth’s (2000 – 2010) than in the past three decades atmospheric system due to past and predicted before (1970 – 2000), with other reports noting 5 that 25% of the population has experienced climate change will delay reaching Malawi’s drought seven or more times during this decade, poverty reduction targets and will make with similar trends in flood affected populations. achievement of its development goals more expensive, complex, and challenging. The impacts of climate change will often be most To adapt to climate change, the Government of severely felt by poor and socially excluded Malawi, its development partners, and all groups, whose capacity to adapt to both rapid- households face the dilemma of what to do first, and slow-onset climate change impacts is more what to do differently, and how much to invest in limited. These include migrant workers, women, different adaptation interventions. The MGDS III, girls, older people, and children. Although these the National Climate Change Investment Plan, groups — like their more advantaged and the National Adaptation Plan, provide counterparts — are already adapting to climatic guidance on these important challenges. and other changes, these efforts are often undermined by their limited assets. For example, Accelerating Malawi’s socio-economic transition increasing water stress can dramatically increase out of chronic poverty towards more climate- the labour burden associated with water resilient pathways calls for multiple, collection in rural and poor urban environments; complementary actions at different geographic and child malnutrition linked to climate change and institutional scales. The impacts of climate reducing protein and micronutrient contents of change are felt locally, and action to address staple foods could have irreversible, negative life- them must engage those most affected by time consequences for affected children. supporting and scaling up autonomous and planned adaptation. At the same time, resilience Climate change is exerting increasing stress on cannot be achieved by working at community Malawi’s ecosystems and infrastructure to the level alone. Scaling up and sustaining point of threatening to erode hard-won community-based resilience will require bridging developmental gains. Across Africa, the implementation gaps between local, sub- detrimental impacts of climate change on water, national, and national levels, and acting on a food and national security have become a broad understanding of the complementary roles multiplying threat to social and political harmony, of Malawi’s formal and informal institutions. and constitute a root cause for instability, Climate volatility makes policy and decision- including the displacement of people. making occur under conditions of increasing uncertainty. Malawi will therefore undertake a Climate change may lead to unplanned range of ‘no regret’, flexible and learn-by-doing displacement and affect patterns and rates of responses that will help tackle its impacts while migration. Most displacement related to extreme contributing to poverty reduction and the weather events has, to date, been temporary. economic development objectives outlined in the However, if climate change renders certain areas MGDS III. uninhabitable (for example, if they become too dry, or too frequently flooded) such migration 1.3 Nutrition for Resilience may increase in scale and lead to permanent resettlement within and outside of Malawi’s Malnutrition is also chronic in Malawi. The borders. country has seen a significant increase in new admissions of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) Avoidance of these impacts in Malawi calls for and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) among decisive responses and firm determination to children under five and for adolescents and adapt to climate change and variability while adults living with HIV during the drought period in simultaneously pursuing the poverty reduction 2016. This indicates that the 2016 drought ambitions and targets contained in the MGDS III. increased levels of risk and vulnerability in children aged under five, pregnant and lactating Climate resilient development recognizes that women and people living with HIV and AIDS. climate change is a fundamental threat to Malawi’s sustainable economic development, Building integral human capacity is fundamental and will generate an array of complex and for all Malawians to reach their full potential. interrelated consequences for every sector of Stunting and all forms of malnutrition are an society, with important economic or human urgent threat to the future of Malawi’s welfare impacts. Without concerted action, development (Figure 3). The cost of not 6 addressing stunting includes a 10.3% loss in GDP and declines in productivity7; The treatment Over the past two decades, Malawi has of under nutrition and related illnesses is a experienced a decline in the rates of critical recurrent cost for the health system. undernutrition, an indication that investments in When treating a severely underweight child for nutrition are paying off. The percentage of example, the economic cost of each episode can children under five years of age who are stunted be increased by inefficiencies when such has decreased from 47.1 in 2010 to 37.1 in episodes are treated without proper guidance 2015-16. Over half of children who were reported from a health-care professional or due to lack of to be very access to proper health services. Additional costs small at birth are stunted. Children born from for managing the increased malnutrition and thin mothers (BMI less than 18.5) are more likely morbidity above the baseline period have to be stunted, wasted, or underweight than incurred estimated losses up to USD 12 million. children born to mothers with normal BMI or These include immediate and projected losses. those who are overweight/obese. Stunting is Immediate losses were incurred in treating SAM higher among children in rural areas (39%) than and MAM children and PLW, mass screenings children in urban areas (25%). Forty-two percent and operational costs. However, effects of under- of children born to mothers with no education are nutrition would continue to be seen in the stunted compared with 12% of children born to affected districts for vulnerable groups including mothers with more than secondary education. adolescent and adults living with HIV/AIDS or TB, Forty-six percent of children in the lowest wealth U5s and PLW. These costs generate an important quintile are stunted compared with 24% in the burden not just to the public sector but to highest wealth quintile. However, the 2015-16 society. Nutrition is a multi-sectoral problem, and DHS showed relatively stagnant or worsening requires measurable, coordinated, and context- rates of anaemia in children since 2010, specific set of nutrition-specific and nutrition- reported at 62.5 percent and 62.6 percent, sensitive interventions through agriculture, social respectively. Even with the noted decline in protection, health, WASH, education, gender and undernutrition, continued efforts are needed to women’s empowerment, and institutional address micronutrient deficiencies and the high strengthening. Addressing malnutrition is a rates of stunting. The prevalence of proven upwards spiral and has intergenerational undernutrition is high among adolescent girls benefits: healthy mothers have improved birth (15.6 percent); similarly, the IYCF practices need outcomes, children with increased learning to be improved as the proportion of infants 0–6 capacity, and who attain higher education, and months old who are exclusively breastfed also declined from 71.4 percent in 2010 to 61.2 percent in 2015-16; and only 7.8 percent of children aged 6–23 months consumed foods that met the minimum acceptable diet. Micronutrient deficiencies, particularly vitamin A, iodine, and iron, are of major concern and continue to undermine health and development across all age groups. Iron deficiency coupled with the high malaria burden contributes to very high prevalence of anaemia, especially among women and children. Interventions such as dietary diversification, food fortification and supplementation are needed to control micronutrient deficiencies among women and are more productive and empowered. children. The causes of undernutrition are manifold: repeated infections including acute Figure 3: Stunting Rates in Malawi respiratory infections, diarrhoea, and malaria; suboptimal breastfeeding and infant feeding 7 African Union, NEPAD, WFP, UN Economic Commission for Africa, practices resulting in inadequate dietary intake The Cost of Hunger in Malawi, Social and Economic Impacts of Child are the immediate causes of malnutrition. The Undernutrition in Malawi, Implications on National Development, and Vision 2020. underlying causes include food insecurity; gender 7 inequality and women’s empowerment; poor Over the last fifteen years, Malawi’s self- hygiene practices and lack of safe water and sufficiency in maize production in non-disaster sanitation. As such, malnutrition is a complex years has come under increasing threat, and in problem that persists due to multiple causes the last two years it has been reliant on rooted in various sectors. In addition to nutrition- international assistance to achieve its national specific interventions, nutrition-sensitive food balance (Figures 2 and 4). Transitioning interventions that are multi-sectoral are essential from the use of emergency food assistance as a in reducing and eradicating malnutrition in ‘seasonal safety net’ for the chronically food Malawi. insecure towards more predictable short-, medium-, and long-term resilience support will In line with the multi-sectoral platform for require improvements in targeting and greater increased support and institutionalization of cooperation between humanitarian and Scaling Up Nutrition, and the National Multi development programming. This transition will Sectoral Nutrition Policy, the NRS will support key include: addressing the drivers of household priority areas: vulnerability to seasonal and other shocks, expanding shock-sensitive social protection, 1. Prevention of undernutrition transitioning relief beneficiaries onto multi-year 2. Gender equality, equity, protection, resilience programmes, and upscaling participation, and empowerment for contingency finance. improved nutrition 3. Treatment and control of acute malnutrition Responding to recurrent humanitarian 4. Prevention and management of overweight emergencies is straining Malawi’s economy, and nutrition-related NCDs eroding community, and household resilience, 5. Nutrition education, social mobilization, and and undermining productive development positive behaviour change expenditure. While preventing loss of life remains 6. Nutrition during emergency situations the overarching objective, humanitarian 7. Creating an enabling environment for emergencies exact a heavy toll. nutrition 8. Nutrition monitoring, evaluation, research, The costs of four previous occurrences of and surveillance disasters (2002, 2005, 2008 and 2015) have been estimated at close to US$1 billion. To ensure that a full multi-sectoral approach is Responding to the floods in 2015 cost a total strengthened and coordinated among the same US$335 million in losses and damages, with an households, communities, and market additional USD$494 million required for recovery coordinators, the NRS prioritizes investments in and reconstruction89. The humanitarian scaling-up nutrition-sensitive interventions response during the 2016-2017 lean season through agriculture at household, community, cost an estimated US$395 million10. and food systems levels to impact highly vulnerable households and individuals as well as the food market environment for nutrition. Household and community WASH are also essential to improve nutritional outcomes. WASH interventions should also ensure coordination with other integrated water resource management, catchment planning, and multi-use water systems to scale up essential hygiene actions, and improving the health and sanitation environment, as well as food safety issues that negatively impact nutrition through agriculture, livestock, irrigation, the rural marketplace environment, and other interventions. 8 GoM, World Bank, EU and UNDP, Post-Disaster Needs Assessment Report (PNDA), 2015. 9 During the 2015 floods, an estimated 1.1 million were affected, with 230,000 people displaced, 106 people killed, and 172 people

1.4 — Development – Humanitarian Nexus missing and now presumed perished (PDNA, 2015)

1.4 Development – Humanitarian Nexus missing and now presumed perished (PDNA, 2015). 10 Actual funds mobilized totalled $286.7 million. 8 deficit, significant additional resources were Figure 4: Multi-Year Food Insecurity and Stunting11 required from Development Partners (DPs) to enable the Government to implement an effective humanitarian response to the food crisis. Despite these efforts, recurrent climate- related shocks have prevented faster deficit reduction and consistent allocation of state resources toward productive investment (Figure 5). Climate-related shocks (whether rapid-onset flood or slow-onset drought) trigger not only harvest failures but a sequence of knock-on shocks to Malawi’s economy. There are several points in this sequence where effective development interventions can mitigate the shock and prevent a production shock from evolving into a full-blown humanitarian emergency. While the frequency of shocks in Malawi is increasing (Figure 6), disasters are never entirely natural. They are the result of how natural events interact with aspects such as a lack of preparedness and coping and adaptation capacity, as well as inaction to reduce over- Economic productivity is suppressed during exposure and vulnerability to hazards. humanitarian disasters, caused by business disruptions from loss of electricity, water, and Figure 5: Climate-related Shocks and Reducing Fiscal communication facilities, lost government Deficits13 revenue, particularly from consumption-based taxes. GDP growth for Malawi was revised from projected 5% to 2.8%12 following the floods in 2015. Investments in long-term development programmes and their livelihood benefits on people’s lives can be lost during times of disaster, which reflects the need for safeguard public expenditure to build resilience, while at the same time implementing more flexible and scalable approaches that better link humanitarian and development interventions. Owing to the severe drought in 2016/17, the state budget was adjusted to increase allocations for the purchase of food and for investments in the agricultural sector. Health, education, and social protection budgets were ring-fenced, with reduced allocations to almost all other budget lines. Irrigation was prioritized in the development budget, as a significant measure to improve resilience and prescribed measures included reforms to the Fertilizer Input Subsidy Programme (FISP). To meet Malawi’s overall food 11 Based on Integrated Context Analysis (WFP 2014). 12 IMF (2015) 13 Based on Economic Monitor (World Bank, May 2016) 9 Figure 6: Frequency of Shocks by District (2000-2013) emergency response to predictable seasonal The risk that shocks pose to poor households in shocks in Malawi has become the safety net, Malawi is a function of the severity of hazards, rather than proactive risk mitigation and building household exposure to the risk, and household resilience. A growing body of global research and vulnerability. A shock can be long-term or evidence shows that investing in linkages gradual, and can affect communities as a whole between cash transfer safety net programmes, (covariate shocks), or only a limited number of paired with asset building, financial services for households (idiosyncratic shocks). the poor, and investments in livelihoods, reduces vulnerability and exposure, thus enabling people The relationship of these factors is shown in the to better withstand shocks, and pursue formula: graduation pathways out of poverty. Risk = Hazard x Exposure x Vulnerability 1.5 Inclusive Growth for Resilience Resilience The National Resilience Strategy recognizes that While any household in Malawi can be affected building and sustaining long-term resilience must by shocks, not all have the same probability of take place in an environment of broad-based and recovering. Households in a chronic state of inclusive economic growth. Escapes from multi- poverty and food insecurity, where their livelihood dimensional poverty are possible in an remains in a constant state of risk, will be less environment that offers a range of social likely to fully recover or bounce back to the same protection, livelihoods, and economic state before the shock. Other households who opportunities, as well as access to education and live just above the poverty line are at risk of nutrition for different households and individuals. falling back into poverty. For these households, lack of resilience is both a cause and a symptom Accelerating inclusive growth for resilience of poverty which contributes to a steady erosion requires maintaining macroeconomic stability, of their capacity to cope with successive shocks. reducing food price volatility, facilitating private While timely and effective humanitarian investment, sustaining prudential fiscal responses are essential to address these shocks, 10 management, and keeping agricultural markets livelihood support to improve their well-being functional and non-distortionary. and to lead healthy and productive lives;  displacement of existing institutional and Financial markets require further expansion to organizational capacity at national, district provide credit, insurance, and savings products and local levels from developmental and services to poor households at sufficient investments towards expensive relief efforts; scale to enable them to better manage risk,  effects on national pride from repeated and pursue opportunities to start and sustain demeaning appeals to development businesses, and improve farm and non-farm partners; income diversification.  delayed achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Agenda 2030, Private sector investment in agriculture, as well and Agenda 2063. as in power generation, is expected to bring new opportunities for economic growth. Opportunities While interventions continue to provide short- to grow the non-farm rural economy are also term improvement to food sufficiency, breaking being pursued in value chain development, the cycle of chronic food insecurity will require all marketing, rural transport, rural-urban linkages, national and international development and and in other sectors such as mining, humanitarian actors to fulfil their commitments construction, and services to encourage farmers as outlined in agreements such as: the Grand and farm labourers into the wider rural and urban Bargain reached at the World Humanitarian economies. As most households are net food Summit, the New Alliance for Food and Nutrition buyers, boosting economic development will Security, the Scaling up Nutrition Movement, the increase the incomes of poor rural households Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, while introducing spill-over benefits to improve the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the their resilience to shocks through linkages to the United Convention to Combat Desertification. wider economy. The NRS aims to shrink Malawi’s humanitarian needs by preventing recurrent and predictable Improvements to household resilience will be seasonable shocks from becoming recurrent reflected in: i) per capita economic growth that crises. While humanitarian reforms have outpaces population growth over the long-term, improved Malawi’s national response, emergency ii) in a steady net decline in multi-dimensional interventions are fragmented, underscoring the poverty, and iii) in strong governance, technical need to improve accountability and coordination and implementation capacity at household, among actors, and between prevention, community, district, and national levels to deliver preparedness, response, and recovery actions. social services and expand resilience-building investments. The overall objective of the NRS is to harness resilience building strategies under a common The GoM therefore joins its humanitarian and programme framework and coordinated multi- development partners in emphasizing the need sectoral approach, to reduce vulnerability to to address the underlying drivers of vulnerability seasonal predictable shocks, as well as severe to shocks and natural hazards, to make progress and sudden onset emergencies. This will be in building household and community resilience. done by investing in irrigation and farm inputs, consumption support through the social safety Recurrent humanitarian disasters in Malawi net, developing graduation pathways that contribute to major negative impacts, including: promote asset creation, accumulation, and  failure to move beyond a low-level economic diversification, while also strengthening financial equilibrium beyond which rural people can services, inclusive economic growth, robust early be lifted at scale out of multi-dimensional warning systems, the natural resource poverty and chronic food insecurity, which environment, diversified livelihoods, and contributes to households churning around improved nutritional outcomes. Collectively the poverty line on a yearly or seasonal through household and systems level basis; strengthening, these elements will lead to  stagnant development and an unhappy resilient households, human capacity, population eager for better and more access livelihoods, agricultural transformation. to livelihood opportunities and predictable 11 The NRS is intended to strengthen the development and humanitarian nexus, by improving linkages between Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and all development partners to effectively deliver a combination of predictable and complementary resilience building interventions targeted to the vulnerability characteristics of food insecure and poor households across the country. 12

2.1 — Defining Resilience

2.1 Defining Resilience The National Resilience Strategy (NRS) defines resilience as the ability of urban 2 and rural communities, households, and individuals, to withstand, recover from, and reorganize in response to crises, so that all members of Malawian society can develop and maintain their ability to benefit from opportunities to thrive. Strengthening people’s capacity for resisting, coping, recovering, and bouncing _____________ back from shocks and extreme events requires well targeted and long-term investments that recognize that adaptation to a changing climate must be tackled at multiple scales. Vision and 2.2 Vision Statement Guiding A country free of chronic vulnerability and food and nutrition insecurity, where Principles sustainable economic growth creates opportunities for everyone, and where _____________ people are resilient to economic and environmental shocks that affect their lives and livelihoods.

2.3 — Guiding Principles

2.3 Guiding Principles Implementation of the NRS by stakeholders will be guided by the following principles: i. Common Vision and Government Ownership: The NRS is a country-owned common vision for breaking the cycle of predictable food insecurity, enabled by sustained political leadership and organizational stewardship across ministries and at all levels of government for its joint implementation. ii. Strategic Targeting: Targeting criteria will consider the needs and opportunities for both vulnerable and productive populations to ensure the linked objectives of social protection, reducing vulnerability and exposure to risk, sustained economic growth, and poverty reduction are met. Similarly, both chronic and acute vulnerability will be addressed with scalable and sustainable interventions. Critical geographic targeting, such as watershed catchments, irrigation sites, and market corridors will be prioritized to grow and sustainably protect natural assets contributing to climate resilience and economic development. Interventions will be context specific, based on assessment considering culture, ethnicity, agro-ecological zones, and market development. iii. Joint Programme Framework: The NRS will serve as a platform to convene all stakeholders in the formulation of a MGDS III Flagship Partnership Programme on Resilience, under a common multi-sectoral programme framework that concentrates investments in complementary interventions through geographical and technical integration, targeting various population groups at different times and in different ways to strengthen their resilience to shocks and promote graduation pathways out of chronic poverty, with a commitment to ‘leaving no one behind’. iv. Joint Performance Metrics: Based on a common understanding of the issues involved in building resilience, NRS stakeholders will engage in joint monitoring, evaluation and learning through the collective impacts of interventions implemented under the NRS Common Programme Framework. 13 Approaches will be grounded in results-based sustained economic growth, good governance, management, data and evidence of change shock-sensitive safety nets, and improved and impact. A management and monitoring early warning systems. and evaluation unit for joint oversight of NRS implementation, monitoring, evaluation, ix. Accountability and stewardship of resources: learning, and information management Accountability and sound stewardship of systems (including spatial data) will guide financial and material resources, and investments and consolidate high-level equitable and equal management of human collective outcomes, while responsibility for resources with respect to human rights are monitoring and evaluating each sector- essential to achieving the goals and specific component and pillar of the NRS will aspirations of the NRS, the MSDS II, and rest with implementing ministries and human development goals for Malawi. In line agencies concerned. with the individual policies and programmes of all stakeholders, the NRS affirms zero v. Equity and Inclusiveness: The implementation tolerance for misuse or corruption of financial of the National Resilience Strategy shall and material resources. Stakeholders commit ensure that all people, irrespective of their to respect equal and equitable management geographic location, sex, age, religion, political of all human resources at all levels, allowing or other opinion, ethnicity or social origin, for safe and accountable forum for freedom of disability or other status are resilient to expression, civil society development and economic and environmental shocks that citizen participation and leadership in their affect their lives and livelihoods. To be own development. effective, resilience interventions will address age and gender specific needs, vulnerabilities 2.4 Common Programme Framework and deprivations, and socio-economic inequities of affected people, and be reflected The National Resilience Strategy is a 12-year in their design, implementation, monitoring strategy implemented in two five-year phases and reporting. The NRS will promote gender aligned with the MGDS III and the SDGs14, with equality, including through targeted the final phase (2028-2030) focused on agricultural interventions for women and consolidating lessons learned to inform the next vulnerable groups. generation NRS. The first five-year phase (2018- 2022) will launch the medium-term goal of the vi. Enabling Environment: Macroeconomic NRS to start the transition from recurrent stability and an improved enabling humanitarian appeals to protective and environment are needed to increase the productive investments targeting chronically resilience of households, communities, and and/or predictably food insecure and poor businesses and to incentivise private sector households, while also strengthening markets, investment in climate-smart agriculture, infrastructure, and economic growth supported irrigation, electricity generation, market through strong institutional coordination and development and exports, and resilient multi-sectoral planning and implementation. infrastructure. The NRS Common Programme Framework vii. Efficient Coordination: The institutional, (Table 1) will facilitate alignment for national coordination, and accountability structures and sub-national programmes to accelerate, outlined in the NRS must be functional and channel, and concentrate multi-sectoral respected, with institutional and coordination investments that through their combined arrangements, with effective monitoring and outcomes will achieve high level impacts. evaluation systems to inform adjustments to Systems strengthening and coordination, implementation based on evidence and investments in information systems and lessons learned. programme learning are core to the success of implementation and monitoring viii. Environmental Stewardship: While Malawi cannot entirely prevent droughts and floods, collective action can prevent drought and flood emergencies by improving management 14 Alignment of the NRS with the SDGs will involve a reporting against the SDG targets in 2030, to inform the design of a next of the environment and natural resources, generation NRS post-2030. 14 Table 1: NRS Common Programme Framework15 NRS Goal (by 2030): A country free of chronic vulnerability, food and nutrition insecurity, where sustainable economic development creates opportunities for everyone, and where people are resilient to economic and environmental shocks that affect their lives and livelihoods. Combined Pillar Impacts Verifiable Indicator (disaggregated by gender, age) 2018- 2023- 2028- Means of verification Assumptions 2022 2027 2030 National and devolved government Percent reduction in extreme poverty 8% TBD TBD Survey (IHS)  Investments institutions, civil society, and are made communities Reduction and prevalence and depth of food insecurity 10% TBD TBD Food Insecure through all Experience Scale (FIES) pillars Sustain reductions in the number of Reduction in number of people requiring food and cash assistance as a result of flood 30% 30% 30% MVAC chronically food and nutrition and drought emergencies Joint Post Disaster  Multi- insecure households Assessments sectoral Specialized surveys approach is Reduction in childhood stunting Return on Investment money and livelihoods saved from averting food and nutrition TBD TBD TBD Joint Post Disaster implemente crisis compared to past crisis Assessments d and Transform the agriculture sector Specialized studies coordinated into an engine for shared economic Percent of poor Malawians graduated from the SCTP TBD TBD 50% Population survey at scale growth, food and nutrition security Specialized studies and poverty reduction.  Political and Percent of poor Malawians living above the poverty line who do not backslide into TBD TBD TBD Population survey economic Safeguard Malawi’s natural poverty stability resource endowments and Percent annual growth in agriculture GDP 6% 6% 6% Survey ecosystems that contribute to social  Increased and economic prosperity. Annual reduction in percent of children under five years of age stunted 5% 5% 5% DHS funding Percent reduction in anaemia in under five and WCBA 57% 52% 47% DHS sourced Enhance climate-adaptation capacity of all stakeholders Percent annual growth in agriculture GDP 6% 6% 6% DHS Increase in availability, access, quality, and affordability of recommended food groups TBD TBD TBD Market surveys Enhance early warning and in Malawi in local and regional markets. response mechanisms that Percent increase in hectares managed through improved land management practices 15% (4 TBD TBD Project assessments safeguard lives and livelihoods from (protective forest cover in priority catchments) m ha) shocks, primarily floods and Percent change in women’s empowerment TBD TBD TBD Women Empowerment droughts in Agriculture (WEIA) Specialized studies Women’s empowerment Optimal funding levels for multi-sectoral programmes and programming in priority Yes Yes Yes Government records strengthened through cross-cutting NRS areas is allocated by the GoM Treasury and Develop Partners. (yes/no) strategies and measurable National and devolved government institutions fund and implement coordinated Yes Yes Yes Government records outcomes multi-sectoral plans supporting NRS priorities. 15 *Note: Indicators will be validated during the first phase of implementation. 15 2018 2023 2028 Pillar 1: Resilient Agriculture Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) - – - Means of verification 2022 2027 2030 Pillar 1 – Overall Outcome: Resilient agriculture Percent change in real farm incomes disaggregated by TBD TBD TBD Agricultural survey results in increased real farm incomes, increased gender FIES Score and diversified agricultural exports, economic Change in food security Household survey growth, food security and nutrition Volume and prices of recommended nutrient rich food TBD TBD TBD Market surveys groups in Malawi in local and regional markets Number of farmers with land rights recorded under the TBD TBD TBD Records of district new land Registries (by gender and age) land registries, MoLHUD Percent of women among owners or rights-bearers of 50 50 50 Records of district agricultural land, by type of tenure land registries, MoLHUD Percent of children under 5 years old children meeting -6 80 85 90 DHS; Seasonal HH food group minimum dietary diversity requirement surveys Percent of women meeting -minimum dietary diversity 80 85 90 DHS; Seasonal HH requirement surveys Pillar 2 Overall Outcome: Risk Reduction, Flood Percent reduction in population vulnerable to the impacts TBD TBD TBD MVAC Control, Drought Mitigation, and Early Warning and of drought and floods Post-emergency Response Systems protect against disaster, save assessment reports lives, the environment, and increase productivity RIMA Score Pillar 3: Overall Outcome: Protecting individuals Percent increase in consumption expenditure TBD TBD TBD Household surveys and households against vulnerability to multidimensional poverty Percent HH and individuals with improved coping TBD TBD TBD Household surveys strategies disaggregated by gender Percent HH and individuals with increased productive TBD TBD TBD Household surveys assets and risk mitigation services disaggregated by gender. Percent reduction in youth unemployment rate 5% 5% 5% Household surveys Pillar 4 - Overall Outcome: Malawi's natural Percent Increase in change in soil carbon 80% 80% 80% NAIP reports resource assets, ecosystems and services are Research reports sustainably managed, and contribute to Type and quality and quality of ecosystems services and Surveys sustainable livelihoods products 16 and evaluation, as well as the evolution of the farmer organizations, and access to local and strategy. The long-term outcome of the National regional markets. The GoM is also working to Resilience Strategy is to make Malawi resilient establish larger-scale risk financing and to economic and environmental shocks and able protection measures, including pooled risk to sustain inclusive growth, food security, and insurance instruments, and increasing access to improved well-being for all Malawians. micro-insurance products for smallholder farmers. Value chain development for local and The NRS Common Programme Framework is regional markets and exports help drive intended to provide high level strategic economic growth, while also creating push-pull alignment and measurable outcomes. The mechanisms and providing market entry for framework is not intended to dictate strategies smallholders. Improved management of the Farm or activities. Rather, innovation and learning are Input Subsidy Programme (FISP), Strategic Grain encouraged in the strategic approaches, Reserve (SGR), and ADMARC contributes to combinations of services, and activities productivity, market stabilization and contributes promoted to achieve and measure high-level to disaster risk reduction (DRR). Agriculture outcomes and results. Some specific contributes to improved nutritional outcomes interventions prioritized in the NRS are already through diversification, natural resource underway. Some geographic priorities are management, increased dietary diversity, identified, and new programmes will be improved food safety, the food market implemented on a rolling basis. As all new environment, and increased incomes enabling programmes are developed, ongoing people to grow and purchase quality and diverse programmes must be taken into consideration, foods. Women’s empowerment is also integral to and include an assessment and plan detailing improving nutrition through increasing access specific leverage points for integration with the and control over productive livelihoods assets, NRS pillars, such as co-location, beneficiary and management of women’s time and energy targeting, strategic technical integration, and expenditure. data integration (see Section 2.6 below). The NRS focuses on strengthening the

