Malawi is one of the least developed countries in the world. In 2012 the United Nations’ Human Development Index, taking into account life expectancy, standard of living and education, ranked Malawi 174th out of 189 countries. Poverty in Malawi is both widespread and deep. In 2012, over half of the country’s population lived below the national annual consumption poverty line of 37 thousand Malawi Kwacha (ca. 84 USD). Malawi also has one of the fastest growing populations in Africa, which is projected to grow from 16 million in 2015 to 26 million in 2030 (National Statistical Office, 2014).

Due to explosive population growth any modest reduction of poverty will be insufficient in reducing overall poverty levels as small improvements will be easily outpaced by population growth. Recognizing this as well as the important contribution Social Protection can make towards that goal, the Government of Malawi together with development partners has recently increased its efforts to expand Social Protection coverage to its poorest and most vulnerable citizens.

Despite the positive evolution of social protection programmes, more work is needed in the development of coherent institutional frameworks and financial management to allow the subsequent scaling up of the programmes and to gradually create the conditions for the introduction of a rights-based framework. For that matter, the operationalization of the National Social Support Policy into the National Support Policy Programme 2012-2016 (NSSP) is meant to significantly improve coordination and reduce the fragmentation of social support programmes.

Various social protection schemes and programmes exist in Malawi, using a range of different mechanisms, and complemented by other programmes with a wider objective that also have a social protection dimension. While some of these programmes are embedded in long-term strategic plans, implemented nationwide and financed through the central government's consolidated budget, none are anchored in Law, and quite a few are of a short-term nature, or limited in geographical and individual coverage, and based on a volatile and insecure resource base. The NSSP prioritizes the following 5 Social Protection intervention for scale-up:

1. Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCT);
2. Village Savings and Loans Programmes (VSL);
3. School Feeding Programmes (SFP);
4. Public Works Programme (PWP);
5. Provision of microcredit.

Lack of a comprehensive vision of social development and weak institutional capacities have led to gaps in the delivery of social services and entitlements. The Social Support Policy aims at bringing the multitude of social protection programmes under a common umbrella, based on a coherent framework and programmatic approach. First, best use should be made of available resources by using the most effective and efficient combination of instruments with a well-coordinated policy framework. Moreover, additional fiscal space may have to be mobilized in order to achieve social protection floor (SPF) guarantees.

In this context, the Government of Malawi has requested technical advice from the ILO with regard to analysing the current social protection expenditure in Malawi in terms of sustanability, robustness, efficiency and effectiveness in preventing or reducing poverty and social exclusion. ILO's technical assistance is embedded in the Project Building National Floors of Social Protection in Southern Africa, funded by Irish Aid. Grounded in a regional peer learning process, the Project comprises:

• practical assistance with specific economic feasibility studies;
• legal expertises;
• support to national dialogue processes; and
• advises on the governance and administrative aspects of implementing SPFs.

A final report and a summary report of the Assessment Based National Dialogue in Malawi have been published in 2016