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Malawi

Malawi’s Social CashTransfer Programme: A Comprehensive Summary of Impacts

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ABSTRACT

This brief provides a comprehensive summary of the main impacts and related policy implications generated by Malawi’s Social Cash Transfer Programme between 2013 and 2015, including positive impacts on poverty, income multipliers, food security, productivity, education and health.

THE SOCIAL CASH TRANSFER PROGRAMME

The Malawi Social CashTransfer (SCTP; Mtukula Pakhomo) is an unconditional transfer targeted to ultra-poor, labour-constrained households.The main objectives of the SCTP are to reduce poverty and hunger, and to increase school enrolment.The programme began as a pilot in 2006 in Mchinji District and was subsequently expanded to an additional six districts in 2007. By September 2017, the programme was reaching over 777,000 beneficiaries in more than 174,500 households across 18 districts of the country, including approximately 430,000 child members. The programme is expanding and will be operational in all 28 districts by 2018.

Transfer amounts for the SCTP vary by household size and by number of school-age children present in the household. In 2015, when the evaluation was finalized, the transfer amounts were Malawian Kwacha (MWK) 1,700, 2,200, 2,900 and 3,700 for households of size 1 to 4 or more, respectively. A bonus to incentivize school enrolment is provided to each primary school age child (MWK 500) and secondary school age child (MWK 1,000) per month.The transfer amounts represented approximately 23% of pre-programme household consumption. Payments are made manually on a bi-monthly basis, with the exception of Balaka district, where they are made monthly through a bank.