.png?sfvrsn=6d0e27cd_1 "Partnership for Change - v7 (1)")
Malawi has made considerable progress in the past decade in improving the health of women, children, and adolescents. As reported in the Health Sector Strategic Plan III 2023 – 2030 (HSSP III), maternal mortality fell from 439 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2025 to 349 in 2019. Access to modern contraception has increased from 38.1% in 2012 to 48.3% in 2019. Despite this progress, more remains to be done. Efforts to improve MNCH in Malawi are thwarted by gaps in health system financing, inequitable access to health services, inadequate human resources for health, amongst other health system and socioeconomic barriers.
The HSSP III seeks to continue accelerated progress to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through the delivery of equitable, high-quality, integrated, holistic services – including MNCH services - through a well-financed, resilient health system. The commitment to adolescent health and well-being is reflected through priorities across a range of sectors.
Responding to the need for accelerated progress, the Collaborative Advocacy Action Plan (CAAP) initiative in Malawi aims to improve accountability for women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health through coordinated efforts among key stakeholders and partners. The initiative has been led by Amref Health Africa, Malawi, under the stewardship of the Ministry of Health’s Reproductive Health Directorate.
The process began with a comprehensive assessment of Malawi’s national commitments to women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health. Findings from the review, which included the implementation status of key commitments as well as challenges and recommendations, informed a consultation with members of Malawi’s multi-stakeholder platform (MSP), which resulted in the development of Malawi’s Collaborative Advocacy Action Plan. The Plan, which provides a basis for coordinated advocacy by MSP members, identifies five key advocacy goals and proposed supportive activities to improve the implementation of existing national commitments and address critical gaps in areas of need. These are to:
Increase health financing - The Government will honor the Abuja declaration to allocate 15% of the national budget towards health. Within the national health budget, Ministry of Health to increase reproductive maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health budgetary allocation to 30% by 2030.
Reduce maternal, newborn, and child mortality - Government to accelerate progress in reducing maternal, newborn and childbirth mortality, guided by the implementation of the 2024 World Health Assembly MNCH resolution.
Reduce unmet family planning needs - Ministry of Health to reduce unmet family planning needs for all women to below 11% by 2030.
Reduce teen childbearing and end child marriage - Malawi to reduce teen childbearing from 29% to 20% and end child marriages by 2030.
Ensure youth representation in decision-making bodies – The government should include 30% representation of youth in decision-making bodies.
Integral to supporting the achievement of these goals will be the annual commitment implementation review led by members of Malawi’s MSP. As shared by Reproductive Health Services Director Madame Doreen Namagetsi Ali during Malawi’s Digital Advocacy Hub launch in August 2024,
"… We have created this dashboard so we can track progress on each and every commitment. We have agreed that every year, we will review and assess where we are so that we can continue implementing and fulfill our commitments."
Parliamentary Committee Chairperson on Health, Dr. Matthews Ngwale and Amref Country Director, Hester Mkwinda Nyasulu agreed the Collaborative Advocacy Action Plan initiative increased awareness of national commitments, strengthened shared accountability and fostered cross-sectoral alignment to support improved health and well-being for women, children and adolescents in Malawi.
As shared by Hester Mkwinda Nyasulu, “The journey towards strengthening advocacy for women, children and adolescents has just begun. We will support the Government of Malawi in convening the multi-stakeholder platform, advancing accountability and ensuring that all constituencies are represented.”
The CAAP implementation relies on partners, and we invite you to join efforts to achieve advocacy goals by collaborating on the listed and additional activities in the Plan!
Share your interest in joining the CAAP initiative with pmnch@who.org!