2.5 — Theory of Change humanitarian-development nexus through

2.5 Theory of Change humanitarian-development nexus through mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management The NRS Theory of Change (Figure 7) sets Malawi (DRM) across all technical sectors and on a course to reach a high- level goal of: “A administrative levels prioritizing drought and country free of chronic vulnerability, food and flood risks, and other emergencies. Initiatives will nutrition insecurity, and where sustainable focus on strengthening flood control, effective economic development creates opportunities for early warning systems, and preparedness, everyone, and where people are resilience to response, and recovery. Risk mitigation will be economic and environmental shocks that affect integrated throughout activities resulting in their lives and livelihoods”. reduced household and system-level vulnerability, especially impacting smallholder To reach this goal, NRS outcomes include famers, livelihoods, and climate resilience. improved food and nutrition security, and Strengthening early warning systems (EWS) also wellbeing. Malawi will transition from relying on reduces vulnerability and exposure, while recurrent humanitarian appeals to protective and increasing the effectiveness of response and productive investments that reduce vulnerability recovery. Shock-sensitive social protection is and exposure to shocks for the poorest. embedded in the MNSSP II policy, and will link the SCTP registry, and later the Universal Collectively the following pillar impacts will result Beneficiary Registry through the National in combined pillar impacts, leading to the High- Registration and Identification System biometric Level Pillar outcomes and the NRS goal. ID cards, to the humanitarian registry. This will enable more efficient and effective targeting, Resilient agriculture requires large-scale flexible response strategies, and delivery of investment in risk reduction measures such as complimentary household support based on drought mitigation through asset creation multi-criteria assessment and mapping. engaging smallholder farmers in integrated Recovery also integrates risk mitigation through watershed management (IWM), irrigation, crop adopting a ‘building back better’ approach, and livestock diversification, while strengthening focused on asset creation, agricultural growth, 17 climate resilience, and nutrition and livelihoods register and SCOPE16, with the National ID card. for the vulnerable. Such integration will facilitate the delivery of Human capacity, livelihoods, and social shock-sensitive responses through vertical and protection build on DRM and protect the horizontal expansion of livelihood support, while vulnerable against multi-dimensional poverty also improving monitoring of household access to through social protection, livelihoods, and complimentary programmes under all the NRS nutrition interventions. The MNSSP II provides pillars. consumption support to the most vulnerable to meet basic needs, food, shelter, health care and Nutrition-interventions focus on scaling up high education. The PWP and CFA programmes impact nutrition-specific and sensitive provide seasonal employment, foster livelihoods interventions addressing the direct and diversification, and investment in community and underlying causes of malnutrition, contributing to household assets and infrastructure, while SMP human capacity and resilience. Nutrition-specific increases access to education, and address gaps activities are implemented through health and in food sufficiency for school-aged children. nutrition staff and the Care Group Model (CGM) to address immediate causes of malnutrition. Livelihoods strategies aim to reach MNSSP Nutrition-sensitive activities are implemented beneficiaries, and expand graduation strategies through a multi-sectoral approach, addressing by expanding linkages to other NRS pillars, the underlying and basic causes of malnutrition, including job creation through asset protection contributing to food security, diverse, and creation, scaling up risk mitigation sustainable, and resilient food systems, dietary strategies, and accelerating support for diversity, nutrition-sensitive social protection livelihoods that offer higher value returns through services, and natural resource management. agricultural and/or non-agricultural diversification. VSL and appropriate MFI loans, Catchment protection contributes to climate and other risk financing measures such as crop resilience through increasing forest cover and and livestock insurance, contribute to income protecting and growing Malawi’s natural smoothing, build assets, and diversify into resources base, while also contributing to livelihoods with higher returns. Livelihoods sustainable livelihoods, agriculture, and nutrition interventions through stronger extension support through renewable energy, forest-based also strengthen value chains, commercial enterprises, and ecosystems payments. agriculture, reduction of post-harvest loss, and Investments in rural electrification along major exports, and expand into service sector trading posts and public institutions will also development. The NRS supports development of foster job growth, increased and improved a national workforce development strategy to access to health care and education, and foster immediate longer-term opportunities for increase ability for children and youth to study, managed rural and urban growth, especially for thus also contributing to human resilience. youth. Early childhood development, life skills and coaching, training in skill building and Cross-cutting strategies include strengthening education, especially for women, adolescent government institutions, civil society girls, and youth, are integral to livelihoods organizations, and coordination among development, and will foster a more confident, development partners to deliver high quality and capable, and productive workforce. efficient services, and increase citizen participation in advocacy and leadership in Shock-sensitive social protection strategies are building resilience. embedder in the MNSSP II policy. These strategies are integral to protecting assets and Strengthening women’s empowerment is integral livelihoods, and enable the Government, to all pillars and will be measured drawing on the development, and humanitarian actors to better National Gender Policy indicators, and mitigate the impact of disasters through introducing the Women’s Empowerment in integrating risk mitigation strategies across all Agriculture Index (WEAI). Women provide 70% of NRS pillars. The government is committed to improving Malawi’s social registry by integrating 16 SCOPE is WFP’s web-based beneficiary and transfer the MNSSP CT registry, the UBR, humanitarian management platform that supports the WFP programme intervention cycle from beginning to end, from beneficiary registrations, intervention setups, distribution planning, food, cash and voucher transfers and distribution reporting. 18 the labour in the agricultural sector, produce 70% of the household food, and perform 50-70% of all agricultural tasks. However, most women are side-lined from decision making and leadership positions, and have limited access and control over productive 19 Figure 7: NRS Theory of Change 20 livelihoods assets, such as land, inputs and development strategies to buy down risk, build extension services, and income. Cultural practices demand, and facilitate uptake of new that promote early marriage and pregnancy technologies and practices. Pairing knowledge require girls to drop out of school, resulting in promoted through social behaviour change, reduced livelihoods opportunities, and poorer marketing, or other strategies, means and health and nutritional outcomes. Women’s motivation to pay for services or change empowerment and improvements in gender behaviour, and a stable environment, has also relations have proven impacts on productivity, resulted in more sustainable uptake of income generation, diversification, and improved practices.17 The NRS supports learning and decision making on the use of income and scaling up of existing and new interventions to resources to meet household consumption and create the greatest value add for building nutritional needs. The NRS will strengthen resilience. measurable integration of women’s empowerment and youth initiatives, across all NRS pillars. Geographic Targeting

2.6 — Linkage to MGDS III and Integration across While spatial concentration of the NRS pillars

2.6 Linkage to MGDS III and Integration across While spatial concentration of the NRS pillars NRS Pillars and components will be reaffirmed in Phase I, the vision for the NRS is to channel resources as The NRS supports actions that integrate and a multi-sectoral “package of services” in priority leverage interventions to ensure the greatest areas, such as high-value catchments and impact of multi-sectoral strategies, while also watershed areas, drought prone zones, or market coordinating service delivery. Under the NRS, corridors. First, this is to ensure that vulnerable activities should be integrated geographically households and groups in priority areas benefit through co-location, beneficiary targeting, and from the compounded impacts of all strategic technical sector linkages. Depending on the interventions and services, through a social programme design this may happen at the same protection and graduation approach described in or different times, through joint implementation; the NRS Theory of Change. Highly coordinated through joint beneficiary targeting; through data activities must be implemented over longer sharing, common metrics, and technical sector periods of time to allow sufficient time for people approaches; and through other strategies such to adopt new behaviours and develop livelihood as social and behavioural change pathways that allow an exit from poverty, to build communication, marketing, and development a critical mass of sustainable and functional communications. natural resource management systems, prosperous livelihoods, and nourished and more Multi-sector Integration resilient people. The priority areas will be jointly assessed and reviewed, and agreed upon as per The NRS is aligned with programmes under the the implementation arrangements and structure. MSDS III, including linkages to specific flagship The multi-sectoral approach will also require that projects and mechanisms. The NRS Integration each line ministry request budget allocation to Matrix (Table 2) provides illustrative examples of the joint NRS implementation plans. entry points for integration between the pillars Development Partners will also work together to and linkages to the broader scope of the MGDS improve coordination, and agree on funding and III. These are not exhaustive. Experience in modalities to support this arrangement. Table 3 Malawi and elsewhere shows that a more outlines initial priority areas; however, these will detailed context analysis, a learning process, be validated in detail during implementation. As a and building evidence is required to gauge what multi-sectoral resilience strategy, the NRS will be combinations of activities are feasible, effective rolled-out in accordance with the long-term and result in the highest value in terms of process of political and administrative reducing risk, asset creation, and diversifying decentralization, with districts increasingly livelihoods in different contexts. The ability to responsible for the planning, budgeting, and adopt a new practice or new livelihoods also implementation. depends on the type of beneficiary, socio- economic factors affecting the household or person, and their endowments and capabilities. 17 Fanta III Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance, FHI360, Sectoral linkages can also be enhanced through USAID, 2015. Sustaining Development: A synthesis of Results from a Four-Country Study of Sustainability and Exit Strategies among other mechanisms, such as push-pull market Development Food Assistance Projects. 21 Table 2: NRS Integration Matrix Linkages to MGDS Catchment Protection and Risk Reduction, Flood Control, Early Warning, Human Capacity, Livelihoods, Cross-cutting: Gender and Resilient Agriculture III outside the Management and Response and Social Protection Women’s Empowerment scope of the NRS Coordinated agriculture Drought tolerant technologies, and asset Home grown school meals, Agricultural livelihoods contribute Agricultural investments contribute to creation contribute to reducing vulnerability, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, to women’s empowerment and research climate-smart outcomes, and disaster mitigation. Crop surveillance linked and agricultural livelihoods decision making. sustainable land and water to EWS help provide timely and accurate contribute to building human management, and build markets information to vulnerable households, enabling capacity, nutrition, and social Gender and nutrition consideration Resilient for sustainable ecosystem more effective prevention and response protection. in agriculture can maintain health Agriculture products and services (e.g., mechanisms. and sanitation standards, improve contour bunds, infiltration labour efficiency for women, ditches, to enhance agricultural consider child care needs, and production and decrease soil promote continued practice of ENA loss). and EHA/ Coordination of Public works projects and climate smart Public works projects contribute Value add processing IGAs from Transport, industry, reforestation, electrification, technologies contribute to flood control and to the social safety net, non-timber forest products and tourism more efficient and drought mitigation. employment, and nutrition. Catchment renewable energy, Fuel efficient stoves and renewable Protection and technologies can enhance Reducing use of fuel wood and energy help women reduce cooking Management agricultural and economic charcoal improves the health and time, generate electricity, and outcomes, and reduce sanitation environment. maintain a healthier home pressure of forests. environment. Systematically integrating Public works projects and flood Nutrition-sensitive social Protection for women through Infrastructure. Risk Reduction, risk reduction strategies in control contribute to increased protection and asset creation asset creation, access to Flood Control, all agriculture investments river bank and hill stabilization, contributes to expanded options information. Early Warning, will protect agricultural and climate resilience. for nutrition and livelihoods. and Response investments, and mitigate Effective early warning systems the impact of shocks. save lives. Human Achieving food and nutrition Public works under MNSSP II Application of forecasts and early warnings to Empowering girls, and other Health Systems Capacity, security through resilient and LDF, as well as forest-based inform ‘triggers’ for shock-sensitive social vulnerable groups to go to and stay Strengthening Livelihoods, agriculture requires a enterprise and ecosystems protection action, and enable HHS to take in school and Social healthy, educated, and payments contribute to preparedness action to protect development Education systems Protection productive population. catchment protection. gains. Strengthening women’s Women’s empowerment in Women are vital actors in community-based Women’s empowerment, in Women’s X-cutting: empowerment in agriculture catchment plans leads can early warning systems, response, and recovery. healthy relationships, caring for empowerment is Gender and and income is leads to enhance livelihoods Empowering women in emergencies can help children, prioritizing girl’s cross cutting in all Women’s significant gains in reach vulnerable and at-risk groups, and education, and shared decision MGDS III strategies. Empowerment productivity, diversity, and strengthen basis for recovery. making for the or the family nutrition. Linkages to Infrastructure and rural Investments in rural electricity, Risk Financing will reduce risk for all. Health care, education, and trade Women’s empowerment is cross MGDS III roads will strengthen and managed urban growth will creates opportunities for cutting in all MGDS III strategies. services outside agriculture. help increase demand for livelihoods. focus of the renewable energy. NRS 22 Table 3: NRS Geographical Coverage Component Pillar Scope of Coverage Sustainable North: Karonga, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Rumphi, Nkhatabay Irrigation Central: Salima, Nkhotakota, Mchinji, Ntchisi, Lilongwe Development South: Malombe, Mangochi, Nsanje, Mwanza, Mulanje, Phalombe, Thyolo Agricultural All NRS priority catchment, irrigation, and drought prone zones. Diversification Market Development, Value All NRS priority catchment, irrigation, and drought prone zones. Resilient Agricultural Addition & Exports Growth Strategic Grain National Reserve South: TBD Drought Mitigation Central: TBD North: TBD Farm Input Subsidy All NRS priority zones and National Programme Risk Reduction National South: Machinga, Nsanje, Zomba, Chikwawa, Phalombe Risk Reduction, Flood Flood Prevention & Central: Salima Control, Early Warning Control North: Karonga, Rumphi & Response Disaster Preparedness, National Response & Recovery Social Cash Transfer: 2016: 18 districts; 2017+: National Public Works Programme: National; pilot integration with Shock Sensitive catchment protection: Phalombe, Dedza, Mchinji, Nkhatabay Social Support School Meals Programme: All NRS intervention zones, and national Human Capacity, Village Savings & Loan: All NRS priority zones and National Livelihoods, and Social Micro-finance: All NRS priority zones and National Protection Livelihoods Diversification: All priority NRS intervention zones, and Livelihoods and as per national priorities Nutrition Nutrition: All priority NRS intervention zones as per national priorities North: Karonga, Mzimba, Nkhata Bay Forest & Landscape Central: Lilongwe, Kasungu, Mchinji, Ntchisi, Ntcheu Restoration South: Machinga, Mulanje, Mwanza, Blantyre, Nsanje North: Karonga, Mzimba, Nkhata Bay Payment for Central: Lilongwe, Kasungu, Mchinji, Ntchisi, Ntcheu Ecosystem Services South: Machinga, Mulanje, Mwanza, Blantyre, Nsanje Catchment Protection North: Chitipa, Karonga, Rumphi, Nkhatabay & Management Central: Kasungu, Dowa, Nkhotakota, Lilongwe, Mchinji, Salima, Sustainable Energy Ntchisi, Dedza, Ntcheu, South: Balaka, Mangochi, Mwanza, Neno, Machinga, Chiradzulu, Phalombe, Mulanje, Chikwawa, Nsanje, Blantyre, Thyolo, Zomba North: Karonga, Mzimba, Nkhata Bay Forest-based Central: Lilongwe, Kasungu, Mchinji, Ntchisi, Ntcheu Enterprises South: Balaka, Chikwawa, Mulanje, Nsanje, Thyolo, Phalombe, Machinga 23

2.7 — Beneficiary Targeting diversifying risk and reducing vulnerability

2.7 Beneficiary Targeting diversifying risk and reducing vulnerability. Others may be able to step out of agricultural To promote inclusive growth for resilience, robust activities, partially or entirely into higher small targeting of different households across the and medium enterprises (SME) or employment poverty spectrum with complementary that has a different risk profile, but higher return. interventions is needed to make effective and One key factor is that it these options may be efficient use of Malawi’s scare public resources. less dependent, or not dependent at all on While the National Resilience Strategy recognizes seasonality, which can offer greater stability. that the variation between Malawi’s lower poverty Household characteristics, health status, quintiles is not high, for livelihoods strategies and livelihood opportunities, asset characteristics, market-oriented activities, and criteria for geographic location, risk exposure, and the consumption support, public works, and school condition of their local environment combine in meals programme, target households will be ways that impact people’s ability to ‘hang in’, categorized on a ‘poverty spectrum’ based on ‘step up’, and/or ‘step out’ of poverty. their livelihood and asset characteristics, geographic location, risk exposure, nutrition The NRS pillars will reach all types of status, and the condition of their local beneficiaries through a wide range of potential environment. activities, recognizing that these groups are not mutually exclusive as households or individuals. Since malnutrition and WASH impacts all poverty In other words, some household members may quintiles, and there are intra-household pursue more than one strategy simultaneously or inequities and structural injustices that impact different strategies over time. Some households access to food, education, and health care, the may climb out of poverty, while others fall in MNSSP II will scale transfers to productive (Figure 8). households to increase access to education and  Households with land, labour, assets, and school meals, especially for girls, and nutritional capacity for food surplus and/or commercial support for households with malnourished activity that can ‘step up’ the livelihood children. Other types of nutritional support and ladder into more diverse and higher value interventions, such as nutrition education, or agricultural activities, which can lead out of better off farmers in leadership roles, are poverty through risk diversification, relevant for all poverty quintiles. All these factors increases in labour and land productivity, impact the ability of households and individuals engagement in market production and value to adopt resilient livelihoods strategies addition, participation in supply chains, and export. These households are less risk Lifting Households Towards Resilience averse, and can also help lift other households through demonstration, The NRS outlines three approaches people take inspiration, and coaching. when faced with the challenges of survival and seeking pathways out of poverty: hanging in,  Rural households that can productively ‘step stepping up, and stepping out. out’ of agriculture, and into more productive sectors of the economy over time. This could Many factors play into a person or household’s be a local “step out”, finding better-paid ability to change and take risk, such as employment in local non-farm activities, capacities, assets, resources, social capital, and combined with existing agricultural activities, aspirations and motivation. Among the ultra-poor or investing in an SME. It can also be a and labour constrained, most households or “migration step out” to take advantage of individuals are unable to engage in diversified opportunities in peri-urban and urban areas. asset creation strategies, and choose to ‘hang  Households with little or no potential for in’, meaning that they will continue to survive on market engagement or an ability to ‘step up’ a subsistence level, and require consumption or ‘step out’, will ‘hang in’, using agriculture support, and change will happen if circumstances as a safety net rather than a driver to move allow. Others will be able to ‘step up’ in up the livelihood ladder. These households agriculture, meaning they will choose to take are labour constrained and characterized by risks, build, and accumulate assets, diversify an erosion of productive assets that has investments in agriculture, increase access to increased their vulnerability to even the services and value addition, thereby also 24 most marginal of shocks. Diversification for Supporting these households with the sake of diversification make not be the consumption support, asset creation, access right strategy as available options may be of to education for children, and nutrition equally low return. These households will interventions will help to build their need to ‘hang in’ until they have more resilience and capacity and ability to step up resources and capacity to make the shift. or out, and break the cycle of inter- generational poverty. Figure 8: Lifting Households Towards Resilience While the level and type of assistance provided how resources are used for nutrition. Moreover, may vary (Table 4), all beneficiary groups will intra-household inequities still exist within benefit from nutrition specific and nutrition- households with regards to access to food, sensitive interventions because malnutrition in nutrition, education, and poverty status, even as all its forms impacts all wealth quintiles globally households accumulate assets and wealth. and in Malawi. Evidence shows that increasing incomes, and economic growth alone, do not necessarily lead to reducing malnutrition, and Additionally, as livelihoods change, so does the that stunting rates remain high in many countries enabling environment and surrounding and regions with strong economic growth, even influences that guide continuous uptake of among wealthier quintiles. While increasing practices such as optimal complimentary income is necessary to improve nutrition, income feeding, child care, women’s self-care, school alone does not always lead to improved attendance. Women are also overburdened with nutritional outcomes as it depends on how hard physical labour, which can increase with income is ultimately used, among other factors. agricultural diversification, and among other factors, can have a negative impact on health and nutrition even if she is earning more. Women’s control over income also leads to better nutritional choices as women tend to spend income on food and care for the household, Other strategies that are recommended for all therefore women’s economic empowerment and beneficiary groups include life skills and life decision making can have a significant impact on coaching, literacy, financial management, and 25 business skills, as well as soft skills that The NRS prioritizes activities that engages all contribute to motivation, aspiration, and self- wealth groups in developing skills that help to esteem. assess risk, and viable livelihoods strategies, This is especially true for adolescent girls and such as what the potential returns and benefits young women, and youth overall. In line with the may lead to. This will also include assessing MNSSP II, implementation of the National additional challenges and potential negative Resilience Strategy will support the enabling impacts that will arise in the process of change, conditions that support vulnerable households so that they can find ways to continue good either maintain, or find sustainable graduation practices that contribute to resilience. strategies out of poverty. The NRS also supports productive farmers and commercial growth through appropriate services. Table 4: NRS Indicative Interventions HOUSEHOLDS INDICATIVE SUPPORT Targeting based on poverty quintiles Consumption support; PWP; asset creation, accumulation, and diversification; agri-food, forest-based, and nutrition-sensitive value chains; affordable and appropriate financial products and services, both village savings and lending associations and micro-finance; affordable inputs (seeds, fertilizer); crops and livestock insurance; access to irrigation; market development; rural mobility and connectivity; supporting farmer organizations; service providers; contract farming; crop and livestock diversification; cash cropping; on- Stepping Up farm training and extension; service provider employment; climate-smart agricultural practices; catchment protection and sustainable natural resource management; new technologies and mechanization; payment for ecosystem services; access to energy services. Targeting based on nutrition and social intra household inequities Nutrition; education and literacy support; WASH; life skills; business skills; leadership roles; life coaches, trainers; gender and women’s empowerment; youth. Targeting based on poverty quintiles Expand employment opportunities into non-agriculture livelihoods opportunities and employment, and entrepreneurship, such as: service industry, hospitality, information communication and technology, transport, renewable energy and rural electrification, artisanal activities, safe migration, related PWP linked to roads and building; facilitate access to energy services; affordable and appropriate financial services; health Stepping Out insurance; Targeting based on nutrition and social intra household inequities Nutrition; education and literacy support; education and literacy support; WASH; life skills; business skills; leadership roles; life coaches, trainers; gender and women’s empowerment; youth. Targeting based on poverty quintiles Consumption support; asset creation and protection through community and household PWP; informal and appropriate financial services through village saving and lending; crop insurance; extension support; shock sensitive social protection (cash transfers); climate- smart agricultural practices; facilitate access to affordable inputs; such as seeds, Hanging In fertilizer, and crop and livestock insurance; access to energy services; catchment protection and sustainable natural resource management. Targeting based on nutrition and social intra household inequities Nutrition; education and literacy support, WASH, life skills, business skills; psychosocial support; gender, and women’s empowerment; youth 26 27

