As far as I am concerned the scenario which suits to Malawi is number 4. I worked for 2 years (2011-2013) in this beautiful country and I was not in Lilongwe but in the country side where I could see the reality of the vulnerable population. These last years, several decisions were taken and policies were elaborated to improve the condition of the population. However the lack of capacity to take these policies into actions is a burden in the development of Malawi. In fact, we all know that Malawi is affected by HIV AIDS which reduced its capacity. The population is now very young and needs to builds itself again to gain experience. Therefore, the main driver to develop Malawi will be the young generation. This part of the population needs to be educated and given a chance to play a key role in the development of the country. Capacity building will be very important! Obstacles will be of course corruption , instability due to political argument and accountability.
To reach the Nkaka Ndi Uchi scenario a lot of work and advocacy need to be done at the highest level as well as at the district levels. Better education and health care for the rural population as well as good roads need to part of the plan. Lessons learnt and successes from projects in some area in the country should be disseminated widely to other district. Although the population is very poor, I've seen that with a little bit of awareness on the issues and a good will changes could be done for few moments. It is still difficult for the population to be self reliant by they could be! Multisectoral approaches are very important to fight poverty and the different partners have understood that and working in that sense. Using local resources, building capacity and having a good M&E system can help too. Malawi has the capacity to eradicate hunger , food insecurity and malnutrition and the population has to believe in it , to work and fight for it instead of waiting for the politicians who are just trying to save their pockets. The donors will continue supporting the development of this country if it becomes more accountable. In that case the policies won't be drafts anymore! and I think progress have been made for that these last years.
Key words : Accountability, Capacity building, Local resources, Youth, Gender, Self reliance, Policies becoming actions...
Thank you
Sra. Solange Heise