- The twin challenges of the Pandemic and the Russia –Ukraine war has presented additional challenges to fragile economies like Malawi.
Acting UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Shigeki Komatsubara has conveyed the support of the UN to Malawi in its efforts to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Malawi 2063. He urged Malawi to focus on improving agriculture productivity and invest in production of commodities for import substitution. The twin challenges of the Pandemic and the Russia –Ukraine war have presented additional challenges to fragile economies like Malawi. The tropical storms Ana and Gombe further weakened the Malawian economy. He advocated tapping into opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area to generate jobs and wealth.
He pointed out that the Malawi 7th National Human Development Report has a district-focused approach to sustainable human development supported by appropriate policy measures to strengthen local governance structures and accelerate development at all levels.
According to the Minister of Finance Sosten Gwengwe, the government was already working towards creating an enabling environment for sustainable economic growth. For the 2022/2023 fiscal year, the government has allocated16.3 percent of the total budget for human capital development and 4.1 percent of GDP to the education sector. The agriculture sector was allocated 3.9 percent of GDP, representing 15.8 percent of the total budget in line with the Malawi 2063 priorities.
