LONG-TERM development planning is crucial to USAID’s core mission of promoting and demonstrating democratic values, and advancing a free, peaceful, and prosperous world.
In line with this, USAID/Malawi has launched its 2020–2025 Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) at special virtual events with its major stakeholders: the Government of Malawi, fellow donors, civil society organizations, and the private sector.
The CDCS is the blueprint for USAID’s development strategy, approaches, and investments in Malawi, and it will guide the Mission throughout the next five years. It builds on the work of the previous CDCS, in place between 2013 and 2020, as well as on the long-term development partnership between USAID and the Government of Malawi.
USAID/Malawi’s CDCS 2020–2025 goal envisions a more self-reliant Malawi that is gender equitable and democratically accountable.
Through broader partnerships, bolder investments, and innovative approaches, USAID/Malawi has prioritized the following three Development Objectives (DOs) for achieving this goal:
DO1: Public sector is more accountable and effective at national and decentralized levels;
DO2: Youth lead healthy, informed, and productive lives, and
DO3: Private sector increases inclusive and sustainable wealth generation
USAID/Malawi Mission Director Catie Lott said: “To reach our new CDCS goal, USAID will continue to work closely with all of our partners. We will rely, in particular, on the Government of Malawi for continued leadership and commitment to sustainability of the results we achieve together.”
She added: “Additionally, the new CDCS emphasizes an integrated, holistic approach to development by closely coordinating its projects and activities across multiple development sectors to achieve greater impact for the people of Malawi.”
This new CDCS was developed through an extensive consultative process with the Government of Malawi, donors, USAID’s implementing partners, and a wide range of other stakeholders. The strategy aligns closely with Malawi’s Growth and Development Strategy (2017–2022) and the newly-launched Vision 2063, which envisions an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation.
Senior leadership of the National Planning Commission (NPC), the Government of Malawi office that develops and coordinates the implementation of Malawi's medium-to-long-term development strategies also attended the virtual launch. The NPC recently launched (also virtually) the Malawi 2063 plan, the new vision for Malawi.
This new strategy builds on past USAID successes in education, democracy, human rights and governance, sustainable economic growth, and health as prioritized in the previous strategy from 2013 to 2020, which aimed to improve the quality of life for all Malawians.
For example, in health, the implementation of the previous strategy helped contribute to reducing under-5 mortality from 112 to 64 per 1,000 live births. In education, USAID piloted early grade reading interventions in 11 education districts and provided more than 8 million copies of teaching and learning materials.
As USAID/Malawi operationalizes the new CDCS, the Mission will focus over the next five years to strengthen public service to respond to citizen needs, support public-sector reforms, expand youth empowerment and access to opportunities, build resilient communities, and help establish an effective enabling environment for wealth creation.
USAID/Malawi