[{"bbox": [147, 154, 383, 187], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [147, 219, 295, 246], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [147, 265, 308, 290], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### Country context"}, {"bbox": [147, 305, 1083, 504], "category": "Text", "text": "Malawi ranks 174th of 189 countries in the 2020 Human Development Index and suffers by high prevalence of stunting among children under five (37%). It is the 10th most densely populated country on the continent with a high rural population and relatively low urbanisation (of an estimated population of 19.6 million, 83% still live in rural areas). Over 50% of the population is younger than 18 years old and the median age is 16 for both women and men. With the population expected to double by 2038, the population growth rate is one of the highest in the region. This is placing enormous pressure on the capacity to sustain livelihoods and to deliver jobs and quality social services."}, {"bbox": [147, 519, 1083, 718], "category": "Text", "text": "Poverty in Malawi remains high, with 50.8% of the population living below the national poverty line (2020), slightly lower than the 51.5% in 2017. In the same period ultra-poverty slightly increased from 20.1% to 20.5%⁴. Poverty levels differ substantially between urban centres and rural areas where nearly 95% of the poor live. Underlying factors for the persistence of poverty include low educational and health outcomes and limited diversification of income sources. In addition, Malawi continues to face many challenges in gender equality and empowerment of women. These challenges, exacerbated by poverty and inequality, narrow girls' and women's access to social services and economic opportunities."}, {"bbox": [147, 732, 1083, 902], "category": "Text", "text": "A series of domestic and external shocks are putting acute pressure on Malawi's macro-economy, increasing the urgency to protect access to essential services for the most vulnerable. Sequential shocks (COVID 19; recurring climate shocks such as floods, droughts and tropical storms and soaring food and fuel prices, epidemics) have come on top of unsustainable external debt inherited from the previous administration. High inflation, slow progress in employment creation and governance, issues such as corruption, poverty and food insecurity continue to undermine the development potential of the country."}, {"bbox": [147, 916, 569, 941], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### Sector context (Social Protection and Gender)"}, {"bbox": [147, 957, 1083, 1069], "category": "Text", "text": "Despite the challenging socioeconomic context, Malawi has over the past 10 years progressed in building a social support system reducing poverty and vulnerability as well as improving resilience. This is framed by the National Social Support Policy (2012) and the Malawi National Social Support Programme II 2018-2023 (MNSSP II)."}, {"bbox": [147, 1084, 1083, 1311], "category": "Text", "text": "The flagship programme of the MNSSP II is the Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP), which the Government implements both at the national and district level. Since its inception in 2006, the SCTP has been rolled-out in rural areas nationwide (reaching over 300,000 households and 1.33 million ultra-poor people). In recent years the programme has been scaled up to respond to shocks both in urban and rural areas, including floods, lean season and the COVID-19 pandemic. This became possible by establishing core systems such as the Unified Beneficiary Registry (UBR), the SCTP Management Information System, the Emergency Management Information System (e-MIS), Grievance Redress Mechanisms, e-payments and improved monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks."}, {"bbox": [147, 1325, 654, 1351], "category": "Text", "text": "Key challenges for the Social Protection sector include:"}, {"bbox": [155, 1366, 1083, 1418], "category": "List-item", "text": "- High fragmentation, leading to inefficiencies and adding complications to the development of a harmonised and coordinated system;"}, {"bbox": [155, 1419, 1083, 1473], "category": "List-item", "text": "- Donor dependency, posing a challenge to national ownership and sustainability: on average government funds 5% of the cost of the SCTP over the period 2017-2021."}, {"bbox": [155, 1473, 1083, 1525], "category": "List-item", "text": "- Limited coverage of social support programmes versus widespread poverty and vulnerabilities (e.g. the SCTP covers less than half of ultra-poor households in rural areas)."}, {"bbox": [147, 1589, 407, 1614], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ Malawi Poverty Report, 2020."}, {"bbox": [977, 1681, 1082, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 4 of 24"}]