June IN BRIEF

PPL Visit to Malawi

Jim Richardson, Assistant to the Administrator for Policy, Planning and Learning (PPL), and Chris Maloney, Deputy Assistant to the Administrator for PPL traveled to Malawi from May 8-10, 2019 to support the development of the results framework for USAID/Malawi’s draft Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and to engage with Government of Malawi (GoM) officials on USAID’s Journey to Self Reliance (J2SR) approach. During their visit, Jim and Chris participated in CDCS meetings, met with locally employed staff, conducted site visits to multiple projects in Nkhoma, and consulted with USAID/Malawi leadership and GoM officials regarding integrating J2SR principles into future development work. Upon completing their visit, Jim shared that: “...the idea of integrating, the idea of bringing together disparate parts of all of our work to really focus on how we can move Malawi forward; that’s the whole point of these country strategies…”. Video highlights of their trip here.

Raising the Profile and Economic Potential of Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve through Tourism & Cultural Interpretation Infrastructure

African Parks (AP) partnered with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife in 2015 to manage Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve (NWR) on a 20-year term. Founded in 1938, NWR is Malawi’s largest and oldest wildlife reserve. When AP assumed management of the area, it was also one of the least developed protected areas in the country. One such area of development that AP identified as a near-term priority was a tourism and interpretation program that raises the profile of the reserve, highlights the unique story of Nkhotakota and its people, and engages local communities. With support from USAID/Malawi, the US Forest Service, which has partnered with African Parks at NWR since 2017, is working with AP to design and launch a compelling cultural tourism infrastructure. In May, interpretation specialists from the agency’s Center for Design and Interpretation worked with AP/NWR colleagues to design a ‘first generation’ suite of installations and exhibits that will be featured at the reserve’s visitor center. These installations align with the primary themes of the park – rugged wilderness, extensive human history, resurrection – and many will feature the work of Malawian artists and craftspeople. AP and USFS hope to officially launch the newly stocked visitor center in late October.

Flood Response Closeout Update

On March 8, 2019 President Arthur Mutharika declared a state of emergency in Malawi based on heavy rains and associated flooding. Shortly thereafter, Malawi was further impacted by Cyclone Idai. Since the President’s declaration of emergency, USAID has been directly involved in supporting Malawi’s flood response effort. Over the course of the last three months, USAID contributed the following to the GoM flood response:

More than 860,000 Malawians were directly affected by the crisis. USAID engaged on the emergency immediately and will continue to support the GoM’s efforts to mitigate the service and material disruptions caused by the flooding. Mercifully, the dry season has arrived and the recovery process can continue without further flood-based exigencies. USAID is not seeking any additional funding for flood relief at this time, but will continue to monitor the recovery effort to its conclusion.

Open Logistics Management Information Management System (OpenLMIS) Tech Brief

OpenLMIS 3.0 is a state-of-the-art, open source, web-enabled, enterprise class electronic logistics management information system purpose-built to manage medical commodity supply chains. It enables Malawi’s Ministry of Health to strengthen its medical supply chain management by helping Malawi health professionals to control medical stocks, reduce theft of medicines and medical supplies, and improve overall health services. USAID has contributed $1.7 million to OpenLMIS development and implementation, and as of March, 2018, 96 percent of Malawi’s medical facilities were using the database to manage their health services. OpenLMIS is web-based, meaning health workers can access the data wherever they have internet connectivity. Since the system shares data in real time, health workers can make timely, evidenced-based decisions with complete and current data. Malawi is the first country in the world to implement OpenLMIS version 3.0.  This version is a living system that will grow more powerful as Malawi’s health professionals use it to develop new ways to improve services, reduce waste, and eliminate theft. Read the latest technical brief about how this system is enabling Malawi to take control of its medical supply chain management in real time.