3.1 — National Policy Coherence

3.1 National Policy Coherence Strengthening resilience to shocks is a cross-cutting priority in the Malawi 3 Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS III, 2017-2022), under the theme “Building a Competitive and Productive Nation”. Building a resilient nation, people, environment, and economy underpins the MGDS III priority areas: _____________  Agriculture, Water Development, and Climate Change Management  Education and Skills Development  Energy, Industry, and Tourism Development Policy Framework  Transport and ICT Infrastructure  Health and Population _____________ The MGDS III aims to enhance community resilience to the impacts of climate change, and other socio-economic and environmental shocks by:  Strengthening the capacity of law enforcement personnel in safeguarding the human rights for vulnerable groups;  Strengthening households and local committees to facilitate preparedness for timely and effective response and recovery;  Enhancing funding for public works programmes;  Increasing the productive asset base and production capacity of poor and vulnerable households;  Strengthening and promoting access to public health and social services;  Improving adoption of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures;  Implementing a comprehensive national climate change investment plan;  Improving access to multilateral and bilateral international climate financing and private sector investments; and,  Enhancing cross sectoral coordination of climate change programmes. The MGDS III prioritizes building the resilience of the poor through building and protecting productive assets, and accessing economic opportunities. The MGDS III aims to propel a competitive economy, while improving social support interventions, and reducing the social, economic, and environmental impacts of shocks by converging a combination of programmes and services. The NRS supports the objectives of the MGDS III through delivery of four complementary pillars (Figure 9) that aim to strengthen: resilient agricultural growth, shock-sensitive social protection, and sustainable land and catchment management, each underpinned by efficient and effective disaster risk reduction and early warning systems. The NRS is a twelve-year strategy leading to 2030 that will be implemented in two 5-year phases, and one two-year phase aligned with the MGDS III and to the SDGs. The NRS proposes a multi-sectoral approach to resilience building, coordinated at the national and district levels under a Common Programme Framework (CPF). The NRS is an alignment framework intended for immediate implementation, and will serve as a framework to guide national resilience building activities to be included in Malawi’s first Flagship Partnership Programme on Resilience under the MGDS III. 28 Figure 9: National Resilience Strategy: Resilient People, Agriculture, and Environment Formulation of the NRS was informed by a range and Capacity Strengthening19.The Policy ties to of national legislation, regulations, policies, larger development goals encompassed by other strategies, and programmes, all of which were strategies, including the MGDS III and reflects integrated into the design of the NRS. These cross-cutting considerations in meeting include: development goals in the agricultural sector20. The National Agriculture Investment Plan (NAIP, Vision 2020 states that Malawi aspires to be a 2017/18-2022/23) outlines the framework for secure, democratically mature, environmentally guiding investments under the NAP and ensuring sustainable, self-reliant, and technologically coherence with overall and sectorial policy and driven middle-income economy by 202018. Vision investment frameworks. It follows on the first 2020 prioritizes the sustainable management NAIP called the Agriculture Sector-Wide and conservation of Malawi’s environmental Approach. (ASWAp) which was implemented endowments, including clean water resources; between 2011-16 and builds on key biodiversity protection, and landscape and forest achievements and lessons learned. It also covers restoration as the basis for resilient agriculture-related investments of other policy communities. Vision 2020 calls for enhancing frameworks - such as the National Export the participation of the public in the planning and Strategy (NES). While the Ministry of Agriculture, implementation of natural resource and Irrigation, and Water Development (MoAIWD) is environmental programmes. the main implementing agency for public investments in the sector (investment in The new National Agriculture Policy (2015) aims agriculture), other line ministries play important to increase agricultural productivity and enlists roles in adjacent policy and investment areas the following priorities - Sustainable Agricultural Production and Productivity; Sustainable 19 Malawi Voice Reporter, APM Speech at the Launch of National Irrigation Development; Food and Nutrition Agriculture Policy and National Irrigation Policy, November 2016. Security; Institutional Development, Coordination, http://www.malawivoice.com/apm-speech-at-the-launch-of- national-agriculture-policy-and-national-irrigation-policy/ 20Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security of the Republic of 18 Government of Malawi, Vision 2020, Malawi. (2012). Agriculture sector gender, HIV and AIDS strategy www.sdnp.org.mw/malawi/vision-2020/ 2012-2017. Lilongwe, Malawi. 29 that are critical to enable broad-based forestry, water resources, and wildlife)22. The agricultural growth (investments for agriculture), policy advocates for the integration of climate and in ensuring that the desired social and change strategies and proposed action plans into environmental impacts of such growth are sectoral policies and programmes. achieved. The NAIP is a framework to coordinate and prioritize the planning and implementation of The Malawi Climate Change Learning Strategy investments by government entities, (2013)23, was developed by the Ministry of development partners and NSAs in the sector. Environment and Climate Change Management The purpose is to have knowledge-driven climate The National Social Support Policy (2013) formed change resilient population by 2030, pursuing a the basis for the development of the Malawi low carbon emission development path. In this National Support Programme (MNSSP). Based regards it aims to strengthen human resources on a review of five-years of implementation, and skills development for the advancement of MNSSP II was designed in 2017 to include green, low emission and climate resilient expanded coverage of the Social Cash Transfer development. It is relevant to resilience as it Programme (SCTF) from 18 districts reaching focuses on mitigation and adaptation as well as approximately 170,000 households to national resilience to climate change. It can be used as coverage in all 28 districts to reach 319,000 useful mechanism to disseminate knowledge on ultra-poor and labour constrained households. resilience. As well as being a component of the NRS, MNSSP II has many core sub-programmes: National Climate Change Investment Plan (2013) social cash transfer programme (SCTP), public focuses on the four key priority areas to promote works (PW), school meals (SM), and financial climate change management in Malawi: inclusion, such as village savings and loans adaptation; mitigation; climate change research, (VSL), and microfinance (MF). While many technology development and transfer; and ministries and departments are involved in capacity building24. Investment in adaptation and delivery of the MNSSP II, the Ministry of Finance, mitigation are particularly relevant to resilience, Economic Planning, and Development (MFEPD) is specifically, as the adaptation and mitigation responsible for overall coordination. The activities contribute to integrated watershed Government of Malawi acknowledges the management, enhancing disaster risk multiple roles of social protection and labours management, enhancing resilient though programmes: their protective role in providing a agriculture production, and through activities that shock-sensitive safety net to prevent poor enhance the Reduction of Emissions from households from falling deeper into poverty; their Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)25, productive function that supports poor focusing particularly on the land use (agriculture households to improve their productivity, income, and forestry) sectors. and participation in markets; and, a climate resilience function that deploys public works to The National Parks and Wildlife Act (1992, improve climate change adaptation21. amended in 2004, amended in 2016)26 is responsible for forests within its mandate and Malawi’s National Climate Change Management can provide space for co-management and Policy (2016) outlines the set of principles, assistance on disseminating knowledge on strategies, and institutional frameworks for resilience but also implementing some of the effective management of climate change. These resilience interventions suitable to its include: capacity building; education, training, boundaries. and public awareness; Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation 22 Government of Malawi, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Management Environmental Affairs Department, June 2015 (REDD+); adaptation and mitigation across assessed on December 14th via multiple sectors (including agriculture, energy, http://www.nccpmw.org/index.php/documentation/cat_view/10- industrial development, waste management, national-climate-change-programme. 23 Government of Malawi, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Management, Malawi’s Strategy on Climate Change Learning, June 2013. 21 GoM has commissioned a Public Expenditure Review on Social 24 Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Management, Protection to assess the financing structure of social protection and Environmental Affairs Department, National Climate Change labour programmes, and to set out a range of options to improve Investment Plan, 2013. the effectiveness and efficiency of spending and fiscal 25 Ibid. sustainability. Findings will be incorporated into the NRS 26 UN-REDD+ Programme, FAO, UNDP, UNEP, Policy and Legal Implementation Plan. Frameworks Assessment for REDD+ in Malawi, 2016 30 conserve, establish, protect, and manage trees Environmental Management Act (2017) and forests for the sustainable development of objectives are to ensure sustainable use of Malawi1. The Policy has nine strategic objectives natural resources; facilitate restoration, to promote cross sectoral integration of activities maintenance and enhancement of ecological that promote increasing forest cover, sustainable systems and processes and preservation of management of existing forest and reducing biodiversity; and promotion of community based deforestation and forest degradation. The NRS natural resource management27. and more particularly the Catchment Component align with National Forest Policy. Malawi’s National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA) (2013) draws analysis on the The National Forest Landscape Restoration impacts of climate change in agriculture, water, Strategy (2017), to restore deforested and fisheries, forestry, energy, wildlife, and gender28. degraded landscapes by 2030 through scaling Loss of soil fertility, land degradation and forest up improved management of forests and natural fires are recognized as major threats to forestry resources, sustainable land management sector as well as the rapid environmental practices with a focus on tree-based restoration degradation because of agricultural expansion, practices that contribute to increased food inadequate knowledge and skills in the security, resilience to climate change, watershed productive use and management of land and protection and improved water supplies, increase natural resources29. production of forest products and biodiversity conservation, while enhancing gender equity. The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan II (2015)30 recognizes the conflicting and National Charcoal Strategy (2017), recognizes overlapping policy frameworks and legislation, that nearly every Malawian household (97%) and recommends an integrated approach to relies on firewood or charcoal as their primary forest, biodiversity, land, and water management. source of cooking and heating fuel. With NBSAP II recognizes key issues and constraints alternative fuel sources underdeveloped, affecting the biodiversity, of which conservation firewood and charcoal will continue to form a of natural ecosystems and species, restoration of significant part of Malawi’s energy mix for the degraded ecosystems is highly important to next few decades. the demand for charcoal and resilience. It also refers that the value of firewood is driving deforestation and forest ecosystem services and biodiversity is poorly degradation in Malawi, and is undermining understood. Cross-sectoral integration can agricultural productivity and food security, water enhance the protection, conservation, and security, and hydroelectric generating capacity— restoration of biodiversity. NBSAP II lists the leaving the country more vulnerable to climate actions related to targets for biodiversity shocks. The NCS is organized around seven management by planning to increase the areas inter-related pillars: promote Alternative of forests under protection, improving the quality Household Cooking Fuels; promote Adoption of of protected forest habitats through ecological Fuel-Efficient Cookstove Technologies; promote restoration and enhancing nature management Sustainable Wood Production; Strengthen Law methods used in commercially utilized forests31. Enforcement; Regulate Sustainable Charcoal Specifically, under Strategic Goal D: Enhance the Production; enhance Livelihoods; and, promote Benefits to all from Biodiversity and Ecosystem Information, Awareness and Behaviour-Change Services, Communications. The needs of men, women, children and vulnerable groups, and partnerships The National Forest Policy (2016), and the with the private sector, cut across all NCS pillars. Forestry Act (1997), have the overall goal to The Land Act (1965) classifies three types of lands (customary land held/used by community 27 ibid. under customary law, private land held/owned by 28 Environmental Affairs Department, Malawi’s National Adaptation Programmes of Action, First Edition, March 2006. freehold title, lease, or under Registered Land Act 29 Malawi’s National Adaptation Programmes of Action, First Edition, (1967), and public (government) land that March 2006. include national parks, conservation, and 30 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan II (2015-2025), May 2015. historical areas) and recognizes three types of 31 Government of Malawi, Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy land tenure - freehold (private land), leasehold and Mining, National Biodiversity Strategy, and Action Plan II (2015- 2025), May 2015. (private, public, and customary), and customary 31 tenure (customary land)32. Customary Land and management39. The National Water (Development) Act (1967) forms the principles Resources Act (2013) provides a mechanism for for conversion of customary land for agricultural coordination, allocation, and delegation of development and deciding disputes over responsibilities among stakeholders for the customary land33. The National Land Policy protection and management of water resources. (2002) revised the legal framework governing land rights and its goal is to ensure tenure The Energy Regulation Act (2004) doesn’t security and equitable access to land, to facilitate specifically mention anything on forestry but the the attainment of social harmony and broad- effects of deforestation and degradation on lake based social and economic development through and river for power generation as well as optimum and ecologically balanced use of land dependence on biomass energy are the areas and land based resources34. The new Land Act where the policy integration and institutional (2016) includes new categories of land, and the support for FLR implementation can be Customary Land Act (2016) replaced the enhanced. The Energy Policy (2017) and Customary Land (Development) Act (1967). Renewable Energy Strategy (2017) underscore These aim to address challenges of tenure the need to scale up access to energy services to security and empowering local population, enable poor households in engage in productive especially women to hold the land title35. The activities and reduce pressures on Malawi’s development of regulations and guidelines under natural resource endowments. the act will be of relevance to the first two components of the National Resilience Strategy The Mines and Minerals Act (1981) and Mines and agencies responsible for implementation and Minerals Policy (2013) requires the mining should be actively involved in the formulation entities to protect the natural resources on the process. The National Land Resources land and that the minerals are explored Management Policy and Strategy (2000)36 sustainably. The Act is planned to be replaced by promotes tree planting, natural regeneration, and the Draft Mines and Minerals Act (2015)40. conservation of forests for the sustainable land- use and management37. Malawi submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in the lead up to the Paris The National Water Policy (2005) guides the Agreement on climate change41. Malawi is sustainable management and utilization of water committed to pursuing policies and measures resources to provide sufficient quantity and that slow and eventually reverse GHG emissions quality water for the country and for the from deforestation and forest degradation, and enhancement of the country’s natural increase removals through afforestation. ecosystems38. The policy recognizes that water Malawi’s NDC refers to addressing the drivers of resources can be highly impacted due to deforestation and forest degradation, promoting deforestation and environmental degradation. agroforestry systems in targeted locations as The policy is linked to National Forestry Policy as source of biomass and soil carbon sequestration, it promotes forestry sector participation in water and the planting of nitrogen-fixing plants to resources, catchment protection, conservation, reduce fertilizer usage; as well as potentially reduced and zero tillage42. 32 USAID Malawi—Property Rights and Resource Governance Profile, https://www.land-links.org/country-profile/malawi/. The National Health Policy promotes several 33 Ibid. nutrition-specific interventions at the health 34 Government of Malawi, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Surveys, Malawi National Land Policy , January 2002; USAID Malawi— Property Rights and Resource Governance Profile, 39 Government of Malawi, National Forest Policy, Second Edition, https://www.land-links.org/country-profile/malawi/; UN-REDD March3 2016. Programme, FAO, UNDP, UNEP, Policy and Legal Frameworks 40 From the analysis conducted under UN-REDD Programme, FAO, Assessment for REDD+ in Malawi, DRAFT Final Report, February 9, UNDP, UNEP, Policy and Legal Frameworks Assessment for REDD+ 2016. in Malawi, DRAFT Final Report, February 9, 2016. 35 From the analysis conducted under UN-REDD Programme, FAO, 41 Republic of Malawi. (2015). Intended Nationally Determined UNDP, UNEP, Policy and Legal Frameworks Assessment for REDD+ Contribution. in Malawi, DRAFT Final Report, February 9, 2016. http://www4.unfccc.int/submissions/INDC/Published%20Documen 36 Government of Malawi, Land Resources Conservation ts/Malawi/1/MALAWI%20INDC%20SUBMITTED%20TO%20UNFCCC Department, National Land Resources Management Policy and %20REV%20pdf.pdf. Strategy, July 2000. 42 Republic of Malawi (2015). Intended Nationally Determined 37 Government of Malawi, National Forest Policy, Second Edition, Contribution. March 2016. http://www4.unfccc.int/submissions/INDC/Published%20Documen 38 Government of Malawi, Ministry of Irrigation and Water ts/Malawi/1/MALAWI%20INDC%20SUBMITTED%20TO%20UNFCCC Development, National Water Policy, 2005. %20REV%20pdf.pdf. 32 facility and community level. These interventions respectively. In section 13 (b), the Constitution include promoting dietary diversity; optimal IYCF provides that: ‘The State shall actively promote and caring practices; treatment of acute the welfare and development of the people of malnutrition; nutrition care support and Malawi by progressively adopting and treatment for people living with HIV (PLHIV) and implementing policies and legislation aimed at tuberculosis (TB) patients; and micronutrient achieving the following goals: (b) Nutrition – to supplementation. In addition, the Health Policy achieve adequate nutrition for all to promote also promotes, growth monitoring and promotion, good health and self-sufficiency. provision of insecticide-treated bed nets, and de- worming. The National Strategy for Adolescent Girls and Young Women 2017-2021 is under development The National Education Policy advocates for the and under the leadership of the Ministry of promotion of the school feeding programme; Gender, Children, Disabilities, and Social Welfare. school health and water sanitation, and hygiene It is a not a standalone strategy, but aims to (WASH); HIV and AIDS; gender; and education promote the rights and opportunities for AWYG as interventions. The Policy is also mainstreaming an integral part of all programmes. nutrition within the school curricula and implementing nutrition-sensitive interventions 3.2 International and Regional Frameworks that improve classroom education and keeping adolescent girls and young women in schools. Strengthening resilience is reflected in the African Union Agenda 2063, which calls for The National Gender Policy seeks to mainstream environmentally sustainable and climate resilient gender in the national development process to economies and communities based on inclusive enhance participation of women and men, girls, growth and economic diversification. A and boys at individual, household, and commitment to strengthen national and community levels for sustainable and equitable community resilience is also embedded in all four development. It also promotes an integrated global frameworks negotiated as part of the approach to gender equality and social ‘post-2015 development agenda’: protection, poverty reduction through microfinance, and sustaining livelihoods of ultra-  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) poor households using cash transfers.  Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Since Malawi joined the Scaling Up Nutrition  Paris Agreement on Climate Change (SUN) movement in 2011, the Malawian  World Humanitarian Summit’s ‘Commitment government has demonstrated strong political to Action’ will and commitment to address the high prevalence of stunting in the country. This led to The NRS contributes to Malawi’s efforts to development of the SUN 1000 Special Days: achieve several SDG goals and targets (Table 5). National Nutrition Education and Communication As part of the nationalization of the SDGs, Strategy (NECS) as the key instrument for monitoring Malawi’s progress towards the stunting prevention. The SUN-NECS builds on the achievement of these goals and targets will be National Nutrition Programme focusing on the 13 integrated into the SDG Measurement high impact interventions for scale up through Framework being developed by the National coordination of stakeholders across multiple Statistics Office (NSO). Performance monitoring sectors at all levels. of the NRS will be conducted in accordance in NRS Monitoring and Evaluation Framework The National Multi sectoral Nutrition Policy 2017- outlined in Section 6. 2021 is aligned with the Constitution under Chapters III and IV, which provide for the Principles of National Policy and Human Rights, 33 Table 5: Alignment between NRS and SDGs SDG Targets NRS Alignment 1.1 by 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere.  NRS Pillar: 1, 2, 3, 4 1.2 by 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and  NRS Pillar: 1, 2, 3, 4 children of all ages living in poverty in all of its dimensions according to national definitions. SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms 1.3 implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and  NRS Pillar: 2, 3 measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve significant coverage everywhere of the poor and the vulnerable. 1.5 by 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable  NRS Pillar: 1, 2, 3, 4 situations, and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters. 2.1 by 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the  NRS Pillar: 1, 2, 3, 4 poor and people in vulnerable situations including infants, to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food all year round. 2.3 by 2030, double the agricultural productivity and the incomes of small-  NRS Pillar: 1, 3, 4 scale food producers, particularly women, indigenous people, family farmers, pastoralists, and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial SDG 2: End services, markets, and opportunities for value addition and non-farm hunger, achieve employment food security and 2.4 by 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement  NRS Pillar 1, 2, 3, 4 improved nutrition, resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, and promote that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to sustainable climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, agriculture and that progressively improve land and soil quality. 2.5a increase investment, including through enhanced international  NRS Pillar: 1, 2, 3 cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extensions services, technology development. 2.5c adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity  NRS Pillar: 1 markets and their derivatives, and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food reserves, to help limit extreme price volatility. 5.1 end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere  NRS Pillar: 1 2, 3, 4 SDG 5: Achieve gender equality 5.6a undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources,  NRS Pillar: 1 2, 3, 4 and empower as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of women and girls property, financial services, inheritance, and natural resources in accordance with national laws SDG 6: Ensure 6.4 by 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and  NRS Pillar: 1, 2, 3, 4 availability and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water sustainable scarcity, and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water management scarcity of water and 6.6 by 2020 protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains,  NRS Pillar: 1, 2, 3, 4 sanitation for all forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers, and lakes 34 SDG Targets NRS Alignment SDG 7: Ensure 7.2 increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy  NRS Pillar 4 access to mix by 2030 affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all 8.2 achieve higher levels of productivity of economies through diversification,  NRS Pillar: 1, 3 SDG 8: Promote technological upgrading, and innovation, including through a focus on high sustained, inclusive value added and labour-intensive sectors and sustainable economic growth, 8.3 promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities,  NRS Pillar: 1, 3 full and productive decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation, and employment and encourage formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized decent work for all enterprises including through access to financial services 10.1 by 2030 progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom  NRS Pillar: 1, 2, 3, 4 SDG 10: Reduce 40% of the population at a rate higher than the national average Inequality within and among 10.4 adopt policies especially fiscal, wage, and social protection policies and  NRS Component 3 countries progressively achieve greater equality SDG 13: Take 13.1 strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate related hazards and  NRS Pillar: 1, 2, 3, 4 urgent action to natural disasters in all countries combat climate change and its impacts SDG 15: Protect, restore and 15.1 by 2020 ensure conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial  NRS Pillar: 1, 2, 3, 4 promote and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, sustainable use of wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international terrestrial agreements ecosystems, sustainably 15.2 by 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all  NRS Pillar: 4 manage forests, types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests, and increase combat afforestation and reforestation desertification, and 15.3 by 2020, combat desertification, and restore degraded land and soil,  NRS Pillar: 1, 2, 3, 4 halt and reverse including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to land degradation achieve a land-degradation neutral world and halt biodiversity loss 15.9a mobilize and significantly increase from all sources financial resources to  NRS Pillar: 1, 2, 3, 4 conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems As signatory to the Sendai Framework for and private investment in disaster risk prevention Disaster Risk Reduction Plan of Action, Malawi is and reduction through structural and non- investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience. structural measures are essential to enhance the Endorsed by the United Nations General economic, social, health and cultural resilience of Assembly, the Sendai Framework is a 15-year, persons, communities, countries, and their voluntary agreement that seeks a ‘substantial assets, as well as the environment. In addition to reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, substantially reducing disaster damage to critical livelihoods and health and in the economic, infrastructure and disruption of basic services, physical, social, cultural and environmental among them health and educational facilities, assets of persons, businesses, communities and through improving resilience, the Sendai countries’. The Plan of Action states that public Framework calls for scaling up measures to save 35 lives, prevent and reduce losses, ensure effective all signatories to support adaptation, resilience, recovery and rehabilitation, all of which and low emission development, to ensure food contribute to safeguarding the basis for Malawi’s security. The Paris Agreement recognizes that economic development. Through Pillar 2 of the even the greatest resilience may not completely NRS on Risk Reduction, Flood Control, and Early prevent harm to life and property, and that the Warning and Response Systems, the global community must find ways to address Government is committed to achieving the “loss and damage” in cases where impacts are priority actions and targets under the Sendai beyond the limits of adaptation. The vast majority Framework. All four priority actions under the of national climate plans submitted in advance of Sendai Framework are reflected in the NRS: i) Paris – then known as Intended Nationally understanding disaster risk; ii) strengthening Determined Contributions (NDCs) – included not disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk; only plans to reduce emissions, but also iii) investing in disaster risk reduction for descriptions of adaptation goals, priorities, resilience; and iv) enhancing disaster actions and needs. Malawi’s NDC outlines 43 preparedness for effective response, and to adaptation actions that cut across 9 sectors as "Build Back Better" in recovery, rehabilitation, per the UNFCC43, all of which contribute the Paris and reconstruction. The NRS also supports Agreement’s goals of enhancing adaptive Malawi’s contribution to attainment of the seven capacity, strengthening resilience, and reducing global targets under the Sendai Framework, vulnerability to climate change, with a view to namely: contributing to sustainable development, and ensuring an adequate adaptation response in the 1. Substantially reduce global disaster mortality context of limiting global temperature rise to well by 2030, aiming to lower average per below 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F). Many of the 100,000 global mortality between 2020- adaptation actions described in Malawi’s NDC 2030 compared to 2005-2015; are reflected in the National Resilience Strategy, 2. Substantially reduce the number of affected including increased land coverage under people globally by 2030, aiming to lower the irrigation, integrated catchment area protection, average global figure per 100,000 between forest and landscape restoration, improved 2020-2030 compared to 2005-2015; climate information and early warning systems, 3. Reduce direct disaster economic loss in and promotion of clean energy access. relation to global gross domestic product by 2030; The World Humanitarian Summit ‘Commitment to 4. Substantially reduce disaster damage to Action’ underscores the urgent need to tackle the critical infrastructure and disruption of basic growing consequences of disasters caused by services, among them health and natural hazards, to reduce people’s vulnerability educational facilities, including through and build community resilience as a critical first developing their resilience by 2030; line of response in humanitarian situations. It calls for designing new financing models where 5. Substantially increase the number of governments partner with the private sector, countries with national and local disaster such as the insurance industry, an example of risk reduction strategies by 2020; which is Malawi’s purchase from Africa Risk 6. Substantially enhance international Capacity of an insurance policy as part of the cooperation to developing countries through 2016-17 Food Insecurity Response Plan. The adequate and sustainable support to Commitment to Action prioritizes the complement their national actions for strengthening of social protection systems with implementation of the framework by 2030; more disaster-resilient approaches, and call for 7. Substantially increase the availability of and coherent financing that avoids fragmentation by people’s access to multi-hazard early supporting collective outcomes. The global warning systems and disaster risk agreement for empowering national and local information and assessments by 2030. humanitarian action by increasing the share of financing available to them. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change underscores the unprecedented importance on actions needed — both nationally and globally — to help people adapt to climate shocks and promote greater climate resilience. It calls upon 43 Government of Malawi, Intended Nationally Determined Contribution as per the UNFCC. 36 These commitments are reflected in the Grand United Nations Convention to Combat Bargain, an agreement between more than 30 of Desertification. international organizations in line with the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on In the context of the MGDS III, the National Humanitarian Financing. The Grand Bargain Resilience Strategy will serve as a framework to emerged out the Humanitarian Summit and harmonize policy implementation, programme commits signatories44 to providing 25 per cent planning and prioritization, as well as resource of global humanitarian funding to local and allocation in NRS priority zones to ensure that the national responders by 2020, along with more multi-sectoral approach is implemented and un-earmarked money, and increased multi-year measured. The NRS also provides significant funding and planning to ensure greater opportunism for learning about the scale, predictability and continuity in humanitarian intensity, and mix of resources that can most response. The NRS supports these changes, effectively contribute sustained resilience, thus including increasing the use and coordination of breaking the cycle of food security and nutrition, cash-based programming, greater funding for and monitoring and reporting on Malawi’s national and local responders, improving joint international commitments under the post-2015 and impartial needs assessments, cutting development agenda. bureaucracy through harmonized reporting requirements, and enhancing engagement between humanitarian and development actors through Malawi’s shock sensitive social protection system. Additionally, the National Resilience Strategy recognizes the importance of restoring land and forests, at the landscape level, to contribute towards meeting the SDGs, Sendai Framework, Paris Agreement, and Humanitarian Commitment to Action. In 2011, the Bonn Challenge set an ambitious target to restore 150 million hectares by 2020, this target has now been expanded to 350 million ha by 2030. Also announced during the Paris Climate Agreement talks was the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative AFR100, a continent-wide initiative that is a regional contribution to the Bonn Challenge and the African Resilient Landscapes Initiative (ARLI). Embedded within AFR100 is the AU target to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land in Africa by 2013. In support of AFR100 and the Bonn Challenge, Malawi has committed to restore 4.5M hectares of degraded land, based on a thorough assessment that included data collection and validation in 28 districts across the country. These efforts are supported by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Sub-Regional Action Plan to combat desertification in Southern Africa and move toward land degradation neutrality under the 44 Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, ECHO, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE, UK, U.S., FAO, ICRC, ICVA, IFRC, InterAction, IOM, OCHA, SCHR, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNRWA, UN Women, WFP, WHO, World Bank. 37 38 NRS Pillars and Sub-components The National Resilience Strategy is composed of four complementary pillars and 18 components 4 1. Resilient Agricultural Growth 2. Risk Reduction, Flood Control, and Early Warning and Response Systems 3. Human Capacity, Livelihoods, and Social Protection 4. Catchment Protection and Management _____________ Each of the pillars contains a package of interventions that in combination contributes to resilient people, resilient agriculture, and a resilient environment (Figure 10). Implementation of each NRS component and pillar involves NRS Pillars multiple ministries, departments, and agencies, working in collaboration under & a common NRS framework with development partners, the private sector, national and international non-governmental organizations, and other Components stakeholders to improve the resilience of food insecure households to economic and environmental shocks. _____________ Figure 10: NRS Pillars and Components The NRS contains four different types of interventions:  Those delivered by the national government through the MSDG III and sector plans.  Those delivered by sub-national authorities, including through district development plans.  Those delivered by department partners, the private sector, and non- governmental organizations, coordinated by government authorities.  Those delivered by communities. Monitoring and coordination will be in accordance with the NRS implementation arrangements described in Section 5. The NRS will maximize alignment with the pillars of the MGDS III, as well as accommodate integration of the NRS into the state budget for 2018-2019 as a flagship MGDS III programme. 39 40

4.1 — Pillar 1: Resilient Agricultural Growth

4.1 Pillar 1: Resilient Agricultural Growth In line with the National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP), this component of the NRS will target sustainable agricultural transformation to accelerate growth of the agricultural sector, expand productivity and incomes for smallholder farmers, improve food and nutrition security, and increase agricultural exports. _____________ Many rural households move out of poverty through agricultural Pillar 1 entrepreneurship; others through the rural labour market and the rural non- farm economy; and others by migrating to towns, cities. The three pathways are complementary: nonfarm incomes can enhance the potential of farming as a pathway out of poverty, and agriculture can facilitate the labour and migration Resilient pathways to livelihood opportunities that strengthen resilience. Women’s Agricultural empowerment in agriculture, and improving nutrition through agriculture are also crucial. Growth This pillar emphasizes support for smallholder farming interventions that will build the resilience at the farm household and community levels, address _____________ access to inputs, training, and asset creation, and dietary diversity. Both estates and smallholder farmers will be incentivized to diversify, engage in forestry, livestock, and fisheries production through policy reforms to create an enabling environment, in line with the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition policy commitments of the Government of Malawi. In addition, government programmes will implement reforms to encourage diversification in the production and marketing of crops, forestry, livestock, and fisheries, and reduce dependence on maize. The GoM will prioritize reforms to strengthen an enabling environment for the private sector to profitably invest in commercial agricultural production, processing, and value addition. Investments in commercial agriculture will be implemented through private estates and smallholder farmers that are organized into cooperatives, and through efficient contract farming arrangements, in line with the government’s Contract Farming Strategy. Public- Private Partnerships (PPPs) shall be established to facilitate large-scale investments in agricultural infrastructure development, including sustainable irrigation, agricultural mechanization, agro-processing facilities, electricity generation and supply for agriculture. To encourage crop diversification, greenhouse farming of fruits and vegetables, legumes, and oilseed production, based on market demand, nutrition, and national priorities outlined in the National Export Strategy and the National Agriculture Investment Plan will be pursued. The NRS will further facilitate investment in commercial livestock production, including dairy, small stock, poultry, and beef as diversification into these agricultural products have been shown to enhance resilience of households and communities. In addition, this NRS component promotes sustainable capture fisheries and aquaculture production. Overall, the component facilitates strengthening asset creation and dietary diversity for smallholder production systems, value addition for diversified farm production and value addition with the goal of supply both domestic and export markets. 41 In line with the NAIP and the National Movement nutritionally compromised and vulnerable groups, to Scale Up Nutrition, the NRS will integrate and especially pregnant and lactating women (PLW) prioritize nutrition-sensitive interventions within and children under five years of age, women of all resilient agriculture activities, as well as other reproductive age, PLHIV, orphans, and other pillars. The NRS will focus on smallholder nutritionally and economically vulnerable groups. farmers, dietary diversity, quality and quantity, PLW are more physiologically vulnerable to and home consumption. Food system level nutrition and have increased caloric and interventions will also be prioritized in view of nutritional needs, and therefore women’s time transforming and diversifying the food market and energy expenditure, and optimal care is environment to ensure that diverse, safe, critical for women’s health and positive birth affordable, and convenient foods are available in outcomes. Additionally, income controlled by rural and urban markets year-round. women is more frequently used on food and health care for the family, particularly for Agriculture, social safety nets, and entire food children. These causal relationships are systems, play a crucial role in contributing to illustrated through three primary agriculture to interim nutritional outcomes through nutrition- nutrition pathways: production, income, and sensitive interventions, which contribute to women’s empowerment, which are influenced by underlying causes of malnutrition: food and diet livelihoods, food systems, and the enabling quantity and quality, the health and sanitation environment, such as natural resources, policies. environment, and caring practices for women Figure 11 illustrates a pathways diagram and children. Nutrition-sensitive interventions categorizing nutrition-sensitive agriculture and must also directly or indirectly impact the most food systems outcome-level intervention areas and the causal linkage to malnutrition.45 45 FAO. 2016. FAO Compendium of indicators for nutrition-sensitive agriculture. 42 Figure 11: Agriculture to Nutrition Pathways 43

4.1.1 — Sustainable Irrigation Development investments to improve water supply to areas

4.1.1 Sustainable Irrigation Development investments to improve water supply to areas with less access, and other areas where water Sustainable irrigation development is an diversion is needed. Malawi’s water important strategy for increasing crop production infrastructure priorities include rehabilitating and and mitigating the negative effects of climate enhancing critical water supply systems, and change related disasters (floods, drought/dry developing multi-purpose water harvesting and spells) that cause food insecurity. Malawi has storage facilities. Other priorities include benefit from gradual growth in the area under borehole rehabilitation, well digging, small earth irrigation, with the pace of expansion affected by dams and rehabilitation of associated several bottlenecks including: large capital catchments, and new water harvesting investment requirements; poor management of structures. The NRS also supports improved schemes; and management of land tenure water lifting and storage technologies, and security. approaches to reduce women’s workload, such as improved transport, storage, more efficient To address some of these challenges, the lifting, and closer access to water points for Government established the Green Belt Initiative women at household and farms levels. Effective with the objective of accelerating sustainable management and continued financing for irrigation development. The Government also maintenance for water-related infrastructure is passed the Irrigation Act of 2001 which paved critical to ensure sustained maintenance of the way for establishing the Malawi Irrigation equipment and technologies and continuous Board and the National Irrigation Fund. services. In alignment with the objectives of the Moreover, the National Irrigation Policy, which NRS, drought mitigation should address was passed in December 2016, compels further challenges with pumps breaking down, action to increase the area under sustainable availability of water and WASH related services irrigation in Malawi. Currently, only about such as handwashing, and public facilities. The 104,000 hectares of irrigable land is developed NRS supports proven strategies from Malawi and while the net potential irrigation area is globally, such as fee-for service water user estimated at 385,000 hectares. committees, public private partnerships to manage pumps and support repair services. Under the Irrigation Master Plan and Investment Village Savings and Loan (VSL) groups are Framework (2015), the government will another integrated strategy that can help accelerate economic growth, reduce rural committees earn income to maintain sites, while poverty, improve food security, and increase also charging for services. These activities will be exports through sustainable irrigation coordinated with resilient agriculture investments development in high potential areas. Irrigation in irrigation, development, and promotion of planning will also be coordinated with catchment improved technologies, such as drought resistant planning and watershed management, and seed varieties, climate-smart agriculture disaster risk reduction through the PWP. For approaches, such as conservation agriculture example, drought mitigation activities will expand and agro-forestry approaches. Other integration water supply and prioritize irrigation investments themes include promoting nutrition where in drought prone areas. Irrigation investments possible through diversified farming systems that have large potential to increase availability and contribute to climate resilience. Additionally, access to food year-round; however, women are WASH and promoting a clean on-farm health and often marginalized and don’t access high value sanitation environment to prevent the spread of investments. The MoGCDSW and the MoLHUD disease and bacteria will be an integral will also work in districts to advocate and greater component of all water supply investments. access to land for women, such as through irrigation. The Malawi Drought 2015-2016 Post Disaster Needs Assessment highlights the need for risk

4.1.2 — Drought Mitigation financing at the national level as well as micro

4.1.2 Drought Mitigation financing at the national level as well as micro- insurance products for smallholder farmers to Drought mitigation measures are embedded safeguard against loss of crops and livestock across agricultural strategies. While irrigation during dry spells and drought. Experiences supports increased year-round productivity and elsewhere in Africa are proving to be successful, improved water management, other measures and can make a tremendous difference in include small and large infrastructure reducing drought risk and vulnerability. Despite 44 Malawi facing some challenges with risk preferred for several reasons, including because insurance during the 2016 drought46, the NRS it is higher yielding and women prefer it.47 recognizes that positive outcomes support continued investment to enhance risk financing 4.1.4 Market Development, Value Addition and strengthen systems to support national level and Exports products as well as micro-insurance for smallholders. Agricultural marketing is a multifaceted component involving numerous interconnected

4.1.3 — Agricultural Diversification activities, such as planning production, growing,

4.1.3 Agricultural Diversification activities, such as planning production, growing, and harvesting the commodity, grading, packing, This NRS priority component will support transportation, storage, processing, distribution, smallholder farmers in crop and livestock advertising, and sales. Marketing functions and diversification, as well as the expansion of the services include 1) exchange – buying and commercial fisheries subsectors in Malawi. selling; 2) physical infrastructure – storage, Currently, there are very low levels of agricultural transportation, and processing; and 3) facilitation diversification at both household and national – standardization, regulation, financing, risk level. This reduces the ability of both households bearing, and market intelligence. Agricultural and the nation to cope with shocks or stresses in marketing systems in Malawi have suffered from the major value chains (tobacco and maize) and several challenges, including deficient or missing restricts household resilience through systemic infrastructure, policy and regulatory incoherence, volatility in agricultural markets. In line with the and low private and public investments. These NAP and NAIP, the NRS will promote agricultural constraints have rendered agricultural value diversification to enhance resilience to chains uncompetitive, nationally, and regionally environmental and economic shocks by thereby negatively impacting on both national spreading risk across a more diversified portfolio and household resilience. In line with the NAP of agricultural enterprises. Through the creation and NAIP, the NRS will promote: of an enabling environment, public investments  market-oriented and private sector driven in infrastructure and deliberate investments economic development; through public-private partnerships, the NRS will  a policy and regulatory environment that enable increased agricultural diversification while enables and promotes private sector considering different agro-ecological zones. development in a fair and equitable manner;  an enabling environment for the The NRS will also focus on building demand and development of value chains; supporting systems for nutritious foods, tree-  engagement with business associations, crops and other forest-based products that have trade unions and others to improve the lower demand, as well as use of income from environment for private sector development; cash crops to support nutrition-related needs.  involvement of the private sector in the This can be done through investing in nutrition design of policies and strategies to foster value chains, agro-forestry, ideally starting with growth; those that have existing demand that can be  enforcement the existing legal framework to scaled up. However, innovative marketing enhance public-private partnerships; strategies can be developed and scaled over  improvement in the use of development time to influence consumption behaviours, support to leverage additional sources of production practices, and markets across finance; Malawi. For example, Harvest Plus intensively  ‘Aid for Trade’ in terms of addressing market disseminated and used a variety of marketing failures, increase access to capital and strategies among food system actors to market mitigate risks; support infrastructure bio-fortified high-iron beans (HIB) in Rwanda over development. several years. One effective strategy was a “seed  Use of income to meet household needs swap” where they exchanged farmers’ old seed contributing to climate resilience, nutrition, and gave them improved HIB seed as a way of education, and healthcare. promoting a better product and flushing out bad seed. While many varieties of beans in the systems, the RIB is sold across the country, and 47 Harvest Plus, International Food Policy Research and CGIAR Research Programme on Agriculture and Health. 2016. Assessing the Adoption of High Iron Bean Varieties and Their Impact on Iron 46 GoM, WB, UNDP, EU: 2016 Post Disaster Needs Assessment. Intakes and Other Livelihood Outcomes in Rwanda. Washington D.C. 45  Women’s empowerment in agriculture. 4.1.6 Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP)

4.1.5 — Strategic Grain Reserve In 2006, the Government introduced the Farm

4.1.5 Strategic Grain Reserve In 2006, the Government introduced the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) to mitigate the Management of Strategic Grain Reserves (SGR) impacts of bad weather on production, prolonged is critical to enhancing the nation’s and food shortage and high input prices in absence of communities’ resilience and food security. The soft farm input loans for smallholder farmers. Government maintains SGR to ensure physical The primary purpose of the programme was to availability in times of serious production increase resource poor smallholder farmers’ shortfalls or market shocks. Efforts to reduce access to improved agricultural farm inputs to market price volatility by setting price ceiling and achieve food self-sufficiency and to increase their floor prices for maize and some other crops using income through increased food and cash crop trade restrictions and market interventions production. Until 2015/16 the programme through ADMARC and the National Food Reserve covered around 50% of smallholder farmers (1.5 Agency (NFRA) have unfortunately tended to million households). Transfers amounted to two increase price volatility, with negative impacts on vouchers allowing purchase of 100 kg of fertilizer poor consumers and producers. Such and 5-8 kg of seeds at heavily discounted prices. uncertainties undermine private investments in In 2014/15, the transfer value was MK storage and the use of risk management and 29,400/hh/year. In 2015, Government financing instruments such as warehouse announced a reduction of MK 34 billion from the receipts and, to exchanges. While SGRs are an MK 68 billion budget allocated to FISP. With the important instrument to cope with shock-induced reduced financing, FISP is expected to reduce its food crises, management of the SGR will be coverage to 900,000 beneficiaries. Based on managed in the balanced manner with other government assessment that the FISP is no policy objectives, such as private investments in longer yielding the productivity gains expected for marketing and storage and the development of that magnitude of investment, a number of market-based risk management instruments. reforms will be piloted, including: a) a redesigned SGR guidelines will be applied based on focus on targeting productive farmers and transparent principles for release and restocking emphasis on irrigation farming; b) a random of the reserves, to minimize the market selection of farmers, given that the amount interruptions. Priorities include: maintaining required for the eligible farmers exceeds funds strategic grain reserves through the NFRA available for the programme; c) a reduction in the including replenishment after years of subsidy level, the involvement of the private crisis; rehabilitating maize storage silos; scaling sector in input distribution, the use of voucher up community-based grain reserves; and more and the requirements for co-payments by accurate and timely information and early farmers, and the gradual expansion beyond warning systems to enable more adequate policy maize and fertilizer to include legume seeds and responses and better management of coping organic fertilizer. This is in response to prioritizing instruments such the SGR. conservation agriculture practices, and an increased recognition of integrated soil fertility management, complementing mineral with organic fertilizer, crop rotation and other land and water management practices. Table 6 shows expected outcomes under Pillar 1. 46 Table 6: Expected Outcomes for NRS Pillar 1: Resilient Agricultural Growth Pillar 1 Overall Outcome: Resilience agriculture results in increased real farm incomes, increased and diversified agricultural exports, economic growth, food security and nutrition. Outcome 1.5 Outcome 1.1 Outcome 1.4 Efficient Outcome 1.3 Outcome 1.6 Sustainable irrigation Outcome 1.2 Increased Market management Increased Agricultural Farm Input Subsidy scaled up in priority Drought Mitigation Development, Value of the Diversification Programme (FISP) Reforms NRS areas Addition, and Exports strategic grain reserve  Scaling up area  Scaling up water supply to drought prone  Crop diversification to  Strengthening farmer  Grain  Diversification promoting under irrigation to areas water point rehabilitation; rainwater contribute to food security, organizations and storage maize, legumes, and increase catchment; water harvesting and storage nutrition, and dietary market engagement; capacity organic fertilizers productivity, food technologies. diversity, and more diverse  value chain increased and nutrition food market environment, upgrading, and  Subsidies with cost- security, and  Promoting climate-smart agriculture practices leading to a reduction in physical sharing for productive commercialization and drought tolerant technologies, as well as dependency on maize infrastructure farmers  Strengthening and animal health year-round for improved food improvements improving security and nutrition, and climate resilience.  Support dietary diversity  Efficiency and management of and resilience for  ADMARC reforms and effectiveness of the irrigation sites  Risk Financing at the national level micro- smallholder farmers and reduced market FISP: timely delivery; finance and insurance products for expansion of commercial uncertainty and price updating soil maps; smallholder and commercial farmers livestock and fisheries volatility; Grain export private sector processing zone engagement Integration Themes: Diversification: environmentally sustainable, and resilient livelihoods contributing to nutrition; climate resilience, forest-based enterprises; building demand for more diverse foods; women’s empowerment; diversified farming systems and improved land management contributes to climate resilience, drought mitigation, dietary diversity Market Development: link stallholders to markets; promote and finance nutrition-sensitive value chains; women’s empowerment in markets; use of income to meet livelihoods and nutrition needs; reinvestment of income to promote climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive products and services; Women’s Empowerment: access to high value land; strengthen access and control over production resources; decision making; leadership; building confidence; access to information DRR, EWS, and Emergency Response: Asset creation and growth linked to livelihoods strategies, risk management and financing; agricultural programmes and systems inform natural asset DRR strategies; food security monitoring; EWS and contingency planning; Social Protection: Ensure Pillar 1 delivers targeted agricultural livelihood support to MNSSP II groups through both protective and productive interventions.; focus on asset creation for highly vulnerable groups; support learning and evidenced-based approaches to create graduation pathways; Catchment protection: Link and scale-up agro-forestry and climate-smart agriculture practices; awareness on drought mitigation, flood control, WASH and IWRM; Coordination Mechanisms: Strengthen coordination systems and roles and responsibilities; update extension, SBCC, marketing materials; Support financial services, food system actors, and development of ICT and other communications approaches to facilitate integration. 47

4.2 — Pillar 2: Risk Reduction, Flood Control, Early Warning, and Response

4.2 Pillar 2: Risk Reduction, Flood Control, Early Warning, and Response Systems The NRS will guide timely, coordinated, and effective responses to environmental and economic shocks. Projections show that Malawi will continue to be impacted by intensifying droughts, and floods, and other hazards, such as hail and pest infestations,. Weather patterns are difficult to _____________ predict in Malawi as the northern regions may experience above average Pillar 2 rainfall while the southern regions experience low rainfall during an El Nino year, and the inverse is true during a La Nina year.48 This combination increases risk and exposure for Malawi as well as the urgency for concerted action to improve risk reduction, flood control, drought mitigation and early Risk Reduction, warning, response, and recovery systems. Also crucial are reducing risk for Flood Control, women and children, and other marginalized and nutritionally vulnerable groups. Pillar 2 is integral to all other NRS pillars as all sectors are impacted by Early Warning cyclical, sudden and onset climate shocks. & One of the most pervasive features of poor households in Malawi is exposure Response to risk. Households typically adopt actions to reduce their risk exposure, which Systems often translates into choosing livelihood strategies that provide low, but relatively more stable, incomes. Such choices can lead to persistent poverty and low resilience. Since poor households have less access to financial and insurance mechanisms, they often cope with risk ex post by reducing _____________ consumption or selling productive assets, which plunges them further into poverty, and depleting any savings or other asset gains they may have made leading to the emergency. Women and girls, especially female headed households, and PLHIV, orphans, and elderly are more vulnerable and have increased exposure to shocks due to many inequities deeply seeded in cultural practices. Women in Malawi have less access and control over a wide range of productive assets, such as land, inputs, extension services, access to markets, and little decision-making power over income. PLW and children under 5, women of reproductive age, orphans, and PLHIV are more nutritionally vulnerable. Woman in Malawi carry most of the agricultural labour burden, and ensure domestic tasks are complete, such as walking long distances to collect water and firewood, cooking, and caring for the homestead and children. Women and children are more exposed to upper respiratory and eye diseases due to continuous exposure to smoke from cooking over an open flame. Improvements to agricultural livelihoods can also inadvertently increase the labour burden for women, thus increasing nutritional vulnerability, especially for PLW, if mitigating measures are not taken, and gender disparities are not addressed. The 2015-2016 Post Drought Needs Assessment reported gender inequities, such as unequal access to food rations delivered by male workers, lower women’s participation in PWP programmes, and loss of livelihoods. Reports indicated women and young girls resorted to negative coping mechanisms, such as leaving school, begging for food, or forced to trade sex for food.49 The NRS supports GoM Gender Policy, and developing measurable strategies for empowering adolescent women, young girls, to reduce their vulnerability to risk. Gender strategies will be integral to DRM strategies promoted through agriculture, livelihoods opportunities, male involvement and working with couples, and social protection programmes. Early warning systems will include 48 GoM, World Bank, EU and UNDP, Post-Drought Needs Assessment Report (PDNA), 2015. 49 Ibid. 48 nutritional surveillance, and be coordinated with the shock-sensitive social protection targeting systems, to tailor support for vulnerable women and girls. 49 The NRS promotes linkages between risk programmes to strengthen management and reduction and climate change adaptation, both to coordination systems and structures for safeguard investments for development and integrating DRM, across all MDAs management improve national resilience to climate change. and budgeting systems, and technical sector Maladaptation refers to actions or investments programming, including irrigation, drought that do not take potential climate change mitigation, flood control, catchment protection, impacts into account and may inadvertently PWP, building and construction standards, increase exposure or vulnerability to climate risk education, social protection, the financial sector, rather than decrease it. Such investments may livelihoods, and nutrition. Management and provide a short-term benefit, but in the longer- communication structures will be strengthened term could end up doing more harm than good. through Civil Protection Committees (CPCs) at Examples include: agricultural investments that district level, and linkages to other sector-specific decrease livelihood and food security if the management and technical committee climate becomes unsuitable for crops or structures, and community-level committees, livestock; promoting human settlements in a such as the Village Development Committees. high risk-prone area that due to climate change; Each MDA and donor-funded project supporting or infrastructure that overlooks climate impacts implementation should have activities and a and results in being ineffective or being having a budget line supporting DRM implementation and shorter life span than expected. coordination activities. The NRS will also support development of a harmonized communications To avert maladaptation the NRS promotes the strategy and information campaigns to support integration of climate science and natural harmonized DRM and emergency response and resource management into planning for other recovery operations. One existing challenge is to sectors. The NRS is in line with the NAIP to ensure that training and SBCC information is promote integrated watershed management, presented in a clear and simply way, to ensure drought tolerant crops, reduced dependency on rural trainers can understand the materials and maize, as well as diversified production for provide clear guidance, and people can consumption and sale. Diversification and understand and act accordingly. Therefore, a market linkages will contribute to a more resilient range of strategies should be included, using homestead through integrated homestead food mobile devices, video, radio, Illustrated IEC production, and a food market environment that materials, and drawing on social capital, through offers a range of diverse, safe, and nutrient influential community leaders and existing dense foods that are affordable, and convenient community groups. for people to purchase. Livelihoods will promote eco-friendly enterprises and technologies. The Mainstreaming activities will include will include NRS embraces evidence of the relationship technical training and conducting risk and multi- between climate, nutrition, and gender through hazard assessments to inform multi-sectoral improvements in the food system, as well as DRM strategies and plans in target districts and through equity in access and control over sub-district levels, and hazard prone zones that livelihoods resources, such as women’s land span more than one district. To support his, the ownership, income, decision making around food NRS promotes the expansion of data collection production, marketing, and income, and women’s and analysis on risk information to guide increasing time and labour constraints resulting development planning and mapping risk from the impacts of climate change. exposure, including geospatial surveys of drainage systems and data sharing platforms to The priorities for this NRS pillar are to strengthen improve community access to risk information mainstreaming of DRM across all MDA strategies that affects their lives. The use of GIS and remote and sectoral activities, address priority flood sensing technologies will also be used to create control measures, and strengthen early warning, multi-criteria hazard assessments addressing emergency response, and recovery systems. both economic, social, and climate vulnerability in rural and urban areas.

4.2.1 — Mainstreaming DRM across sectors

4.2.1 Mainstreaming DRM across sectors and administrative levels The NRS will support a culture of safety and resilience promoted among all stakeholders at This will be achieved through support to DoDMA community level and public institutions by and other MDAs to continue the ongoing developing easily accessible DRM training, 50 conducting drills, and supporting monitoring remote sensing and modelling of flood prone systems for schools, hospitals, and clinics, and areas to inform spatial planning. Such tools will by engaging the private sector. help communities visualize risks and DRM strategies, as well as help the GoM encourage

4.2.2 — Flood Prevention and Control people in high risk zones to move upland, and

4.2.2 Flood Prevention and Control people in high risk zones to move upland, and support these efforts where necessary. Unmitigated flood risks in Malawi continue to Improvements in building standards, climate- cause risk exposure in Malawi. People reside in resilient infrastructure, land use planning and high-risk unprotected zones and rely on this land zoning, and investments in drainage systems in for their livelihoods. Poverty simulations show urban and peri-urban areas will contribute to that recurrent floods are more severe in the flood prevention and control. poorest districts, causing repeated loss of assets, which increases the depth of poverty for the 4.2.3 Effective Early Warning Systems vulnerable, while pushing others into poverty. Vulnerable communities, development planners The NRS supports the construction of flood and service providers need greater access to control infrastructure and enhanced rainwater clear, timely, and actionable information, the harvesting at national, district and community right information, such as good seasonal levels, including dykes, dams, excavated tanks, forecasts, early warning systems (EWS), and drainage channels and river training. Drawing on knowledge of innovative preventative and proven approaches in Malawi, catchment and response mechanisms to strengthen contingency community-wide drainage plans will be up-scaled, planning, and resilience to shocks. and designed to intercept overland flow of Communication and dissemination of climate rainfall and capture household water (roof water and other early warning information to decision and grey water) and, at the same time, reduce makers and their capacity to act on this soil erosion and landslide hazards. Flood control information remains a key challenge in scaling up will also be integrated with IWM and small-scale action to climate proof Malawi’s development irrigation schemes, forestry, hillside stabilisation, gains. riverbank stabilisation, and wetland management. To ensure robust EWS, the NRS will support inter- ministerial and community level coordination and Prioritization for preventive and remedial actions operational protocols between DoDMA and: the will focus on predictable flood risks in NRS Department of Climate Change and priority districts and zones. Action to retrain the Meteorological Services (DCCMS); Department of Ruo River to its original dykes targeting flood Water Resources; Department of Fisheries; prone rivers to protect channel will be Department of Agricultural Extension Services; undertaken, thus protecting communities in the Department of Nutrition and HIV and AIDS; flood-prone districts such as Karonga, Salima, the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability, and Nsanje, Chikwawa, Zomba, Phalombe, Rumphi Social Welfare; Malawi Defense Force; district and Machinga. Construction of land and water councils; area and village civil protection management structures will be done by committees; INGOs and NGOs supporting communities through cash transfers or inputs for community-based early warning systems; and asset programmes. Medium- to large projects will other stakeholders. be constructed by private contractors with engineering oversight. Investments will be made to modernize early warning communications mechanisms using ICT, This NRS component will also prioritize river such as through Short Message Services (SMS) training of CPC and implementation of at no cost to users. This will ensure that that community-based flood early warning systems, populations at risk have timely access to clear prioritizing high-risk rivers. River gauges will be and actionable information, while also increasing installed in targeted rivers to monitor water levels access to ICT services for the poor, and socially on hourly and/or daily basis, and strengthened excluded. The use of ICT will also play an communications and protocols to enable timely important role in providing users with direct early warning information dissemination. Linking access to climate information, such as area- settlement planning to flood risk will be specific weather forecasts employing illustrations conducted by scaling up the application of and symbols for ease of use. The NRS will also 51 support plans to increase the density of the The MVAC responses are co-financed by hydro-meteorological architecture to improve government and DPs through GoM humanitarian district coverage, and enable weather appeals. Coordination of humanitarian information products to be better tailored to assistance is managed by a government-led different audiences such as agri-business, sectoral cluster system that is co-chaired by the insurance providers and subscribers, smallholder United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office. farmers, fishers, transport authorities, civil Humanitarian response typically occurs during aviation, and other end-users. Improved systems the lean season (October to March), but can would also provide more accurate geographic respond to other shocks, such as severe flooding context, unlike current forecasts that cover a that occurred in January 2015 and past years. large area, and are therefore less useful. The MVAC assessments employ a livelihood- The NRS will support strengthening partnerships based analytical framework known as Household and linkages to help organizations and Economy Approach (HEA). The approach uses institutions integrate EWS and climate primary and secondary data to assess livelihoods information into development planning, in periods without shock, the impact of a range of especially in the agriculture, insurance, energy, shocks, and strategies used by households to health, nutrition, education, transport, industrial survive and protect their livelihood systems. As of sectors. Activities will also strengthen monitoring 2017, this information feeds into the Integrated systems, and improve training quality to ensure Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system that communities and stakeholders can interpret, along with Nutrition Survey Reports, Food and disseminate EWS information. This also Security Reports, and other information provided requires two-way communication so that by stakeholders, which classifies the food communities can report information up through security situation at district level as none, stress, the chain. crisis, emergency, and famine. Market Analysis is also undertaken to recommend the appropriate

4.2.4 — Disaster Preparedness, Response, and modality. e.g. cash, food, vouchers, or a

4.2.4 Disaster Preparedness, Response, and modality. e.g. cash, food, vouchers, or a Recovery combination, with the flexibility to shift between modalities. Gender analysis will also be Malawi’s national disaster profile, which dates supported to assess vulnerability as well as the back to 1946, records more than 600 disaster design of delivery mechanisms to ensure that events that have not left any of the country’s 28 gender inequities are addressed in assessment districts unaffected. The NRS recognizes that and delivery of humanitarian assistance. shock events in Malawi are increasingly predictable, and can be countered by predictable The NRS will also support the efforts to build a preparedness and adaptation actions that cut shock sensitive social protection system through across various sectors. Implementation of the link the humanitarian beneficiary registry with the NRS will move Malawi from a reactive to a more MNSSP II SMTP registry, and the UBR, enabling a proactive risk management approach that makes more seamless management of beneficiary lasting improvements to household resilience. registries and response packages, (see Pillar 3). Strategies also include a more effective response The NRS will strengthen the country’s current to predictable chronic food insecurity, and disaster preparedness, and response sudden onset disasters, through adopting a mechanisms, which are led by the Malawi “build back better” approach, and ensuring that Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) DRR and asset creation is integrated at all stages under the MoFEP&D, and includes MDAs, DPs, of preparedness, response and recovery. This and other stakeholders. The MVAC strategy is to will be achieved through promoting timely access protect lives and livelihoods when capacity to by shock affected households to essential cope with shocks is exceeded. The MVAC bi- services such as health, nutrition, education, annual assessments (post-harvest and pre-lean water and sanitation, finances, and primary season) are conducted as part of early warning to infrastructure (road repair, transport, food insecurity. DoDMA through the humanitarian communication), while also restoring and response committee (HRC), uses the protecting agricultural and other productive assessments to plan and respond. assets such as seeds and tools, and natural resources. Other mechanisms include stimulating markets through cash transfers, 52 building household and community productive assets through CFA, and providing Table 7 shows expected outcomes under Pillar 2. complementary non-food inputs. 53 Table 7: Expected Outcomes for NRS Pillar 2: Disaster Risk Reduction, Flood Control, Early Warning & Response Systems Pillar 2 Overall Outcome: Reduced exposure to floods and droughts, and other hazards, and effective early warning and response systems Outcome 2.1 Outcome 2.2 Outcome 2.3 Mainstreaming DRM across Outcome 2.4 Flood Prevention and Control Effective Early Warning Systems sectors and administrative Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery levels  Strengthened  Improved community risk  Community based early warning  Established and tested multi-hazard contingency plans management and assessment, training, and systems and flood water monitoring  Improved MVAC through linking to Integrated Phase Classification; coordination systems for monitoring systems established established nationwide wide, and continue annual assessment of the status of food and nutrition integrating DRM for flood prevention and control prioritized in problematic rivers insecurity and biannual SMART Nutrition survey to measure  DRM risk assessment and  Improved assessment and  Strengthened inter-ministerial nutrition security situation monitoring integrate into planning and systems for systems to manage contingency  Lifesaving assistance provided to address food, nutrition, and all sectors and construction of dykes, dams, planning, early warning systems and related needs using food, cash, vouchers programmes and river training disaster response  Asset creation linked to emergency response and recovery, and  A culture of safety and  Multi-purpose flood-control  Strengthened integration of early adopt “build back stronger” approach resilience promoted infrastructure and landscape warning and climate information  Improved targeting of beneficiaries based on multi-criteria among all stakeholders at design designed and system into shock-sensitive social assessment: vulnerability and risk exposure, environmental community level and implemented protection systems conditions, climate vulnerability, and integration of shock-sensitive public institutions  Strengthened nutrition monitoring in social protection plans. the EWS Integration Themes: Systems Strengthening and linkages: Integral to all other MGDS III priorities; apply DRR lens to all Apply DRR lens to all development; DRR, EWS, and Response underpin all others pillars through technical strategies, communications, and information systems management; Social Protection: Link to shock-sensitive social protection through EWS, strengthen spatial zoning, inform standards for disaster preparedness among highly vulnerable groups; Agriculture: Integrate DRR and reducing risk and vulnerability into agriculture strategies on irrigation, crops, water supply catchment areas; link to EWS through programme coordination and management structures Catchment Protection: DRR lens to integrated watershed management; monitoring and measuring climate resilience Women’s Empowerment: Focus specific strategies to reduce vulnerability and exposure for women; address social and system barriers to increase access to DRR and emergency information and services, and asset creation for women; promote women’s leadership in management of EWS, contingency planning, and DRR strategies; conduct do-no harm analysis across sectors; increase access to high value land and livelihoods opportunities for women; strengthen access and control over production resources; decision making; leadership. Coordination Mechanisms: Strengthen inter-ministerial coordination systems and roles and responsibilities; finance DRR and EWS, integration of humanitarian registry with UBR and contingency planning in all districts and high-risk zones (eventually linked to National ID); update extension, SBCC, marketing materials; Support financial services, food system actors, and development of ICT and other communications approaches to facilitate integration across sectors. 54

4.3 — Human Capacity, Livelihoods, and Social Protection

4.3 Human Capacity, Livelihoods, and Social Protection The Household Capacity, Livelihoods, and Social Protection pillar is foundational to protecting and building assets, and reducing vulnerability and exposure of the ultra-poor who need to hang in, and laying a roadmap of _____________ pathways for graduation through stepping up into higher value agricultural livelihoods, and for some, stepping out of agriculture through diversified livelihoods through a safe and managed plan of action. Pillar 3 This pillar aligns with the Malawi National Social Support Programme II (MNSSP II) under development, and its key thematic areas: Consumption Support; Resilient Livelihoods; and Shock-sensitive Social Protection. Households and Human individual groups reached through the MNSSP II thematic areas will serve as Capacity, the platform for coordination and integration with targeted and coordinated activities promoted through the other pillars. By linking target MNSSP II Livelihoods beneficiary groups with disaster risk reduction and EWS, agriculture, catchment and protection, energy planning, and nutrition and livelihoods services, these households and groups will more proactively mitigate risk and reduce Social vulnerability and exposure to shocks experienced through the normal Protection seasonality of food and livelihoods security cycles, as well as through predictable or sudden onset emergencies. _____________ This pillar will also support scaling up nutrition-specific and sensitive interventions to address stunting and malnutrition, prioritizing the most nutritionally vulnerable individuals, primarily people living with children under five years, orphans, and PLHIV, as well as food systems actors. WASH, promotion of integrated water resource management, and measures to improve food safety and hygiene, and the health and sanitation environment at household level, in production systems and along value chains are also imperative to addressing malnutrition, and prioritized here and under Pillar 1. The NRS supports household level and livelihoods strategies to address gender through helping couples, families and communities, and system actors understand intra-household inequities, and reduce vulnerability of women and girls. Household resilience and livelihoods strategies will focus on increasing equitable access and control over productive assets, decision making and participation, as well as applying a do no harm approach to ensure that activities do not inadvertently negatively impact on livelihoods and nutrition. Strategies also support addressing issues of women’s rights, violence against women and girls, and access to education experienced in Malawi. Gender strategies will support key GoM initiatives to strengthen district level Gender Officers, access to land, inputs, and markets. The NRS supports the National Gender Policy and the National Strategy on Adolescent Girls and Young Women under development. The NRS strategy aims to align these priorities with mutually beneficial and complementary interventions in other NRS pillars, as well as linkages outside NRS priorities in a manner that increases their cumulative impact on human capacity and livelihoods resilience. Complimentary interventions within resilient agriculture, environmental protection, and disaster risk reduction strategies, as well as early warning systems should contribute to improving practices, public and private services, and systems that strengthen household ad livelihoods resilience, thus creating an upwards spiral and graduation out of poverty, and breaking the cycle of food security.

4.3.1 — Overview of the MNSSP II

4.3.1 Overview of the MNSSP II 55 While MNSSP interventions have assisting the the environment they depend on to move ultra-poverty and moderately poor since 2013, them above the poverty line; and lifting households at scale up the resilience d) To establish coherent and progressive social ladder has been slow due to the low transfer support synergies in line with the lifecycle levels and ad hoc implementation. The new approach and fosters links with economic phase of the MNSSP will help ensure that and social policies, as well as disaster risk interventions with high poverty reduction impacts management. are prioritized and implemented in a systematic and coordinated manner. Interventions will Poverty is multi-dimensional and dynamic. include higher transfer levels and a focus on Evidence shows that people experience transferable skills to help build resilience of all “transitory escapes” from poverty, meaning that poor households. Such interventions will include they move up out of poverty, and then fall back productive public works programme (under again due to covariate shocks felt by the catchment management approach), the social community as a whole, or individual shocks, such cash transfer programme, school meals, village an illness, or changes in industry or jobs. savings and loans and micro-finance. The Evidence also shows that as poverty has reduced interventions will be implemented throughout the in some countries, large swaths of people may country and will eventually target all eligible poor live just above the poverty line, and are therefore and vulnerable households. more vulnerable to falling into poverty due covariate shocks or other circumstances. While The MNSSP is operationalized by the Malawi cash transfers alone have proven to assist National Social Support Programme II (MNSSP II), people in meeting consumption needs, or avoid which prioritizes a set of social protection negative coping strategies, cash transfers interventions organized through thematic areas, combined with upscaling of asset creation and targeting the poorest households, and livelihoods support have proven to enable people implemented under a delivery framework to protect and build more assets, increase emphasizing coordination and harmonization productivity, and sustain escapes from poverty. between the MNSSP priorities, as well as with It is also necessary to consider the quality of other NRS and MGDS III components. The assets and livelihoods opportunities promoted to MNSSP II includes three thematic priority areas help people make better investment choices and provides clear strategic policy guidance on resulting in sustained poverty escapes. promoting linkages, strengthening systems, and Additionally, intra-household inequities, such as monitoring activities. Various line ministries, stunting and other forms of malnutrition, access development partners and NGOs support to education for girls, and healthcare exist in implementation, with oversight and guidance more productive and wealthy households. provided by the MoFEP&D. The MNSSP II accounts for multi-dimensional The MNSSP II mission is “to provide and promote poverty, and considers different levels of productivity-enhancing interventions and welfare vulnerability: support for the poor and vulnerable, thereby facilitating movement of people out of poverty Agricultural vulnerability i.e. dependence on rain and reducing the vulnerability of those in danger fed systems, erratic rainfall, warmer of falling into poverty”. temperatures, soil degradation, land constraints, lack of livestock and constrained access to The NSSP as well as the MNSSP II seek to fertilizers, inputs, and credit; continue to realise four key thematic aims that consolidate the aspirations contained in the vision, mission and in guidelines. These are as Economic shocks and processes i.e. inflationary follows: pressure, limited livelihoods options, weak a) To provide welfare support to meet the basic markets, interactions between transitory shocks needs of poor and vulnerable individuals and and chronic poverty households; b) To protect the assets and improve the resilience of poor and vulnerable households; c) To improve the productive capacity and asset base of poor and vulnerable households and 56 Social vulnerability, associated with risks of little or no land. Household members may be marginalization, exclusion, violence, abuse, and chronically ill, or could be child/female/elderly exploitation; headed with high dependency ratios. Ultra- poverty increases vulnerability to shocks and Health and nutrition risks and HIV i.e. unsafe limit coping mechanisms. Therefore, they require support throughout the year. water, poor eating habits and limited access to health services; Moderately poor households are those that are able to meet some of their basic needs but Demographic vulnerability i.e. high population remain significantly deprived and unable to growth driven by a young population with afford all needed food and non-food items. These increasing numbers of households headed by households are vulnerable to seasonal women, children, or the elderly; and fluctuation and require assistance during cyclical times of need. Lifecycle vulnerability i.e. diminished capacity to sustain livelihoods at specific stages of the life While public spending on social protection in cycle (pregnancy, infancy and childhood, old age) Malawi is low by international standards50, the or for specific population groups (women, NRS will prioritize a gradual increase in line with persons living with disabilities or the chronically the Government’s fiscal space. ill). Recognizing that districts differ in terms of Considering multi-dimensional poverty and poverty profiles, the percentage of population vulnerability factors, the MNSSP II is organized targeted could be gradually adjusted so that around three thematic areas that in districts with a higher proportion of extremely implementation. should also be intrinsically poor households get to include a higher linked and coordinated (Figure 12). percentage of the population on the SCTP. This approach ensures protective social support For example, Beneficiaries of consumption reaches all ultra-poor and labour constrained support, should also be targeted through Public households across the country. Vertical and Works Programme (PWP), the school meals horizontal scalability will be integrated in the programme (SMP), livelihoods activities, and value of transfers, based on the magnitude of increasing access financial and other risk shocks experienced by the poorest households, financing services, such as crop and livestock their pre-determined exposure to risks and insurance. This integrated strategy enables the shocks based on comprehensive hazard poorest segments of the population to protect mapping. and build assets, thereby reducing vulnerability and exposure, and as possible to graduate out of To enable continuous improvement to the poverty. predictability of transfers, household targeting, delivery, and performance monitoring, MNSSP II In line with the MNSSP II the NRS defines and will introduce measures to expand and improve reaches three categories of households through the Unified Beneficiary Registry (UBR), and social protection interventions within the three facilitate the integration the use of the biometric thematic areas (Figure 13). national ID cards to monitor services. Currently the 50% of the population are projected to be Poor households are defined as those that fail to included in the UBR. In the long-term, including attain a minimum acceptable consumption level 100% of the population in the UBR would allow of food and basic needs as defined by the for data interoperability, and flexible service national poverty line. Key factors affecting the models that can effectively address economic level of household poverty are household size, segmentation, intra-household inequities such as education, access to non-farm employment, education and nutrition, and shock-affected access to irrigation, proximity to markets and households who may not be among the poorest, trading centres, and access to good roads. 50 Annual 2014-2015 budget expenditure for social protection Ultra-poor households are those that are unable programmes, excluding pensions, was US$53.2 million, to afford a minimum food basket. These representing 2.9% of total expenditure and 0.8% of GDP. Malawi’s social protection budget is less than one-third of the sub-Saharan households often have few, or no assets and Africa Region (SSA)’s average and one-sixth of the world average 57 Figure 12: MNSSP II Thematic Areas but still impacted by covariate shocks. Another Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, key enhancement includes the application of the Social Protection task force is developing a biometric national identity cards (NID) to be roadmap on shock-sensitive social protection to issued to 9.5 million Malawians by the end of build on operational trials to inform the 2018, with rolling registration thereafter. The transition. The MNSSP II will also be aligned with Harmonized Data Collection Tool (HDCT), the JEFAP guidelines, which will guide future developed for the MNSSP, considers the data humanitarian responses. requirements for various social support programmes with varied eligibility thresholds. 4.3.2 Consumption Support Once data is collected, the information undergoes a quality and accuracy check by the The Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) district-level National Statistics Offices before targeting the ultra-poor provides a platform for being inputted into the Unified Beneficiary protecting and building assets and reducing Registry (UBR). The UBR contains detailed socio- vulnerability and exposure to shocks. At a economic information about households. Under minimum, the SCTP can enable people to meet MNSSP II, deployment of the NID cards can consumption needs, and prevent them from support the integration of shock sensitive falling back into poverty, recover from being in mechanisms, including those targeting shock debt, pay for school fees, farm inputs, or prone hotspots, as well as the deployment of risk contributions for VSLs. The MNSSP II includes financing mechanism in place of, or three types of complimentary programmes in supplemental to, humanitarian resources. More consumption support: The Social Cash Transfer robust digital systems a can also enable more Programme (SCTP), Public Works Programme accurate targeting, and taking into consideration (PWP), and School Meals Programme (SMP). individual profiles and flexibility to tailor services packages for households and individual need, as The Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) is well as seasonality. Digital systems can also an unconditional transfer targeted to ultra-poor improve beneficiary targeting, verification, as and labour-constrained households. The promote beneficiary accountability and redress objectives of the SCT are to reduce poverty and mechanisms. Under the leadership of the hunger, and enable household to meet their Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare, and the 58 basic needs: food security, shelter, education, and health. 59 Figure 13: Targeting for Social Support and Protection Programmes Transfer amounts vary by household size and 240,000 households in subsequent three years number of children enrolled in school. The basic (same beneficiaries). Transfer amounts per transfer varies between MK 2,600 and MK 5,600 beneficiary is MK 5,820 per cycle, with four per month, depending on household size, with a cycles per year. The PWP is funded by the bonus of MK 800/month for each child enrolled Government and the World Bank and in primary school and KK 1,500 for each child in implemented through the LDF in collaboration secondary school. Over time the SCTP aims to with District Councils and the Ministry of Local increase coverage, increase the transfer levels to Governance and Rural Development (MoLGRD). meet basic needs, and regularly update the The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Water transfer values, improve the design of the Development provides technical support51. The programmes to improve the life-cycle coverage of NRS supports improvements in the quality of social protection, and strengthen alignment with public works, and the alignment of different other core protective programmes. Other PWPs at district level to ensure better important factors include improving public coordination using a catchment protection awareness and grievance redress mechanisms. approach. The SCTP is funded by the Government and development partners and is implemented by the The NRS also supports integration of PWP with Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability, and other NRS Pillars. In alignment with Pillar 4 of Social Welfare (MoGCDSW) in collaboration with the NRS on catchment protection and District Councils. management, the PWP will introduce measures to reverse environmental degradation that offer Public Works Programme (PWP) are conditional resilience benefits for households and the cash transfer programmes targeted to ultra-poor climate. Practical steps to accelerate climate who are not labour constrained, to provide change adaptation at scale will be integrated in seasonal assistance and consumption support. the operational guidelines of the Local In the longer-term these programmes can create Development Fund (LDF). In addition to cash productive assets, skills, and livelihoods. The transfers based on PWP participation, targeted main implementer of PWP in Malawi is the Local households will receive skills and asset-building Development Fund (LDF). The main objectives of investments to enable them to continue to the PWP are to increase incomes and food protect catchments while developing their own security of poor households and create livelihoods. In line with the NRS, the PWP will link productive community assets. The LDF PWP is implemented at national scale and targeted 51 WFP also supports public works through its Food for Assets about 570,000 households in 2015/16 and Programme. 60 community assets such as ponds and dams and viable options for graduation strategies. The NRS other water harvesting infrastructure to irrigation also supports push-pull mechanisms by building and aquaculture. This will promote food self- livelihoods for more productive and better off sufficiency and alternative sources of income not households, who also serve to pull more only for social support beneficiaries, but among vulnerable opportunities into higher value the entire community. opportunities. Life skills, especially for youth, women and adolescent girls, and highly PWP can be linked to the expansion of rural vulnerable groups, are also essential to provide electrification, renewable energy, and the motivation, inspire innovation, and build associated skills building and livelihoods confidence. opportunities. Additional PWP opportunities exist to integrate agriculture and nutrition-sensitive All pillars in the NRS will also promote and create services, awareness, skills building, and livelihoods opportunities, through agriculture and livelihoods opportunities. For example, value addition, climate and forest-based construction of household and community assets enterprises, energy, PWP, health and nutrition, improving the health and sanitation environment information, communication, and technology and social services, such as hygiene market services, and other rural service sector spaces, milking stations, livestock pens, garden opportunities. The NRS also supports the fencing to prevent animals from entering help development of a broader workforce improve food safety and reduce transmission of development strategy to help Malawi with diseases and bacteria. Other assets include managed urbanization. A special focus is placed hygienic and supervised play spaces for children. on youth, as well as women and adolescent girls. A referral system should also link beneficiary households of PWP to nutrition-specific services. Financial sector development and financial Activities should also ensure to guard against any inclusion of the poor is an essential tool for potential negative impacts on pregnant and economic development and poverty reduction. It lactating women through engaging in hard is essential in increasing agricultural productivity physical labour. and production, expanding micro and small enterprises, creating employment, and increasing The NRS supports scaling up the School Meals income smoothing. The NRS builds on proven Programme (SMP), under the supervision of the strategies to support Villages Savings and Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology Lending (VSL) as a key component in graduation (MoEST), and delivered by a variety of strategies. The NRS also supports developing the implementers with different modalities. For microfinance sector, digital payments, and example, WFP and Mary’s Meals serve a fortified mobile money services. corn-soya porridge to all children in targeted schools and during the lean season WFP Village Savings and Lending (VSL) groups are provides a monthly take-home-ration of maize to supported by many organizations, and fall under girls and orphan boys in standards 5 to 8. These the auspices of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, programmes aim to strengthen sustainable food and Tourism (MoITT). They are a proven supply chains and systems by building capacity of approach in Malawi for reducing household producer and value chain groups to produce vulnerability to shocks, increasing income nutritious foods for SMP, strengthening the generation and smoothing, and contribute to “home grown school meals” programme. financial education through management of micro-loans and small investments. VSL group

4.3.3 — Resilient Livelihoods members tend to self-select based on ability to

4.3.3 Resilient Livelihoods members tend to self-select based on ability to pay, and trust. Villages can have several VSL The NRS supports diversified livelihoods groups with different rates. Highly vulnerable strategies targeting MNSSP II beneficiary groups individuals are still often unable to access VSL as as well as expansion and linkages beyond the it requires some money to start; however, the MNSSP. The NRS will prioritize designing multi- cash transfer can provide the boost they need to year livelihoods strategies for MNSSP II target join a group. VSL also predominantly attracts groups to promote access to information and women, and thus inherently creates solidarity formal financial services, skills building, and among the group, as well as positive impacts on diversified options to support vulnerable women’s empowerment, such as access and population hanging in, as well economically control of assets and income and decision 61 making. The level of contribution and interest strategies, including enrolment in weather- rates charged for loans vary across groups, since indexed crop insurance schemes.53 each group is free to set its own operating guidelines. VSL contributes to livelihoods The NRS prioritizes developing and guaranteeing diversification on its own; however, when financial products to increase access to the poor, implemented with other resilience activities there and especially women to shock sensitive social are multiplier effects. Programme results in support. Greater investment will also be needed Malawi have shown that VSL builds resilience to scale up improved climate-smart agriculture through combining it with other livelihoods and practises, nutrient value chains, value add financial services. For example, various studies processing, as well as financing for ecosystems in Malawi indicate that of the combinations of payments. Risk financing is also a priority at the resilience building interventions VSL was one national and commercial levels as well as component favoured in all combinations. The through investment in micro-insurance plans for popular was VSL in combination with smallholder crops and livestock. While these conservation agriculture and seeds. Additionally, investments are relatively new in Malawi, based the study showed that adoption of practices on evidence of high impact they will continue to dependent on personal preferences.52 This is be prioritized under the NRS. important as it shows that while VSL can serve as a base, many options are possible for livelihoods Urbanization and workforce development are diversification. also NRS priorities for medium and long-term development, building on the MNSSP II, which Micro-finance Programmes (MFP) are key in also prioritizes development of a long-term “promoting the poor to move out of poverty, by livelihoods strategy for vulnerable households. increasing their access to finance, thereby Malawi’s population is still largely rural. Despite enabling expansion of their income earning some estimates that show rapid urbanization, a opportunities” (NSSP, 2012). The MFP activities more careful analysis shows that population focus on strengthening the outreach capacity of growth is more moderate, and at the early stages poverty-focused micro-finance institutions (MFI) of urbanization. Based on current population and, strengthening of the operations and growth rates the proportion of Malawians living in management capacity of MFIs to improve urban areas are estimated to remain below 20% efficiency of microfinance services. Currently in until 2040. This projection suggest that Malawi Malawi some banks provide mobile MFI services, has a greater opportunity to plan for more however the sector is underdeveloped. Mobile managed urban growth as well as continued money is also not widespread yet, which could growth in rural areas.54 The NRS supports also help increase access to the rural poor, and planning for managed urban growth, also facilitate electronic cash transfers. prioritizing investment and coordination of infrastructure, such as roads, water supply, rural Collateral, credit history, and assess to financial electrification, transport, and communications services, especially for women, is a critical barrier that extend services to at-risk areas and for scaling up improved climate-smart practices populations. These investments will also result and micro-enterprises. Highly vulnerable in asset creation, job creation and increased beneficiaries will still have barriers to accessing market access in NRS priority areas. For finance, or graduating from VSL, and engaging in example, rural-urban linkages and planning offer higher value livelihood opportunities to opportunities for building and protecting microfinance without longer-term ongoing productive assets through PWP, and household support, asset creation, and risk mitigation assets, diversifying livelihoods through strategies. For example: agricultural marketing and value addition, while also emphasizing building demand and markets The NRS promotes VSL paired with asset creation for forest-based enterprises, ecosystem to strengthen natural resources and improve payments, and nutrition-related products and productivity, reducing, and helping households services. and communities to invest in risk mitigation 52 LTS International and the Centre for Development Management 53 WFP Programme Reports, 2016. (CDM), ECRP Year-4 Report: Study on the Adoption of Interventions 54 WB, 2017. Malawi Economic Monitor, Harnessing the Urban in Combination, 2015. Economy. 62 Livelihoods Skills Building through the NRS structures at both central and district levels to emphasizes support services, such as village allow for coordinated action. level coaching services to provide psycho-social 3. Ensuring the social protection interventions support, life skills training, business skills, meet their core function – Strengthen systems referrals for job placement, off-farm and pertaining to programme implementation, in vocational training opportunities, and bursaries particular, the provision and adequate value for access to education for vulnerable groups. of transfers, as highlighted in thematic area 1, Emphasis is placed on youth, and AGYW. These services can help as they play a key role in protecting people provide ongoing support as people aim to adapt their livelihoods. Building basic business skills are also critical, such as farm from adverse consequences of shocks. management, profitability analysis, off-farm business planning, or 4. Improve the role of the MNSSP in ensuring deciding as well as household budgeting for livelihoods and nutritional needs. Other types of support services include assessing market viability preparedness and responsiveness to and of livelihood opportunities, and helping vulnerable households. assess recovery from shocks through the following risk, and make good investment decisions. actions:

4.3.4 — Shock-Sensitive Social Protection

4.3.4 Shock-Sensitive Social Protection a. Include shock-sensitivity as an objective In line with the MNSSP II the NRS supports the and approach in MNSSP programmes, as strategic objective for this third thematic area is well as programmes in other NRS pillars as to develop a “shock-sensitive social protection appropriate. This entails considering a system that meets seasonal needs, prepares for, shock-sensitive lens during programme and responds to unpredictable shocks together design and implementation across all NRS with the humanitarian sector, and supports sectors, considering ways activities will recovery and the return to regular programming”. engage and reduce vulnerability, as well as This shift represents a transition from a shock- help prepare and respond to disasters responsive system that has evolved in Malawi most vulnerable, through careful over time, to a shock-sensitive system, that first assessment and design of irrigation and prioritizes asset creation and diversified catchment protection programmes. livelihoods to mitigate risk, and reduce b. Integrate into the MNSSP II a response to vulnerability and poverty. A shock-sensitive predictable seasonal needs by planning system will establish a highly coordinated scale-up of seasonal support through the emergency preparedness and early warning topping up the SCTP, planning additional systems to reduce vulnerability and exposure, as PWP, promoting incomes smoothing well as better plan for, and more effectively through VSLs and other risk mitigation respond to predictable cyclical and seasonal measures, and developing managed shocks, and sudden onset emergencies. The counter-season livelihoods activities. system allows for planned interventions for c. Leverage programmes and systems to cyclical needs, as well as temporary expansion of respond to emergencies through the social protection services during larger disasters vertical and horizontal expansion of to meet needs of affected populations, and programmes in case of larger-scale shocks individual needs. The system also supports linked to humanitarian plans and actions. recovery to shocks, adopting a “building back Prioritize highly vulnerable and hazard- better” approach, linking recovery with prone districts in the development and prevention and mitigation measures. operationalization of the shock-sensitive system – Make use of hazard and The key strategic actions include: vulnerability assessments to inform MNSSP programme design, 1. Developing a common vision and evidence implementation, and linkages to the based learning among the multi-sectoral humanitarian sector to ensure adequate stakeholders involved, between the social coverage of vulnerable geographical areas. protection and humanitarian sectors. d. Identify objective and measurable triggers 2. Institutionalizing a coordination structure for that can be embedded in early warning improved collaboration and communication information systems to support between humanitarian and social protection preparedness, responsiveness, and actors, under leadership of MoFEP&D and recovery – Use historical data on the most DoDMA. This structure must establish clear common hazard risks to define triggers for roles and responsibilities in a shock-sensitive action that can be embedded into framework and allow for linkages across the forecasts to pre-empt shocks and mobilize 63 the adequate response through the At a household and individual level, beneficiary MNSSP, making use of existing early data from the SCTP, the UBR, humanitarian warning tools and systems used for registry, and SCOPE, should be linked under the humanitarian action. This includes triggers National ID, together with data sets developed related to climate and weather, hunger and under early warning and climate information malnutrition, seasonal pests, or other. systems to facilitate rapid assessment and Linked to this is also investing in effective analysis, top-up of transfers during emergencies communication mechanisms and based on specific needs, and then scale back as actionable messages exchanged at all the situation returns to normal. Other possible levels so that people have clear direction, linkages include linking farmers to agricultural especially ensuring that women, girls, and support services, trainings, and life skills other at-risk groups who have less access development. Social service linkages should also to information, are connected and be built through referral systems and efforts to involved. ensure access to education, health care, and e. Create a pooled contingency fund to nutrition services. Individual assistance should support short term expansion of MNSSP also address barriers for highly vulnerable support in times of imminent or reoccurring groups, such as women, adolescent girls, PLHIV, shock. This includes a flexible financing and others. mechanism as part of the Social Support Fund that can provide the funds for 4.3.5 Nutrition horizontal or vertical expansion of MNSSP support during predefined times of the year The NRS place emphasis on productive asset for seasonality purpose or in times of creation, nutrition, and resilience, recognizing unpredictable shocks, as triggers and early that they are strongly interlinked, and that warning suggest. nutrition is both an input to and an outcome of strengthened resilience. Reducing malnutrition is Other programme specific strategies that support crucial to strengthening resilience because well- shock-sensitive social protection include nourished individuals are healthier, can work integration across sectors at household level, harder and have greater physical reserves. within livelihoods strategic planning, and at Households that are nutrition secure are thus system levels. Integration should be highly better able to withstand, endure longer and coordinated with the MNSSP priorities in terms of recover more quickly from external shocks. While geographic coverage and co-location, but also in malnutrition can impact individuals in any technical design. household, those that are least resilient, or already food insecure are most affected by Some system level examples include multi- shocks and therefore face the greatest risk of sectoral coordination through prioritizing and malnutrition and asset depletion. Reducing concentrating development in highly disaster- malnutrition, paired with asset creation and prone areas, such as irrigation, flood control, and diversified livelihoods is essential for catchment protection programmes. This also strengthening resilience. applies to PWP, such as road construction and rehabilitation that connect risk-prone areas to The immediate causes of undernutrition and markets to facilitate access to diversified and micronutrient deficiencies are: 1) inadequate higher value economic opportunities. Other dietary intake; and 2) infectious diseases leading examples include promoting flood-resistant and to weakness of the immune system and increase environmentally sustainable building in susceptibility to diseases. These deficiencies technologies. have persisted due to widespread poverty, over- dependence on maize, high population density As discussed in 4.3.2, livelihoods diversification and growth, and environmental degradation should be linked with MNSSP II priority exacerbated by climate change. beneficiaries groups, also prioritizing women, adolescent girls. Other possible strategies are to The direct and underlying causes of encourage VSL share outs during times of the undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies year where cash is needed. include: 1) poor livelihood assets and choices, related to food, natural resources, income, and poor health and sanitation environment ; 2) 64 socio-economic issues (gender inequality with the process of resilience building among regards to intra-household food allocations and vulnerable communities through high impact access to resources and education, HIV/AIDS, nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive inadequate maternal, infant, and young child interventions that are coordinated across feeding and care practices, inflation, and price sectors. The NRS supports strengthening volatility); and 3) governance and issues. The low systems and structures at national and district social status of women is an important cause of level to deliver high quality and coordinated malnutrition. Actions to empower women in the interventions as illustrated in the Malawi SUN Malawian society and within households will help Implementation Framework and in line with the improving maternal and child nutrition. About NMSNP. 74.5% of mothers initiate breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth and 70.2% exclusively breastfeed their children up to 6 months, yet only 15% of children aged 6-23 months meet the recommended minimum diet diversity and meal frequency. The low quality of diet among children 6-23 months is due to a lack of a sufficient variety of food products to introduce into children’s diets for optimal complementary feeding as well as the quality of food products (e.g. high level of aflatoxin in maize and groundnuts), coupled with low levels of education. Poor water and sanitation and extreme climatic events further increase the risk of outbreaks of communicable diseases, thus leading to further preventable undernutrition. Half of the population has inadequate sanitation facilities, and 15% lack access to safe water. Poor child spacing practices increase the risk of malnutrition and morbidity with high adolescent birth (age-specific fertility rate for women of 15- 19 years estimated at 143‰ in 2014). Poor access and uptake of health services also significantly contribute to undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. In Malawi, the health system is inadequately resourced and there is a precarious cycle of undernutrition and disease burden (malaria, diarrheal diseases, and acute respiratory infections among others). The HIV/AIDS epidemic, infectious diseases and undernutrition are among the major factors contributing to high infant and under-5 mortality at 53/1,000 live births, under 5 mortalities at 85/1,000 live birth, respectively) while the maternal mortality ratio at 574/100,000 live births also remains unacceptably high. Access to essential health care services among parents and young children remains limited and the lack of medical supplies and human resources further constrains the quality of services. under the leadership of the DNHA, the MoAIWD, the MoITT, an the MoEST, the nutrition component in NRS has critical role to facilitate 65 The NRS prioritizes promotion of knowledge, pluralistic extension services, and behaviours change activities that promote both nutrition- specific and nutrition-sensitive practices through a care group model. Care groups are supported through devolved district level structures, extension agents and frontline workers from agriculture, health, water and sanitation, education, and gender, children, disabilities, and welfare. Nutrition is also crucial in the targeting the social safety net services, and especially ensuring that households with malnourished children benefit from food, and case-specific livelihoods programmes during food-security crisis. As nutritionally vulnerable individuals are in all wealth groups, and there are intra- household variances, this issue and optimal package of services for different economic segment will be addressed as the MNSSP II and UBR is expanded to include a larger percentage of the population. Nutrition monitoring is also a crucial component of the EWS. The SUN Implementation Framework model (Figure 14) promotes a range of activities contributing to adoption of optimal nutrition-specific practices for adolescents, adults, and children. Activities should focus on reaching the most nutritionally vulnerable groups, including PLW, women of reproductive age, and children under five years of age, orphans and PLHIV, but also engage food system actors. All Malawians will benefit from nutrition education, behaviour change promoting diversifying diets through food production, livelihoods and income, and purchase of more diverse and nutritious foods to meet nutritional needs year-round for all family members. Malawi has guidance that promotes six food groups, food safety and hygiene, and culturally acceptable sound nutrition practices. These practices include optimal infant and young child feeding practices, with emphasis on breast feeding and complimentary feeding from 6-24 months and beyond, address micro-nutrient deficiencies, promoting home fortification and standards in process foods. Nutrition education and services are linked to agriculture to promote diversified production and mainstreaming nutrient dense value chains, including and bio-fortified crops, and integrated homestead food production. 66 Gender considerations are also critical in promoted at household and community levels. promoting behaviour change and service delivery. Support for breast feeding, and other ENA, and The NRS supports integration of gender and other care-seeking behaviours will link to nutrition into pluralistic extension services to nutrition-sensitive agriculture and the enabling address both content as well as structural workplace environment, through strengthening inequities. This includes increasing access to policies and practices that allow for time and extension services and communication hygienic spaces for women to practice ENA, to mechanisms for women’s and young girls, and ensure there is no break in the continuum. incentivizing more women and youth to become CMAM and NCST service delivery, surveillance extension agents and private service providers. and monitoring and evaluation at all levels are The NRS will improve nutritional status of implemented to ensure timely detection, children under five through optimal breast management, and treatment of acute feeding malnutrition. Figure 14: Malawi SUN Implementation Framework 67 The NRS supports national strategies to scale up control, which can impact all Malawians, but the School Meals Programme, through home- primarily poorer households who likely consume grown school feeding programmes for school poorer quality food. Children’s exposure to children pre-primary, school-aged, or adolescents animal manure also results in faecal oral coupled with nutrition education and behaviour transmission of dangerous bacteria, thus change, as well as conditional cash transfers and promoting separation from children and livestock school meals for vulnerable children to increase through play pens for children, livestock pens, enrolment and retention. Activities will also handwashing, protective gear, and other include linking youth finishing school with practices are necessary. livelihoods, job opportunities, and referrals. These activities illustrate the importance for Household, community, and school WASH are agriculture, nutrition, WASH, health, education essential for reducing transmission of bacteria sectors, and private sector actors to work and disease, and reducing malnutrition. together to support an improved health and Community led Total Sanitation is promoted in sanitation environment. Communications and Malawi and some of the districts, with domes marketing should include barrier analysis, districts being declared Open Defecation Free harmonized recommended practices and, (ODF). Other strategies to promote potable water messages and multi-pronged approaches-to include borehole maintenance and drilling, water promote behaviour change and demand-driven purification treatment, WASH awareness building strategies supporting household practices and a through community events and training. The food market environment conducive to nutrition. health and sanitation environment and practices impacting food safety and hygiene within The NRS supports strengthening the existing agriculture and food market systems have a multi-sectoral nutrition committees at national significant impact on nutrition and stunting. and district levels, to ensure they are Global evidence shows that food-borne diseases established, trained, and promoting nutrition caused by ingestion of pathogens and parasites practices through front-line workers, schools, and cause illness and diarrhoea, which with repeated other public institutions. It is also necessary build incidences can lead to stunting. These are the consumer demand and engage public and most common food-safety hazards, which also private food and health system actors in impact developing countries the most. A multi promoting nutrition education, and products and country study showed that 25% of stunting was services that contribute to improved food market attributed to repeated episodes of diarrhoea. environment for nutrition. Consistent and The most vulnerable groups include children, the frequent communication and messaging from elderly, malnourished, pregnant, and multiple contacts can also spur behaviour immunosuppressed. Most contamination – 97% - adoption. In line with the MGDS III, the NRS comes through biological transmission through supports innovation in developing and scaling ICT consumption of fresh and perishable food in and mass media campaigns, products and informal markets, rather than through chemical services, and advocacy initiatives to promote hazards, which accounted for 3%. nutrition. Recommendations include improving food safety and hygiene practices from farm to fork, In line with the SUN priorities, MGDS III, and including rural production environments and in given the critical importance of human capacity value chains, and adopting policies and and resilience, the NRS supports increased governance to ensure food safety standards.55 budgetary allocation for nutrition by the Other food safety issues addressed through government and development partners; however agriculture and nutrition linkages include also prioritizing the multi-sectoral approach to aflatoxin awareness and maximize the impact of interventions. Table 8 shows expected outcomes under Pillar 3. 55 FAO. 2016. Influencing Food Environments for Healthy Diets. 68 Table 8: Expected Outcomes for NRS Pillar 3: Human Capacity, Livelihoods, and Social Protection Pillar 3: Overall Outcome: Individuals and households are protected against vulnerability and multi-dimensional poverty Outcome 3.1 Outcome 3.2 Outcome 3.3 Outcome 3.4 Consumption support Resilient livelihoods Shock-Sensitive Increased adoption of provided for vulnerable strengthened Social Protection improved nutrition-specific population service established and nutrition-sensitive practices  Consumption Support:  Diversify on and off-farm  Establishment of  Promote nutrition-specific Cash and/or in-kind livelihoods Social Support practices through SUN transfers to poor and diversification Fund for framework and Care group vulnerable households opportunities to predictable, timely model, primary health care, throughout the lifecycle to responsibly diversify risk; and easy therapeutic care, support, cover food security, mobilization and and treatment, and SBCC; shelter, education, and  Support VLSA, and response. includes care and treatment health. linkages to microfinance services to reduce wasting  Public Works Programme: as appropriate, and risk  Establishment of among children under five Conditional transfers for financing options, such adjustable transfer years, pregnant and lactating poor households with as insurance. levels to consider women, PLHIV. able-bodied members. predictable link PWP to asset  Support coaching skills, seasonality of  Promote dietary diversity and creation, diversified business skills, life skills, shocks and integrate nutrition-sensitive livelihoods; MNSSP and education opportunities emergencies practices across sectors, NRS pillars and target and referrals with affecting the poor primarily agriculture, health, groups. emphasis on vulnerable, and the vulnerable education, WASH.  School Meals youth, adolescent households, and Programme: Condition al women, and young girls. others.  Nutrition assessment, transfer to increase counselling, and support access to education and  Build assets contributing  Improve targeting services linked to livelihoods retention for vulnerable to other MNSSP II considering targeting adolescents, households. thematic areas and different levels of adults, and children.  Strengthen national and other pillars. vulnerability and sub-national coordination need, through  Improved access to safe committees to ensure  Develop long-term linking drinking water and improved accountability, workforce development humanitarian and sanitation facilities through governance, and service plan and strategic SMTP registries to WASH interventions, such as delivery, and beneficiary livelihoods plans to help UBR and biometric CLTS. accountability and people move up and out cards to increase redress systems. into sound employment timely, accurate,  Increased budgetary opportunities, and plan mitigation, allocation for nutrition by for managed urban response, and government migration. recovery programmes. Integration Themes: Health and Nutrition: Coordination integration of nutrition-specific and sensitive practices with health and education systems. Agriculture and Catchment Protection: Ensure agricultural development and environmental management for MNSSP II target groups; support asset creation and accumulation, and learning and evidenced-based approaches to create graduation pathways. DRR, EWS, and Emergency Response: risk management and financing; agricultural programmes and systems inform natural asset DRR strategies; food security monitoring; EWS and contingency planning. Women’s empowerment and youth: promote asset creation to reduce risk and vulnerability; develop viable livelihoods diversification strategies and opportunities for women and adolescent girls and youth; access to high value land for women; strengthen access and control over production resources; decision making; leadership; access to information. Coordination Mechanisms: Strengthen coordination systems and roles and responsibilities to integrate specific actions supporting implementation of MNSSP II; update extension, SBCC, marketing materials; Support system actors, and develop ICT and other communications approaches to facilitate integration. 69

4.4 — Catchment Protection and Management

4.4 Catchment Protection and Management The Catchment Protection and Management pillar will focus on priority catchment areas and plans in Malawi. Through the NRS, existing and new catchment plans will develop and adopt integrated watershed management (IWM) approaches, other land management approaches to restore and expand _____________ Malawi's natural resource assets, manage ecosystems, while also strengthening public and private services, civil society, and sustainable livelihoods that build resilience. Priority catchments protection plans that have Pillar 4 been assessed, and new catchment protection plans will be supported through the NRS multi-sector approach by consolidating and channelling resources to strengthen systems and household level capacities, thus reinforcing Catchment compounded results on resilience, and the graduation strategy. Pillar 4 includes five strategic priorities: Protection and 1. Integrated Watershed Management 2. Land and Forest Management, Restoration, and Conservation Management 3. Payment for Ecosystem Services, 4. Sustainable Clean Energy 5. Forest-based Enterprises. _____________ Implementation of this NRS component will also prioritize restoration of catchment areas in targeted districts outlined in Table 2 which takes into consideration priorities for the climate resilience, disaster risk reduction, and the most vulnerable populations, as well as some services that are intended for national scale. Specific areas for complementarity and combined programme targeting will be based on assessments of multiple aspects of vulnerability to shocks. These will include areas of overlap where households exhibit a mix of multiple characteristics such as: chronic poverty, exposure to flood risks, depleted soils, degraded landscapes, distance from markets, labour constraints, and/or other variables. This NRS Pillar approach will prioritize and facilitate functional and operational linkages across all NRS pillars as well as linkages to MGDS III priorities outside the primary scope of the NRS. Integrated catchment management will include practices for irrigation, crops, and agro-forestry guided through the NAIP and prioritized in Pillar 3, which will have synergistic impact on climate, agricultural livelihoods, and dietary diversity. Key integration leverage points to Pillar 2 on Human Capacity and Livelihoods include ensuring to engage the highly vulnerable households and individuals in catchment areas through the shock- sensitive social protection services, as well as engaging vulnerable productive households, in the PWP supporting reforestation and natural regeneration. Livelihoods diversification will be strengthened forest-based enterprises, ecosystem payments, and providing business skills training and facilitating access to finance for renewable energy and improved cook stove technologies, contributing to both climate and nutrition-related impacts. Many of these enterprises contribute to nutrition through several pathways: production and marketing of products such as honey, mushrooms, fruit harvesting, processing medicinal plant-based products such as baobab, moringa, powder, and essential oils. These and other opportunities will contribute to women’s control over decision making and income, as these are often micro-enterprises prioritized by women. 70 Livelihoods opportunities will also align with the that are easily understood by vulnerable GoM National Strategy for Adolescent Girls and households will also be necessary. The long-term Young Women currently under development, and commitment of the government, donors, and a women’s entrepreneurship fund, which financing partners to valuing and building prioritizes livelihoods and access to finance for demand for environmental services is also AGYW and youth. The GoM Rural Electrification fundamental. Districts and community level civil Programme supporting the scale up of society groups also need capacity building in electrification along major trading centres across monitoring and evaluation systems to be able to Malawi, and other programmes supporting report and aggregate data, but also to manage to sustainable charcoal production, and scaling up local level outcomes and address issues and renewable energy technologies and services, will progress. reduce pressure on forests, while also contributing to improved livelihoods and 4.4.2 Forest and Landscape Restoration expanded employment opportunities as industries develop along these corridors. These The NRS recognizes that restoration is a critical strategies also contribute to reduced health and pathway to help improve the resilience benefits nutrition risks to women and children. Women’s of forests and landscapes. Healthy forests and empowerment will also be strengthened through landscapes contribute to sustainable food economic opportunities as well as increasing systems, enhance nutrition, employment, and labour efficiency and better use of time and income needed to support sustainable energy through reducing long hours and physical livelihoods and resilience to shocks. Forests and labour involved collecting firewood. Disaster Risk productive and stable landscapes represent a Reduction strategies supporting flood control, safety net, satisfying basic needs such as food, drought mitigation, and EWS are synergistic and energy, shelter, and health in times of hunger strengthen all pillars. and crisis. Stability also serve as a protective layer against recurrent floods and drought. The

4.4.1 — Integrated Watershed Management resilience of landscapes, i.e. the capacity of their

4.4.1 Integrated Watershed Management resilience of landscapes, i.e. the capacity of their ecological and livelihood systems to absorb As integrated watershed management (IWM) is disturbances, must be maintained or improved limited in Malawi, implementation will require all across Malawi. All landscapes require stakeholders to commit to joint learning, sustainable management by their stakeholders, assessment and planning, management across sectoral and administrative boundaries, in information systems, and coordination. IWM will a way that integrates food security, sustainable also draw on learning from various district-level production, livelihood development and pilots in Phalombe, Mchinji, Nkhatabay, and ecosystem services. Dedza, and others, to inform scaling up nationally. The NRS, will draw on learning from Phase I of the NRS will encourage the application other IWM and multi-sectoral resilience of multi-criteria analysis and mapping to inform programme learning in Malawi and globally. the targeting and combination of interventions that can best contribute to resilience objectives Building on current experience in Malawi, the in different settings and geographic areas. NRS will address critical factors in developing Examples of multi-criteria mapping are presented sound IWM strategies. This can start with in Figures 15, 16, and 17. By targeting convening a multi-stakeholder technical working restoration of select degraded forests and group and mobilizing technical expertise to landscapes for prioritization within district facilitate the development a learning agenda and development plans, this Component builds roadmap for IWM plans in the medium and long- resilient ecosystems that underpin resilience term. These plans will include enhancing existing building through the other complements and catchment protection assessments and new pillars of the NRS. assessments with strategies for community level public awareness building, participation and The NRS will apply the approaches outlined collaboration, learning, and both private and Malawi’s National Forest Landscape Restoration public-sector engagement and investment. Strategy and National Charcoal Strategy, and will Development of tools and materials for target prioritized landscapes in the relevant community level engagement, training, data district action plans. Furthermore, the NRS will visualization, behaviour change and marketing promote natural regeneration as well as 71 introduce new varieties with environmental and economic benefits. Figure 15: Forest & Land Restoration Priorities through cohesive IWM strategies, implementation of REDD+, private Figure 16: Flood Risk & Soil Loss For example, over the first five-year phase, 600 bamboo forest areas will be established. The NRS will also promote stream/riverbank services, management systems, and restoration using bamboo and indigenous tree relationships in the long-term. Examples of species to reduce soil erosion, for improved food experiences in Malawi includes the production security and livelihoods, as well as hillside and marketing of fuel efficient cook stoves, and protection. The NRS targets to restore 4 million payment for carbon credits, as well as tree- hectares in the first phase. Smallholder farmers planting, which is in turn reinvested in waterpoint stand the most to gain, as decreased soil functionality. The NRS will support payment of erosion, increased water efficiency, and ecosystem services through introduction of stabilization of lands will boost productivity and scholarships for tree planting and maintenance reduce risk. Resources for landscape restoration by schools. Other mechanisms that will be will also come through the PWP programme explored include green education scholarships under Pillar 3, benefitting vulnerable households, and village tree grants. Sustainable energy will and resulting in an upwards spiral for livelihoods be promoted through capacity building, incentive and resilience. schemes and extension services to reduce overexploitation of forests.

4.4.3 — Payment for Ecosystem Services

4.4.3 Payment for Ecosystem Services

4.4.4 — Sustainable Energy

4.4.4 Sustainable Energy The GoM has prioritizes increasing funding and investment for climate change, and ecosystem Malawi’s National Energy Policy (MNEP) (2017) payment services through direct investment and and Renewable Energy Strategy (2017) each call a climate trust funds. Payment for ecosystem for transformation of the energy sector to support services are nascent in Malawi; however, are efforts towards poverty reduction, and increased important to grow in the medium and long-term. sustainable economic growth through two high Securing financing to maintain healthy level priorities: energy for all, and making ecosystem services will also be enhanced bioenergy sustainable. This policy’s long-term 72 vision is to drive Malawian economy from a based hugely biomass energy reliant one to an economy Figure 17: Risk Exposure, Drought, and Poverty firewood, and cooking over an open flame. All household members, especially women and children will benefit from reducing or eliminating smoke inhalation, and reducing upper respiratory and eye diseases. Other benefits include access to refrigeration for medical supplies and vaccines, and increased shelf life and storage of safe, and nutritious foods, fruits, vegetables, and animal source foods, as well as reduced loss. The Malawi Rural Electrification Programme targets 81 trading centres, and will reach 256 connecting villages in 26 districts as shown in Table 3. Selection of districts was based on a demand study. The NRS prioritizes the scaling up access to clean energy in rural areas to contribute to improved resilience from shocks, to reduce over- exploitation of natural resources, and by introducing substitutes for unsustainable charcoal in line with Malawi’s National Charcoal Strategy. The NEP targets an expansion from 351 MW to 1,860 MW by 2025, through new hydropower facilities, diesel plants, bagasse generation, natural gas, and renewables such as geothermal, biogas, and solar. Plans will increase access to energy through incentive schemes, affordable tariff schedules for off-grid connections, and mobilization of finance and technology for the energy sector targeting poor on efficient use of modern means and sources of households. For example, through scaling of energy. Malawi has low levels of electrification mobile money “pay as you go” models for with about 10% of population having access to purchasing solar panels could help reach more electricity56. Moreover, the national grid almost rural households. Additional components include exclusively serves urban and peri-urban areas, investing in mini-grid system that subdivides around 37% of urban households have access to groups of households/areas, which render energy electricity, compared to only 2% of rural use more efficient and accessible. Mini grid households. systems can also be powered through solar, wind and mini hydro power, which based on studies Rural areas currently rely mainly on kerosene for and ongoing monitoring present strong options lighting and diesel for mechanical and electrical and have attracted interest in Malawi’s energy power. The benefits of reducing reliance on sector. The GoM works with donors and fuelwood and charcoal, and increasing access to investment banks, as well as social enterprises; electricity and renewable energy sources are however, additional large-scale private manifold. Electricity will attract increased investment is still a significant need. commercial business development in trading centres, foreign investment, and employment. The NRS also supports other MNEP strategies Electricity will provide much needed lighting in such as increased sustainable woodlots, improved hospitals, schools, and allow for school-aged cleaner charcoal production, production of children to study after dark. Women will benefit biofuels, such has briquettes made from rice hulls from increased time efficiency and a reduction in and bagasse. These have proven to provide labour workload resulting from collecting viable and high value jobs for youth. The MoNREM also supports a National Cook-Stove Steering 56 National Statistics Office (2009) Committee (NCSC) which aims to increase 73 technology adoption from over 500,000 in 2016 management, as it allows for economic activities to 2 million by 2020 (Box 1). The cook stove and income generation. Forest Based market now supports 280 production groups and Enterprises (FBE) increase income and employs 4,500 people, 89% of whom are women. community livelihoods by investing in small forest The NRS will support training and capacity and farm enterprises that restore bio-capacity building for scaling up MNEP priorities, such as while meeting domestic needs for food, fuel, and coordination with the Malawi Renewable Energy construction materials. Examples of FBE Task Force to support implementation of the currently promoted in Malawi include bee strategy. The MNEP aims to place and train keeping, flying ants, fruit production and District Energy Officers in 100% of districts 2022. processing, commercial seedling production, Other support includes providing referrals and agro-forestry, and others. Value add processing facilitating access to scholarships for higher also presents livelihoods opportunities. education for youth interested in the energy Opportunities. Linking livelihoods opportunities sector, and training of skilled workers to manage with VSL groups has also proven successful in the off-grid systems. other multi-sectoral initiatives as the funds and Box 1: Scaling up Technological Innovation small loans offered through VSL groups are sufficient to purchase inputs, pay for transport to NGOs such as United Purpose (UP) have markets, and other costs. The Social Safety Net championed several initiatives, including the CT lowers barriers to entry for these livelihood cook stove initiative, to promote improved opportunities, as beneficiaries are able and and renewable energy, carbon finance. and willing to save through the VSL, and access micro- innovation. UP linked cook stove initiatives to loans. The NRS also supports livelihoods and the MNSSP, by providing beneficiaries of the skills building services under pillar 4, such as life SCTP with free cook stove vouchers, and skills coaching, and learning basic business skills subsidized rates for PWP beneficiaries, and for vulnerable households and individuals to linking them to suppliers. Also linked to the provide motivation and support to carry out cook stove initiative, is an innovation under activities. Forest-based enterprises are testing called the Thermo-Electric Generator, intrinsically linked to resilient agriculture a device that is charged through the heat of nutrition, and livelihoods development. NRS will the stove coupled with a cooling system, and support linkages through facilitating access to can power a phone or radio Additional extension, inputs, and training, as well as innovations include solar lamps, off-grid financial services through linkages through electrification, and an upcoming carbon pluralistic extension services, and business financing programme. development services supported through the NAIP and national Nutrition Policy.

4.4.5 — Forest-based Enterprises

4.4.5 Forest-based Enterprises Table 9 outlines expected outcomes under Pillar Creating value addition from non-timber forest 4. products is an integral part of forestry 74 Table 9: Expected Outcomes for NRS Pillar 4: Catchment Protection and Management Pillar 4 Overall Outcome: Malawi’s natural resource assets, ecosystems, and services sustainably managed Outcome 4.1 Outcome 4.2 Outcome 4.3 Outcome 4.4 Outcome 4.5 Catchment Planning Land and Forest Payment for ecosystem Forest Based Enterprises Sustainable Energy and Integrated Management, Restoration, services Watershed and Conservation Management  Harmonized IWM  Resilient landscapes  Implementation of  Value addition and  Rural Electrification Programme scaled promoting mini- approach, through afforestation of REDD+ Strategy and forest protection grids. assessments, and degraded forests and systems strengthening through non-timber learning agenda and sustainable forestry to increase access to forest products, and  Renewal and biomass energy scaled through wind and roadmap led by a management aiming to climate financing. livelihoods support such solar. multi-stakeholder reforest 4 million  Scaled carbon credit as beekeeping, fruit working group. hectares. repayment systems production and  Sustainable bamboo lots and legal charcoal production  Strengthened  Livelihoods for through Cook Stove processing, seedlings and sales to reduce pressure on forests. coordination smallholder farmers Federation, tree for agro-forestry, and structures and supported through PWP planting and other afforestation.  Scaling up cook stove initiative and link subsidized training for district and CFA by models.  Innovate business products and services to MNSSP II priority groups. extension services, rehabilitating micro-  Forestry and models and cost-sharing community watersheds, through environmental mechanisms promoted  Innovative eco- technologies promoted through CFA and committees, and riverbank protection, management taught in to build supply and micro-enterprises to reduce use of fuelwood. civil society. wetland conservation, schools, youth groups, demand. and hillside protection, and livelihoods  Recruitment and capacity building for District Energy linked to irrigation. training. Officers. Integration Themes: Community awareness building: Engage communities in IWM approach, linkages between climate, nutrition, and livelihoods through community management approaches, pluralistic extension; public information campaigns; Agriculture: Link forestry and public lands management to integrate strategies for resilient agriculture and resilient climate; DRR, EWS, and Emergency Response: Asset creation and growth linked to livelihoods strategies, risk management and financing; catchment protection programmes and systems inform natural asset DRR strategies; climate resilience, food security monitoring; EWS and contingency planning; Social protection: ensure MNSSP II priority groups and thematic areas are integrated in to catchment protection; Livelihoods: Support demand creation strategies for ecosystems payments, forest-based services, and nutrition enterprises; Promote workforce development initiative supporting job creation and training for renewable energy services; Women’s empowerment: Reducing women’s workload and improved health outcomes through reducing firewood collection, and clean energy; economic empowerment through job creation and enterprise development for forest-based enterprises; Coordination Mechanisms: Strengthen inter-ministerial coordination systems and roles and responsibilities; coordinate scale up and prioritization of rural electrification and renewable energy initiatives with other NRS investments in agriculture, DRR, and social protection; update extension, SBCC, marketing materials; Support financial services, food system actors, and development of ICT and other communications approaches to facilitate integration and awareness in catchment zones. 75

5.1 — Coordination and Alignment Principles

5.1 Coordination and Alignment Principles As mandated to by the MGDS III, the NRS represents Malawi’s transition to a 5 multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder resilience framework that layers several complementary programmes to accelerate improvements in household resilience and food security. _____________ The NRS calls for integration across government technical sectors, coordination through geographic targeting to ensure the same beneficiaries in priority districts, catchment areas, irrigation site, benefit from the range of services promoted over time. The NRS also calls for increased coordination Multi-Sectoral among development partners and NGOs. It also calls for a significant role in the Coordination management of multi-sectoral programmes, monitoring and evaluation, and learning, information systems, and knowledge management. Implementation The implementation the NRS falls under the overall monitoring and evaluation Framework framework of the MGDS III, led by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning, and Development as secretariat, the NRS implementation arrangement illustrated in Figure 18 will be guided by a multi-sectoral approach. The following coordination and alignment principles relative to the implementation _____________ arrangements will be applied to the NRS:  Reinforce existing and new functional existing coordination structures to adjust to a different way of working, recognizing that some adjustment may be required in their mandate, membership, or approach to ensure their alignment with broader resilience objectives.  Emphasize cross component / pillar dialogue: mechanisms for cross- component dialogue will be prioritized to ensure joint action across sectors and sub-sectors.  Adopt a phased or evolutionary approach. Integrate time to test the approach and establish systems before scaling up. An evolutionary approach also allows for other sectors or actors to join in NRS implementation over time.  Prioritise collaborative learning to build consensus and shared approaches to NRS implementation, while acting on opportunities for further cooperation.  Progressively align government and development partner coordination structures, so that parallel processes are gradually eliminated during the implementation of the NRS, allowing better coordination of non-state actors into government monitoring.  Ensure that progress in one component is not achieved at the expense of others. Examples might be disaster response mechanisms that undermine livelihood opportunities, or agricultural investments that increase vulnerability or maladaptation to climate change. Gains in agriculture should not come at the cost of nutrition or the environment.  Embed accountability mechanisms, particularly to affected populations, within the institutional arrangements at all levels.

5.2 — NRS Implementation Framework

5.2 NRS Implementation Framework 76 The following outlines the multi-sectoral guidance for the implementation of the NRS. The coordination and implementation framework to NDPRTC will jointly review funding proposals, guide the implementation of the NRS, including resource allocation and mobilization for NRS the formulation of the MGDS III Flagship priorities. Partnership Programme on Resilience. The governance framework, including the mandate, 5.2.4 NRS Sub-Committees / Working Groups functions, composition, and modalities, are illustrated in Figure 18, and summarized in more There will be sectoral component sub- detail in Table 10. committees whose membership will comprise component leaders and technical members from

5.2.1 — National NRS Governance Committee development partners, the private sector and civil

5.2.1 National NRS Governance Committee development partners, the private sector and civil society organizations. The sub-committees will be Leadership and championing of the NRS is responsible for developing sectoral work plans of vested in the Office of the Vice President, with the different components and to coordinate strategic and policy guidance provided by implementation. The specific TORs include: Cabinet. Chaired by the Vice-President, the  Implementation of sectoral work plans, National High-Level NRS Governance Committee meeting quarterly to discuss progress, work will comprise Cabinet Ministers, and is through challenges collectively and share best responsible for overall oversight and practices. accountability.  Implement the activities of their respective sectors in the NRS.

5.2.2 — National Disaster Preparedness and  Develop work plans and budgets for the

5.2.2 National Disaster Preparedness and  Develop work plans and budgets for the Relief Committee specific activities as indicated in the sectoral activities. The National Disaster Preparedness and Relief  Doing joint monitoring exercises of the Committee (NRDPRC), chaired by the Chief projects and activities for all the sectors Secretary to Cabinet, will be responsible for implementing activities under the NRS. monitoring operational progress in the  This committee will be meeting quarterly to implementation of the NRS. In addition to the review progress and validate plans and Principal Secretaries as members, it will also budgets for the activities in the respective comprise representatives of development components. partners, the private sector, and civil society  Sectoral component sub-committees will also organizations. The NDPRC will decide on the fund be established at district and community level. management modalities for the smooth implementation of the NRS. Various line

5.2.5 — NRS Secretariat

5.2.5 NRS Secretariat ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Water Development, Ministry of The NRS Secretariat will be led by the Principal Gender, Children, Disability, and Social Welfare; Secretary of the Department of Disaster Department of Nutrition and HIV and AIDS, Management Affairs (DoDMA). Each department Ministry of Local Government, and Rural will appoint one full-time senior officers to Development; Department of Land Resources manage the day-to-day functions of the Conservation; Department of Forestry and other Secretariat, with technical assistance as needed. MDAs, UN agencies, non-governmental The Secretariat will also include a monitoring organizations, will be represented in the NRS. evaluation, and learning unit, responsible for coordinating all M&E function, information

5.2.3 — National Disaster Preparedness and systems, and knowledge management

5.2.3 National Disaster Preparedness and systems, and knowledge management. Relief Technical Committee / National Platform The National Disaster Preparedness and Relief Technical Committee, co-chaired by the Secretary to Vice President /DoDMA and the Principal Secretary of MoAIWD, includes the Directors from NRS pillars, Development Partners, CSO and NGO, Private sectors, and Academia. This committee will provide oversight and operational 77

5.2.6 — District Councils and Sub-committees 5.2.7 Beneficiary and civil society groups

5.2.6 District Councils and Sub-committees 5.2.7 Beneficiary and civil society groups Existing structures at district and community Beneficiary and civil society groups and leaders level that are used for coordination and identified at the local level will also provide implementation of existing programmes. leadership in engaging civil society in Additional functions include providing a vision implementation of the NRS. They will also play a and leadership form the NRS at District levels, key role in supporting the beneficiary redress M&E, data collection, and reporting. systems included in the MNSSP II strategy. Figure 18: NRS Implementation Arrangements 78 Table 10: NRS Governance Framework NRS Entities Mandate Modality  Provide political oversight and accountability. Chair: Vice President.  Clarify and ensure alignment of NRS with strategic Membership: Cabinet national objective (e.g. MGDS III; SDGs; national policies). Ministers  Monitor performance by all parties against agreed Heads of Missions NRS Governance documents (e.g. MoU, Statement of Intent). Committee  Monitor resource allocation and measures to address gaps. Frequency: 2 / year  Consult with Heads of Mission.  Receive reports from Chief Secretary on NRS progress. NRS will be added as a standing item to Cabinet agenda  Provide strategic oversight and coordination. Chair: Chief Secretary  Facilitate dialogue with Development Partners. Membership: Principal  Monitor operation progress, provide guidance on delivery Secretaries, DPs, Civil National Disaster and multi-sectoral coordination. Society, Private sector, Preparedness, and  Technical and scientific assessments to inform Academia. Relief Committee adjustments.  Assess work of the NRS sub-committees. Frequency: 4 / year  Approve workplans and budgets for sectoral activities.  Reporting to National NRS Governance Committee  Provides implementation oversight and coordination. Chair: Secretary to Vice  Lead vision and coordination for multi-sectoral planning, President /DoDMA & integration, and implementation involving all Development PS Agriculture Partners, NGOs, private sector, and other stakeholders.  Provide oversight of monitoring, evaluation, and learning, Government: Directors and knowledge management systems. from NRS Pillars  Receive reports from Technical Working Groups / Task Development Partners Teams and from chairs of NRS component structures. CSO/NGO National Disaster  Facilitate development of annual work plans & budgets Private sector Preparedness and and programme guidelines before submission to NDPRC. Academia Relief Technical  Approve ToR for strategic activities (e.g. evaluations). Committee/National  Ensure inclusive approaches across the NRS (gender, Frequency: quarterly Platform HIV/AIDS mainstreaming, etc). (bi-monthly in first  Ensure alignment with MGDS III, sector plans and phase). budgets.  Ensure coherence with emergency response during crises.  Identify and take forward necessary policy reforms.  Develop appropriate incentives to encourage collaboration & synergy (e.g. priority access to funding / learning opportunities / media profile).  Ensure adequate capacity at all levels of the structure.  Facilitate dialogue, learning and joint action across NRS Chair: Director-level. components and pillars.  Number and focus of each group to be determined, and Membership: 2-3 could change over time as the NRS evolves. members in each group  Strategy: articulating national resilience vision and shared representing each NRS NRS Sub- outcomes. component from Committees &  Programming: identifying / designing selected flagship Government; Non- Working Groups programmes through joint analysis and planning that governmental; local deliver against multiple objectives and provide the desired authorities; private continuum of care. sector, and academia.  Systems: monitoring, evaluation, learning & accountability (Total of 10-15 per  Working groups may be formed as needed to discuss group. operational and technical issues under the pillars and Frequency: as required components, reporting to the chair of the pillar. 79 Table 10: NRS Governance Framework NRS Entities Mandate Modality  Provide secretariat functions to governance structure (except the Lead: PS DoDMA Technical Working Groups which service themselves).  Design and maintain all NRS coordination and management Composition: 1 senior systems, including sub-committee structures and service officer as focal point from delivery at District level. each Department and  Facilitate dialogue with Development Partners. MoLGRD, supplemented by  Reviews reports from NDPRTC technical assistance as  Reviews reports from Technical Working Groups / Task Teams needed. and from chairs of NRS component structures (e.g. NAIP, FLR, EWS, MNSSP Steering Committees). Core staff:  Support formulation of resource mobilization for annual work  NRS Coordinator plans & budgets and programme guidelines.  Communications Officer  Monitor planning and implementation for strategic activities (e.g.  Knowledge Management research evaluations, key initiatives). Officer* NRS Secretariat  Monitoring and reporting on alignment with MGDS III, sector  M&E and Learning plans and budgets; alignment with sector plans and budgets. Officer*  Tracks coherence with emergency response during crises.  Provides input on identification of technical assistance needs. * linked to M&E Units in  Monitoring and reporting on incentives that encourage MDAs collaboration & synergy (e.g. priority access to funding / learning opportunities / media profile). Frequency: monthly,  Provide implementation support through organizing technical ongoing implementation. assistance visits, development, coordination of dissemination of unified tools, training and job aids.  Coordinates public awareness and supports implementation of unified communications strategy.  Manages monitoring, evaluation, and learning  Manages information systems and knowledge management  Monitoring overall NRS delivery, including complementarity between NRS components and pillars.  Provide District level vision, public awareness for NRS Chair: District implementation. Commissioner  Manage, coordinate, and provide oversight of multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholders initiatives and activities under the common Composition: District framework. Subcommittee leads;  Develop and manage District level implementation plans, Village Group Heads ensuring to integrate activities. District Councils  Coordinate committees and task forces, including inter-district Meets weekly and Sub- management structures for catchment protection, watershed committees management, irrigation, or others.  Manage budget and sub-district level resource allocation to ensure implementation and accountability.  Engage civil society and support communication platforms, and ensure transparent beneficiary redress systems.  Monitoring, data collection, and reporting on District level activities.  Implements and participate in learning agenda.  Represents and leads beneficiary redress systems  Fosters leadership, engagement, and citizen participation in the Leaders from various Beneficiary and NRS agenda committees Civil Society  Promotes and contributes to multi-sectoral behaviour change Committee communications to promote NRS outcomes. 80 While metrics for food security are well established, an important gap in current knowledge is how to assess, measure, monitor, and evaluate climate resilience, graduation strategies, and combinations of approaches lead to 6 building resilience. Aspects include scale and critical mass of multi- dimensional changes required to change environments, individual and organizational behaviours, and economic behaviour. Other aspects include the measurement of households backsliding into poverty while others climb out. _____________ Baselines and counterfactuals are difficult to establish for resilience, and there is no “finish line” due to the constantly shifting climate risk, shifting livelihoods, and other factors. Most indicators in current use are adapted from standard development indicators or develop lists of resilience characteristic based on Monitoring the traits of communities that seem to thrive despite shocks. & The timescale over which changes in resilience are likely far longer than a Evaluation typical 4-5-year project. This emphasizes the importance of knowledge management systems which ensure that project-based learning is not lost, and which build a cumulative assessment of measurable change. Further, both _____________ poverty and resilience are dynamic. The individuals who make up a poverty headcount in one year may not be the same as those in another year. In Senegal, for example, 45 percent of poor households moved out of poverty between 2006 and 2011, but during the same period 40 percent of non-poor households moved into it, leaving the headline rate almost the same. Similar findings are evident in panel data from Ethiopia for 1994-2009. The NRS is envisioned as a twelve-year strategy implemented in two 5-year phases, and one 2-year phase to align with the 2030 SDG targets. As a multi- sectoral strategy, the NRS will require joint monitoring involving all the relevant stakeholders. Monitoring implementation will primarily be done by a Joint Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Unit, consisting of a Unit Head, and Evaluation Officers in the Planning Units of the respective MDAs responsible for implementation. A technical working group will provide support to the M&E Unit. The Unit Head will lead the development and validation of the M&E plan, and implementation instruments. To ease the development of the monitoring tools, indicators will be drawn from existing strategies and policies; however high-level indicators are new, and additional effort is required to plan for coordinated data collection and monitoring. The NRS will include a beneficiary accountability mechanism and confidential communication channels for redress. Systems for establishing these features will build on existing experiences among the GoM, DPs, and other organizations. Learning is also a critical component for resilience. Thus, a key component will include developing and managing a resilience learning agenda with input for all stakeholders, and learning from other countries. Implementation research and other studies should be included in project and initiatives in alignment with the NRS and the MGDS III. Capacity building to establish, manage monitoring, and evaluate systems that support the common NRS framework will also be supported. This includes joint efforts to build capacity for government ministries at national and sub-national levels, as well as civil society and implementing gender analysis under each of the NRS pillars. partner levels. This will also include a significant The initial monitoring and evaluation frameworks effort in strengthening monitoring and evaluation outlined in Annex I will be discussed and and information systems, including integration of reaffirmed in accordance with the national M&E gender disaggregated data based on thorough systems during implementation and development 81 of a detailed NRS M&E plan. These frameworks and coordinated activities. The NRS indicators do provide the high- level multi-sectoral results and not intend to replicate the level of detail in each intermediate results prioritized in the NRS. policy and strategy, and therefore devolve only to interim outcomes. Detailed activities will be Most indicators and results are drawn from included in the NRS phse one implementation national strategies and policies, while other are plan. The NRS is not intended to dictate the added to measure the cumulative result of the numerous strategies and approaches, or interventions, improved coordination measures, activities that can be employed to achieve results; rather, forward projects and planning should draw on innovative strategies from all public and private stakeholders, while also building on evidence from Malawi and globally. 82 The NRS represents a new approach to programme delivery, presenting some risks to its successful implementation. The principal risks associated with the 7 NRS, and the measures to be taken to mitigate them, are outlined in Table 11. _____________ Table 11: NRS Risks and Mitigation Measures Risk Mitigation 1. Common NRS programming  NRS is aligned with decentralization Risk does not lead to appreciable process outlined in the MGDS III a improvements in levels of mechanism through which to leverage Management harmonized delivery of additional resources in support of district interventions targeting food capacity development. insecure households, with MDAs  Strong metrics in place to validate and DPs continuing to act _____________ independently. benefits of joined up programming, and identify solutions to bottlenecks.  Performance incentives integrated into design of MGDS III Flagship Partnership Programme on Resilience. 2. Low capacity to implement NRS  Each component and pillar include components and pillars, and capacity development. absorb finance and technical  Capacity building resources are mobilized assistance at the scale required. to manage, implement, and measure impacts of a multi-sectoral and multi- stakeholder strategy. 3. Slow progress in implementing  NRS is aligned with decentralization decentralized governance, given process outlined in the MGDS III, and the critical contribution of the efforts to leverage additional resources in district governments to the support of national, district and local success of the NRS. capacity development will be pursued 4. Change in policy and/or  Strong impact monitoring and evaluation priorities undermines will generate evidence of progress and stakeholder commitment to the justification for continued investment. NRS.  Continuity of government commitment, expressed in the priorities communicated to donors, will facilitate continued alignment against NRS components and pillars.  National NRS Governance Committee will ensure adequate understanding of, and commitment to, NRS objectives and priorities. 5. Unintended use of budgetary  Strong transparency and accountability resources undermines confidence measures are integrated into the MGDS in government delivery of the NRS. III Flagship Partnership Programme on Resilience. 83

ANNEX I: Preliminary NRS Common Programme Framework57 — Preliminary NRS Common Programme Framework57

ANNEX I: Preliminary NRS Common Programme Framework57 NRS Goal (by 2030): A country free of chronic vulnerability, food and nutrition insecurity, where sustainable economic development creates opportunities for everyone, and where people are resilient to economic and environmental shocks that affect their lives and livelihoods. Combined Pillar Impacts Verifiable Indicator (disaggregated by gender, age) 2018- 2023- 2028- Means of verification Assumptions 2022 2027 2030 National and devolved government Percent reduction in extreme poverty 8% TBD TBD Survey (IHS)  Investments institutions, civil society, and are made communities Reduction and prevalence and depth of food insecurity 10% TBD TBD Food Insecure Experience through all Scale (FIES) pillars Sustain reductions in the number of Reduction in number of people requiring food and cash assistance as a result 30% 30% 30% MVAC chronically food and nutrition of flood and drought emergencies Joint Post Disaster  Multi-sectoral insecure households Assessments approach is Specialized surveys implemented Reduction in childhood stunting Return on Investment money and livelihoods saved from averting food and TBD TBD TBD Joint Post Disaster and nutrition crisis compared to past crisis Assessments coordinated at Transform the agriculture sector into Specialized studies scale an engine for shared economic Percent of poor Malawians graduated from the SCTP TBD TBD 50% Population survey growth, food and nutrition security Specialized studies  Political and and poverty reduction. economic Percent of poor Malawians living above the poverty line who do not backslide TBD TBD TBD Population survey stability Safeguard Malawi’s natural resource into poverty endowments and ecosystems that  Increased Percent annual growth in agriculture GDP 6% 6% 6% Survey contribute to social and economic funding source prosperity. Annual reduction in percent of children under five years of age stunted 5% 5% 5% DHS Percent reduction in anaemia in under five and WCBA 57% 52% 47% DHS Enhance climate-adaptation capacity of all stakeholders Percent annual growth in agriculture GDP 6% 6% 6% DHS Increase in availability, access, quality, and affordability of recommended TBD TBD TBD Market surveys Enhance early warning and response food groups in Malawi in local and regional markets. mechanisms that safeguard lives Percent increase in hectares managed through improved land management 15% (4 TBD TBD Project assessments and livelihoods from shocks, practices (protective forest cover in priority catchments) m ha) primarily floods and droughts Percent change in women’s empowerment TBD TBD TBD Women Empowerment in Agriculture (WEIA) Score Women’s empowerment Specialized studies strengthened through cross-cutting Optimal funding levels for multi-sectoral programmes and programming in Yes Yes Yes Government records strategies and measurable priority NRS areas is allocated by the GoM Treasury and Develop Partners. outcomes (yes/no) National and devolved government institutions fund and implement Yes Yes Yes Government records coordinated multi-sectoral plans supporting NRS priorities. 57 The NRS Common Programme Framework and M&E tables represent Impact, Outcomes, and Output levels. The full structure, including the activity level will be finalized and validated during the development of a detailed M&E plan, which is included as a critical step in the first year of NRS Implementation Plan. 84 85

Annex II: NRS Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks — NRS Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks

Annex II: NRS Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks 2018 2023 2028 Means of Pillar 1: Resilient Agriculture Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) - – - Assumptions Responsible verification 2022 2027 2030 Overall Pillar Outcome: Resilient Percent change in real farm incomes disaggregated by TBD TBD TBD Agricultural survey Stable MoAIWD; MoITT; agriculture results in increased real gender FIES Score Economic MoLHUD farm incomes, increased and Change in food security Household survey Growth MoHP; MoEST; diversified agricultural exports, Effective cross- MoGCDSW economic growth, food security and sectoral nutrition coordination Volume and prices of recommended nutrient rich food TBD TBD TBD Market surveys MoITT groups in Malawi in local and regional markets Number of farmers with land rights recorded under the new TBD TBD TBD Records of district MoLHUD; land Registries (by gender and age) land registries, MoAIWD; MoLHUD MoGCDSW Percentage share of women among owners or rights-bearers 50 50 50 Records of district MoLHUD; MoAIWD of agricultural land, by type of tenure land registries, MoLHUD Percentage of children under 5 years old children meeting -6 80 85 90 DHS; Seasonal HH MoAIWD; MOH; food group minimum dietary diversity requirement surveys MoEST; MoGCDSW Percentage of women meeting -minimum dietary diversity 80 85 90 DHS; Seasonal HH MoAIWD; MOH; requirement surveys MoEST; MoGCDSW Outcome 1.1.: Sustainable irrigation No. of hectares sustainably managed under improved 7500 TBD TBD Seasonal MoAIWD; scaled up in priority NRS areas irrigation practices Agricultural MoNREM 15,00 Surveys aligned Annual increase in ha under sustainable land and water 0 with NAIP management disaggregated by gender Output 1.1.1: Institutions and farmer Percent increase in cropping intensity on existing and new 150% TBD TBD Seasonal MoAIWD; groups strengthened to engage in and irrigation schemes Agricultural MoNREM fully exploit irrigation sites Surveys aligned Percent of irrigation sites with sustainably financed and 100 TBD TBD with NAIP functioning institutions and committees (water user committees; IWD, FOs) Output 1.1.2: Watershed # irrigation sites established as per plans and past Yes Yes Yes Seasonal MoAIWD; development and irrigation sites inspection (yes/no) Agricultural MoNREM developed and valorised to increase # months access to water Surveys aligned year-round productivity of staples and with NAIP diverse crops for consumption and sale HH Surveys 86 2018 - 2023 2028 2022 –2027 -2030 Means of Pillar 1: Resilient Agriculture Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) Assumptions Responsible verification Outcome 1.2: Drought Mitigation Measures Percent of households with potable water within 85% TBD TBD post disaster Systems and MoAIWD; enhanced 500 meters /30 minutes’ walk disaggregated by emergency people have MoNREM gender assessment sufficient assets Percent of smallholder farmers with multiple use TBD reports and coping water systems Beneficiary mechanisms Reduced loss of crops as a result of water supply reports infrastructure Insurance is Reduced livestock mortality rates as a result of accessible to water supply infrastructure smallholder Reduced loss of livelihoods as a result of water farmers at scale supply infrastructure GoM is paid out based on insurance plans following drought-related crops/livestock loss # farmers paid out based on insurance plans following drought-related crops/livestock loss Output 1.2.1: Rehabilitate and expand critical Planned projects are completed with full multi- Yes Yes Yes Surveys maintenance MoAIWD; water supply infrastructures based on sectoral integrated approach (yes/no) Project reports systems are self- MoNREM; catchment management plans # boreholes, shallow wells, water lifting Water user sustaining though MoFEP&D technologies committee or income generation. MoGCDSW facility # and % of women reporting time and labour management reduction in collecting water as a result of reports improved technology. Output 1.2.2: Increased access to risk National risk financing instruments established TBD TBD TBD Survey Conditions for MoAIWD; financing at national and household levels. # farm households accessing micro-insurance developing MoFEP&D products insurance products in Malawi are improved Outcome: 1.3: increased Agricultural Growing share of agricultural GDP from TBD TBD TBD Seasonal Economy remains MoAIWD Diversification commodities other than tobacco and maize Agricultural stable Surveys aligned Diversification is with NAIP profitable Farmers are able to overcome pests and weather shocks 87 2018 - 2023 2028 2022 –2027 -2030 Means of Pillar 1: Resilient Agriculture Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) Assumptions Responsible verification Output 1.3.1: Enhanced communication # MDAs promoting harmonized communication 100 100 100 District records MoAIWD; strategies to promote behaviour change and strategy Project records MoLGRD build consumer demand for more diverse, # private sector actors marketing drought tolerant, Marketing MoITT drought tolerant, and nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-sensitive crop varieties and livestock records agriculture practices, products, and services Percent of users and recipients reporting that Surveys communication strategies are effective Output 1.3.2 Increased crop diversification to Number of farmers using improved seeds 3.2 TBD TBD Seasonal MoAIWD promote dietary diversity and more resilient million Agricultural food systems Increased fertilizer usage per ha of arable land 60 Surveys aligned with NAIP Increased share of land prepared with TBD mechanised conservation agriculture implements Average yield - pulses 1.5 TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD MT/ha Surveys aligned with NAIP Average yield - groundnut production 700,000 TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD; MT/year Surveys aligned with NAIP Average yield -oilseeds productivity 5 MT/ha TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD Surveys aligned with NAIP Average yield - maize TBD TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD Surveys aligned with NAIP Average yield -rice production 220,000 TBD TBD Agricultural MT/year Surveys aligned MoAIWD with NAIP Average yield -roots tubers TBD TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD Surveys aligned with NAIP Average yield - fruits and vegetables TBD TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD Surveys aligned with NAIP Average catch - aquaculture - 10,000 TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD MT/year Surveys aligned with NAIP Output 1.3.3: increased productivity in Average stock - chicken 110 TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD livestock and fisheries million Surveys aligned with NAIP 88 2018 - 2023 2028 2022 –2027 -2030 Means of Pillar 1: Resilient Agriculture Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) Assumptions Responsible verification Average stock - pigs 5.5 TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD million Surveys aligned with NAIP Average stock - goats 10 million TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD Surveys aligned with NAIP Average stock - cattle 2 million TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD Surveys aligned with NAIP Average stock - dairy cattle 106 TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD thousand Surveys aligned with NAIP Livestock units owned per smallholder 1.8 TBD TBD Agricultural MoAIWD Surveys aligned with NAIP Output 1.3.4: Strengthen post-harvest Reduction of post-harvest losses in priority value 50% TBD TBD Specialized MoAIWD processing and storage chains surveys (Malabo, CAADP, SDG indicator) Output 1.3.5: Integrate nutrition-sensitive # nutrition and food systems assessments TBD TBD TBD Agricultural and MoAIWD agriculture and food systems interventions conducted marketing # programs with measurable nutrition-sensitive surveys aligned objective with NAIP # people, groups, and type trained on nutrition 10 ppb Gender and education WEAI surveys Average yield - OFSP and other biofortified crops and special # input suppliers mainstreaming nutrition-related studies products and services Malawi Program # groups trained on integrated home stead food on Aflatoxin production Control Reports Percent FO engaged in profitable nutrition- sensitive value chains and nutrition enterprises # market actors promoting nutrition Parts per billion (ppb) aflatoxin levels in groundnuts and maize reduces Increased women’s empowerment 89 2018 - 2023 2028 2022 –2027 -2030 Means of Pillar 1: Resilient Agriculture Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) Assumptions Responsible verification Outcome 1.4: Increased market development, Increased share of smallholder farmers producing 30% TBD TBD Agricultural and Markets remain MoAIWD; value addition, and exports for the market marketing stabile MoITT Percent smallholder famers with access to MIS surveys aligned 20% with NAIP Increased share of high-value and processed products in agricultural exports 20% Increased value of regional agricultural trade Output 1.4.1: Farmer organizations developed Percent of smallholder farmers accessing credit 10 TBD TBD Agricultural and MoAIWD; and oriented towards market engagement # farmers under contract farming 20% marketing MoITT Increased privately managed storage capacity 240,000 surveys aligned Percent of smallholder farmers trained in market MT with NAIP facilitation Output 1.4.2: ADMARC reform results in ADMARC policy reforms implemented Yes Yes Yes Policy and ADMARC; reduced market uncertainty and price volatility market reports MoAIWD; MoITT Output 1.4.3: Preparatory work to establish Export processing zone established and valorised Yes Yes Yes MoITT MoITT; Special Grain Export Processing Zone completed Yes/No reports/studies MoAIWD NRS Pillar 1.5: Improved management of the NFRA reports sufficient grain reserve 25% TBD TBD NFRA reports SGR policies are MoAIWD; Strategic Grain Reserve People report sufficient for grains, and have surplus District and implemented and National Food community funding for silos is Reserve reports secured Agency Output 1.5.1: Grain storage capacity of the SGR Planned silos, warehouses rehabilitated and Yes Yes Yes NFRA reports MoAIWD; increased constructed (y/n) District and National Food Reform policies are implemented community Reserve Percent communities with cereal banks TBD TBD TBD reports Agency Percent communities with cereal banks for children MoLGRD 90 2018 - 2023 2028 2022 –2027 -2030 Means of Pillar 1: Resilient Agriculture Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) Assumptions Responsible verification Output 1.5.2: Efficiency and cost-effectiveness # years that SGR is reporting adequate stocks and Yes Yes Yes NFRA reports MoAIWD; of SGR management enhanced service NFRA NRS Pillar 1.6: Farm Input Subsidy Programme Percent increase in productivity/ha for productive TBD TBD TBD Impact study of Reforms MoAIWD (FISP) Reforms Implemented farmers under FISP reforms FISP reforms implemented as Additional funds allocated for resilience activities planned (staff housing for DADO) reaching smallholder farmers (amount and type of activity) s Output 1.6.1: Improved productivity and # Productive farmers receiving cereal and legume TBD TBD TBD FISP Reports Reforms MoAIWD efficiency of the Farm Inputs and Subsidy seed and chemical/organic fertiliser subsidies on implemented as Programme timely basis planned # productive farmers that top up subsidy with own resources 91 2018 2023 2028 Pillar 2: Risk Reduction, Flood Control, Early Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by - – - Means of Assumptions Responsible Warning and Response Systems gender) 2022 2027 2030 verification Overall Pillar Outcome: Risk Reduction, Flood Percent reduction in population vulnerable to TBD TBD TBD project Households are also DoDMA; Control, Drought Mitigation, and Early Warning the impacts of drought and floods reports benefitting from resilient MNREM; and Response Systems protect against disaster, Post- agriculture, land and MoLHUD; save lives, the environment, and increase emergency water management, and MoAIWD productivity assessment livelihoods reports RIMA Score Outcome 2.1: Mainstream DRM into all sectors at Measurable multi-sectoral DRM strategies, NRS All MDAs are engaged DoDMA; all levels systems, and management structures are Operational MoLGRD; All established and effectively performing in guidelines MDAs districts, areas, villages, and disaster-prone developed zones Output 2.1.1: Strengthen management and Percent MDAs with DRM programs and 100 100 100 District DoDMA; coordination systems for integrating DRM budgets reporting into programmes Records MoLGRD; All % Districts with civil protection committees MDAs established and applying management and coordination techniques. Output 2.1.2: Integrate DRM risk assessment and Percent Districts, areas, villages, and disaster- 100 100 100 District DoDMA; monitoring into all sectors and programmes prone zones with multi-sectoral DRM plans Records MoLGRD; All # district, areas, villages, and disaster-prone MDAs zones routinely reporting on DRM monitoring Output 2.1.3: Promote a culture of safety and Percent public and private institutions with TBD TBD TBD Public records DoDMA; resilience among all stakeholders at community DRM plans from schools, MoEST; MoHP; level and public institutions # businesses reporting adoption of DRM hospitals, and MoITT strategies others Outcome 2.2: Strengthened systems for flood Reduced loss of crops, livestock, and assets 10% 10% 10% Disaster Infrastructure and DoDMA; prevention and control, planning, and monitoring. (natural, livelihoods, and human) as a result of mitigation multiple systems fail MoLGRD; all flood. and post MDAs disaster emergency assessment reports 92 2018 2023 2028 Pillar 2: Risk Reduction, Flood Control, Early Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by - – - Means of Assumptions Responsible Warning and Response Systems gender) 2022 2027 2030 verification Output 2.2.1: Develop systems and infrastructure # Districts, areas, villages, and disaster-prone 100 100 100 Districts DoDMA; to control flooding of dykes, dams, and rivers flood zones with risk assessments completed reports MoLGRD; all # Districts, areas, villages with trained CPCs MDAs and other relevant committees Project # Districts, areas, villages, and disaster-prone reports flood zones submitting timely and accurate flood control reports Flood control infrastructure implemented in assessed sites as per plans Outcome 2.3: Establish and enhance effective Communities communicate and receive TBD TBD TBD Reports from Communications failure DoDMA early warning systems notifications and updates, and support on drills and timely basis. ongoing surveillance. Output 2.3.1: Establish and strengthen national Inter-ministerial coordination structures and 100 100 100 Districts DoDMA; and community based early warning systems in all communication systems established reports MoLGRD; all problematic rivers and drought prone areas in supporting national, district, areas, and village MDAs target NRS districts levels EWS coordination systems EWS Reports # District, Areas, Villages, and disaster-prone zones with community-based multi-sectoral Project EWS established based on JEFAP guidelines reports Percent communities and committees conducting recommended periodic drills and reporting functioning systems CPCs and other committees are trained on EWS, and are equipped to mobilize communities during an emergency Gender, nutrition, and social exclusion criteria are integrated into the EWS Outcome 2.4 Strengthen Disaster Preparedness, Disaster preparedness, response, and recovery Yes Yes Yes DRR and Post Political instability DoDMA Response, and Recovery systems operation are implemented in line with JEFAP disaster Guidelines for Malawi. assessments Beneficiary % of population receiving timely lifesaving testimonials assistance. received over redress line and surveys 93 2018 2023 2028 Pillar 2: Risk Reduction, Flood Control, Early Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by - – - Means of Assumptions Responsible Warning and Response Systems gender) 2022 2027 2030 verification Output 2.4.1: Strengthening inter-ministerial and Multi-hazard Contingency plans established in 100 100 100 Humanitarian DoDMA; community-based coordination to manage early all districts and communities (y/n) reports MoLGRD; all warning systems and disaster response systems Meeting schedules, manuals, and reported MDAs information is actionable, and meeting JEFAP guidelines Output: 2.4.2: Provide lifesaving assistance to MVAC linked to IPC TBD TBD TBD Humanitarian DoDMA; address food, nutrition, and other needs in MVAC Data is multi-sectoral, and linked to registry MoFEP&D emergencies using (food, cash, vouchers) MNSSP II beneficiary registry Biannual assessment conducted (y/n) MVAC/IPC Percent of humanitarian beneficiaries and reports MNSSP II beneficiaries received appropriate and timely transfer for their status. Project Percent households and individuals benefitting reports from asset creation following emergency response. Assessment Post-disaster needs assessment conducted reports (y/n) 94 2018 2023 2028 Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by - – - Means of Pillar 3: Household Resilience and Livelihoods Assumptions Responsible gender) 2022 2027 2030 verification Overall Pillar Outcome: Protecting individuals Percent increase in consumption expenditure TBD TBD TBD Household surveys MNSSP programme is EP&D; and households against vulnerability to fully funded MoGCDSW multidimensional poverty Percent HH and individuals with improved TBD TBD TBD Household surveys MNSSP beneficiaries EP&D; coping strategies disaggregated by gender and others are MoGCDSW; reached through other MoAIWD; pillar activities MoEST Percent HH and individuals with increased TBD TBD TBD Household surveys EP&D; productive assets and risk mitigation services MoGCDSW disaggregated by gender. Percent reduction in youth unemployment rate 5% 5% 5% Household surveys NRS Pillar 3.1: Consumption support provided % SCTP beneficiaries meeting real consumption 90 90 90 Household and Targeting is accurate EP&D; for vulnerable population needs community surveys and value of transfer MoGCDSW Growth rates of household expenditure or covers consumption income per capita among the bottom 40 per needs. cent of the population and the total population Percent school retention rate 90 90 90 EMIS MNSSP beneficiaries benefit from other Percent MNSSP II beneficiaries with increased 90 90 90 Household and pillar activities access to productive assets community surveys Percent of beneficiaries reporting positive 75 75 75 Beneficiary Targeting is accurate feedback on SCTP testimonials Output 3.1.1: Increase the efficiency and Percent inclusions and exclusion errors among 50 50 100 Proxy Means Test Programme is fully EP&D; effectiveness of the MNSSP cash transfer SMTP beneficiary registry & UBR verification funded MoGCDSW programme data Transparency and accountability of all systems is maintained 95 2018 2023 2028 Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by - – - Means of Pillar 3: Household Resilience and Livelihoods Assumptions Responsible gender) 2022 2027 2030 verification Percent of physical and financial reports and 75 75 75 District Council and audits submitted on time Committee records. Percent of programmatic reports received on 75 75 75 District Council and time Committee records. Percent of time services are received on time 75 75 75 District Council and Committee records. Percent time meetings are held as per 75 75 75 District Council and recommended protocols Committee records. Percent beneficiaries and type receiving timely 10 10 10 MNSSP transfer SCTP transfers records Percent of children receiving conditional transfer in school Percent of malnourished children receiving SCTP benefit. Percent of staff who report timely access to TBD TBD TBD MNSSP transfer programme documents records # communities with committees and feedback 75 90 100 District records MoLGRD mechanisms in place. NRS Secretariat MoFEP&D Records Output 3.1.2: Expand and harmonize PWP Percent of PWP households reporting stable or TBD TBD TBD Household surveys Effective coordination MoFEP&D; approaches to support a broad range of asset increased levels of conditional transfer among all MNSSP II MoGCDSW creation strategies to strengthen household (Gender) stakeholders and systems level resilience reaching MNSSP beneficiaries of the CT programme, humanitarian registries, and other vulnerable households. Output 3.1.3: Increase enrolment and access School enrolment rates TBD TBD TBD School records Sufficient resources to MoEST to education and nutrition for vulnerable School retention rates scale SMP households Output 3.1.4: Strengthen MNSSP II Effectiveness of coordination structures, tools, Y Y Y (based on capacity Effective coordination MoFEP&D; management and multi-sectoral coordination and materials supporting MNSSP II (y/n) assessment) among all MNSSP II MoGCDSW; systems stakeholders MoNREM; MoAIWD 96 2018 2023 2028 Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by - – - Means of Pillar 3: Household Resilience and Livelihoods Assumptions Responsible gender) 2022 2027 2030 verification NRS Pillar 3.2: Resilient livelihoods Percent households who report they are 75 75 75 Household surveys Economic and MoITT strengthened satisfied with their business or job political stability Percent of poor households with diversified and 75 75 75 Household surveys Viable job MoITT profitable livelihoods strategies disaggregated opportunities or by gender enterprises exist Percent beneficiaries feeling positive 75 75 75 Household surveys Other psychological MoITT; psychological impacts as a result of improved influences MoGDCSW livelihoods disaggregated by gender # and type of jobs created supporting NRS TBD TBD TBD Jobs surveys and MoITT pillars reports Project-level reports Long-term workforce development strategies yes yes yes (yes/no) MoITT developed at district and national levels Output 3.2.1: Diversified agricultural Workforce strategy developed (y/n) TBD TBD TBD Surveys MoGCDSW livelihoods and non-farm employment Increased market engagement among target opportunities strengthened groups disaggregated by gender Output 3.2.2: Availability and access to # MFIs with increased capacity and reach TBD TBD TBD Project level MoFEP&D financial services strengthened # and % beneficiaries or groups benefitting records from VSL, micro-finance or crop and livestock insurance disaggregated by gender # VSL groups reporting increased savings and livelihoods diversification #Farmers, women and youth groups capacitated with financial literacy and management skills 3.3: Shock-Sensitive Social Protection Government and humanitarian agencies TBD TBD TBD Risk mitigation Transparent, DoDMA; services established manage response in an effective and timely reporting effective, and MoFEP&D manner. Post- disaster and accountable systems recovery reporting established Output 3.3.1: Establishment of Social Support Percent of beneficiaries able to benefit from TBD TBD TBD Project; funds EP&D; Fund for predictable, timely and easy the fund when needed. records MoGCDSW mobilization and response 97 2018 2023 2028 Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by - – - Means of Pillar 3: Household Resilience and Livelihoods Assumptions Responsible gender) 2022 2027 2030 verification Output 3.3.2: Establishment of adjustable # people benefitting temporarily pre, during, TBD TBD TBD UBR; biometric EP&D; transfer levels to consider predictable and post-emergency. data MoGCDSW seasonality of shocks and emergencies affecting the poor and the vulnerable households Output 3.3.3: Early warning systems are Percent districts with systems established and 50 75 100 National and DoDMA coordinated with the humanitarian beneficiary tested district level registry, and UBR to facilitate timely and reports accurate response 3.4: Households and individuals have Percent of individual reporting 3 or more 75 75 75 DHS/ Surveillance All MDAs and private DNHA increased adoption of improved nutritional improved behaviours sector coordinate to practices provide nutrition services Output 3.4.1: Nutritionally vulnerable Percentage of children 6–23 months of age 31% 41% 51% DHS/ Surveillance Increased crop and DNHA households have adopted nutrition-specific who received a Minimum Acceptable Diet dietary diversity behaviours and practices Output 3.4.2: Vulnerable households have Percentage of children age 6–23 months who 39% 49% 59% Care group Increased crop and DNHA diversified their diets and increased their received foods from 4 or more food groups register/ DHS/ dietary diversity consumption of nutrient dense foods during the previous day MICS Percentage women of reproductive age 15–49 39% 49% 59% DNHA years consuming 4 or more food groups Output 3.4.3: School children (pre-primary, Percentage of schools operating school meals. 58% 68% 78% SHN School Meals DNHA school-aged or adolescents) have reliable Programme will be access to safe, adequate, and nutritious scaled up by partners foods, improved learning capacity, and increased enrolment through the School Percentage of beneficiaries from MNSSP II 41% 51% 61% SHN School Meals DNHA Meals Programme school meals programme Programme will be scaled up by partners Output 3.4.4: Nutrition targeting is included in Households with acutely malnourished children 60% 80% 90% Food security DNHA Social Safety Net covered through food, cash and livelihood evaluation reports interventions 2018 2023 2028 Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by - – - Means of Pillar 3: Household Resilience and Livelihoods Assumptions Responsible gender) 2022 2027 2030 verification 98 Output 3.4.5: Improved nutrition status of Percentage of children 6–23 months received 32% 27% 22% MDHS Increased population DNHA children under five in Malawi. micronutrient powders 30 sachets growth may compromise the results Percentage of children 6–23 months received 70% 80% 80% MNS/Care group Micronutrients DNHA micronutrient powders 30 sachets register supplementation programme will be scaled up by IPs Output 3.4.6: Reduced wasting among Percentage of children under five years of age 1.50% 1% 0.50% DHS / MICS/ Relevant sectors DNHA children under five years, pregnant and who are wasted Surveillance continue to implement lactating women, PLHIV and other vulnerable planned nutrition groups related programme Proportion of adolescents and adults in HIV and 10% 5% 2% DHS / MICS/ Relevant sectors DNHA TB care and treatment whose nutritional status Surveillance continue to implement is assessed & classified as moderate and planned nutrition severe undernutrition related programme Output 3.4.7: Improved breastfeeding Proportion of children 0–5 months of age who 73% 78% 83% DHS Nutrition education DNHA practices are exclusively breastfed programme will be scaled up by implementing partners Output 3.4.8: Improved positive behaviour Percentage of households practicing integrated 51% 61% 71% DAES monthly Nutrition education DNHA change through care group interventions for household farming (at least 3) report programme will be optimum nutrition scaled up by implementing partners Percentage of households with children under 86% 90% 90% DNHA age two benefiting from monthly care group services in intervention districts 99 2018 2023 2028 Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by - – - Means of Pillar 3: Household Resilience and Livelihoods Assumptions Responsible gender) 2022 2027 2030 verification Output 3.4.9: Improved access to safe Percentage of population using improved 93% 95% 95% DHS/ MICS Improved government DNHA drinking water and improved sanitation sources of drinking water and community water facilities and practices Villages Percentage of population washing supply projects hand at critical times. implemented and maintained in NRS zones. Percentage of population using improved 61% 66% 71% Sanitation will be DNHA sanitation facilities scaled by IPs Percentage of communities certified open defecation free Output 3.4.10: Increased budgetary allocation Percentage of budgetary allocation for nutrition 0.05% 0.10% 0.20% DNCC reports The GoM Treasury DNHA for nutrition by government programmes in DC at district level allocates resources to NRS and national priorities. 100 2018 2023 2028 Means of Responsibl Pillar 4: Catchment Protection and Planning Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) - – - Assumptions verification e 2022 2027 2030 Overall Pillar Outcome: Malawi's natural  % Increase in change in soil carbon 80% 80% 80% NAIP reports Implementation of MoNRM resource assets, ecosystems and services are Research catchment MoAIWD sustainably managed, and contribute to  Type and quality and quality of ecosystems reports protection activities DoE sustainable livelihoods services and products Surveys is done according to assessed and verified national plans and guidance. Outcome 4.1: existing and new catchment Annual increase in area under sustainable land and 15,000 15,000 ha 15,000 Seasonal Funding is secured MoAIWD protection plans are enhanced through water management (ha) ha ha Agricultural MoLGRD Integrated Watershed Management design Surveys aligned LDF with NAIP MoLHUD MoFE&D Output 4.1.1: Catchment protection and IWM project plans and results reflect multi-sectoral TBD TBD TBD Reports Funding is secured MoAIWD approaches harmonized and coordinated coordination MoLGRD across NRS pillars MoLHUD MoFE&D DoDMA Output 4.1.2: National, district, inter-district and Committees trained and mobilized TBD TBD TBD Reports Funding is secured MoNREM; community planning structures strengthened to # and type of Community forums and civil society MoLGRD implement integrated catchment and groups engaged and advocating for climate watershed development programmes adaptation practices; (Formation of public-private- community ‘forest caring’ forums) Output 4.1.3: Civil society organizations and # and type of groups TBD TBD TBD Reports Funding is secured MoNREM; groups strengthened to understand, engage in, MoLGRD; and advocate for integrated catchment MoAIWD management and sustainable livelihoods 101 2018 2023 2028 Means of Responsibl Pillar 4: Catchment Protection and Planning Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) - – - Assumptions verification e 2022 2027 2030 Outcome 4.2 Sustainable Land Management, Percent of target hectares under recommended 4 TBD TBD MoNREM Restoration, and Conservation practices scaled practices adopted as per integrated catchment plans million MoAIWD up as per catchment protection plans DoDMA MoLHUD Output 4.2.1: Consolidate existing and new Assessment report completed (y/n) Y Y Y Land surveys; MoNREM; assessments of land restoration and project records MoAIWD opportunities for eco-systems services using MoLHUD multi-criteria mapping MoGCDSW Output 4.2.2: Increase catchment-based Increase in # hectares of catchment areas under 3.8 TBD TBD MoNREM; natural generation natural farmer regeneration million MoAIWD MoLHUD MoGCDSW Output 4.2.3: Facilitate riverbank restoration Percent increase in hectares of riverbank in 25 50 100 MoNREM; and protection catchment areas restored compared to target MoAIWD MoLHUD MoGCDSW Output 4.2.4: Facilitate wetland conservation Percent increase in the # hectares of dambos under 25 50 100 MoNREM; protective management MoAIWD MoLHUD MoGCDSW Output 4.2.5: Facilitate hillside protection Percent increase in the # hectares of steep slopes 25 50 100 MoNREM; programmes through IWM under protective management MoAIWD MoLHUD MoGCDSW Outcome 4.3: Scale up financing and Value of trust fund TBD TBD TBD transaction Economic growth MoNREM; investment for payment for ecosystem services. Value of sales for ecosystem services records increases and MoFEP&D; partners in Malawi MoITT are able to attract MoGCDSW climate investment. Demand for ecosystem payments increases. Output 4.3.1: Introduce tree planting and caring # ha trees planted TBD TBD TBD land surveyed Demand for MoNREM; incentives (e.g. scholarships) in schools and ecosystem MoEST communities (primary and secondary). Area (ha) under natural regeneration payments 102 2018 2023 2028 Means of Responsibl Pillar 4: Catchment Protection and Planning Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) - – - Assumptions verification e 2022 2027 2030 Output 4.3.2: Introduce and scale up green Value of sales and return from carbon sequestration TBD TBD TBD land surveyed; Economic growth MoNREM; carbon credits sale records for increases and MoFEP&D Financing for climate resilient micro-enterprises Y Y Y cook stoves. partners in Malawi obtained are able to attract climate investment. Malawi is qualified for REDD+ implementation status Y Y Y Demand for ecosystem payments increases. Outcome 4.4: Sustainable forest-based Increase in sales of forest based enterprises TBD TBD TBD MoNREM enterprises scaled up Output 4.4.1: Integrate forest based enterprises # and type of profitable forest-based enterprises TBD TBD TBD Project reports Private sector MoNREM into ongoing and new integrated programmes adopted at scale investment. Outcome 4.5: Access to efficient and affordable Percentage change in penetration of renewable 15% TBD TBD Utility records. Financing is MoNREM electricity and sustainable energy sources energy sources Testimonials secured to scaled up in rural and urban areas Percentage penetration of energy efficient 54% implement plans technologies for rural Percentage increase in (Cook stoves, LPG Cylinders) 50% electrification. Percentage of population with access to electricity 50% (%) Output 4.5.1: Rural electrification scaled up Percent people and institutions in rural areas with 8 grid 100% of 100% Reports MoNREM affordable access to electricity extensio schools by 2030 ns to and Percent scale up of electrification systems 170 hospitals addition by 2025 al trading 50% mini centres grids operation 300 al by MW of 2025 new capacity 103 2018 2023 2028 Means of Responsibl Pillar 4: Catchment Protection and Planning Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) - – - Assumptions verification e 2022 2027 2030 Output 4.5.2: Scale up capacity building and Number and percent of households and businesses 2 million Training reports MoNREM investment in renewable and biomass energy using efficient kilns and clean cook stoves; cook and improved technologies stoves sold by # and volume of renewable biomass energy 2020 enterprises profitable (sustainable woodlots; legal 20% charcoal production) bioethanol in petrol # and volume of other profitable business eco- by 2025 businesses, (improved brick making, etc.) 2018 2023 2028 Crosscutting Strategy 1: Gender and Means of Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) - – - Assumptions Responsible Women’s Empowerment verification 2022 2027 2030 Cross-cutting Strategy 1: Measurable gender Percent MDAs and projects integrating measurable 75 85 100 Programme Financing and MoGCDSW and women's empowerment outcomes are gender and women’s empowerment outcomes as reports partnerships are All MDAs mainstreamed across all NRS pillars per Gender Action Plan secured All MDA buy in and coordinate. Crosscutting Outcome 1: Develop NRS Gender Action Plan developed (y/n) y y y Approved MoGCDSW Gender and Women's Empowerment action Gender All MDAs plan Action Plan Output X.1: Develop instruments and WEAI tools and materials developed (y/n) y y y Programme MoGCDSW approaches for applying the Women's #MDA staff and other stakeholders trained at all reports All MDAs Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) in levels Training the NRS reports Output X.2: Districts are staffed and Percent NRS Districts with Gender Officers 100% 100% 100% District Resources allocated MoGCDSW equipped to implement Gender Action Plan reports All MDAs 104 2018 2023 2028 Crosscutting Strategy 2: Implementation and Means of Verifiable Indicator (all disaggregated by gender) - – - Assumptions Responsible Coordination verification 2022 2027 2030 Cross-cutting Strategy 2: National and Score on organizational capacity index TBD TBD TBD Assessmen Political stability NGC; DPs; All MDA devolved government structures and Score on program and management quality t reports Commitment from and stakeholders institutions are functional, accountable, and assurance reports all stakeholders to well managed, with effective & accurate Self-assessments achieving the NRS monitoring, evaluation, information systems. goals, and resource allocation requirements Cross-cutting outcome 2: Government Degree to which NRS priorty districts are receiving Yes Yes Yes NDPRC; NDPRTC; institutions, civil society organizations, and funding and technical support to ensure optimal All MDAs and development partners work together to service delivery levels and targets stakeholders strengthen systems, and efficiently coordinate to deliver on NRS objectives and goals NRS Implementation arrangements # committees formed TBD TBD TBD NGC; NDPRC; operationalized, and resourced # positions staffed NDPRTC; All MDAs and stakeholders NRS Monitoring and Evaluation and Measurement of efficiency and effectiveness of M&E TBD TBD TBD Secretariat; information Systems Developed and systems and MIS Technical Working operationalized Groups Resilience Learning Agenda developed and # and type of initiatives resulting from the Resilience TBD TBD TBD Secretariat; implemented Learning Agenda Technical Working Groups NRS coordination structures strengthened Scores on organizational capacity and quality TBD TBD TBD Secretariat; assurance assessments Technical Working Self-assessments Groups Technical, operational, and human resource Technical guidance implemented as per guide TBD TBD TBD Secretariat; guidance is used to manage NRS # Meetings, participation, and frequency taking place Technical Working coordination and implementation as per guidance Groups Institutions are strengthened to implement Institutional strengthening plan developed TBD TBD TBD the NRS # MDAs and stakeholders engaged in implementing recommendations from Institutional strengthening plan (qualitative) Stakeholders use an overarching NRS NRS Communications plans developed TBD TBD TBD Communication Plan to promote coordinated # stakeholders using the NRS communications plan information, practices, and messages Resource mobilization plan developed and Optimal funding levels for multi-sectoral programmes Yes Yes yes NGC; DPs; All MDA funded and programming in priority NRS areas is allocated and stakeholders by the GoM Treasury and Develop Partners. (yes/no) 105

National Resilience Strategy (2018-2030)

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