Nkhani Zathu
Our News — United Nations Malawi Quarterly Journal

AUGUST 2007

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MASEDA 3.0.

UN family remembers

School Feeding Programme

MASEDA 3.0. Malawi’s most comprehensive database on human development

“If you can’t measure development, you can’t manage it.” Michael Keating

If you are looking for data by sector or geographic area presented in maps, graphs and tables, then you need MASEDA 3.0 - the latest and most comprehensive human development database for Malawi. The mapping facility can produce 28 individual district maps showing Traditional Authority boundaries within each district map.

MASEDA 3.0 contains over 600 socio-economic indicators, which can measure progress of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sector-specific targets.

Without measurement tools, we cannot determine the impact of our development efforts. Using MASEDA 3.0, we can now prioritise development investment by region and sector, raise and allocate funds in a coordinated fashion to maximise results.

Malawi Socio-Economic Database (MASEDA 3.0) is a fundamental tool to promote evidence-based planning of development efforts and will enable government departments, development organizations, civil society, research and academic institutions to access uniform information for coordinated planning.

National Statistical Office developed the first version in 2001 with 147 key indicators and launched a second version in November 2004. MASEDA is based on DevInfo software, which has been adopted globally by the UN as the format for national indicator databases.

MASEDA is one of the key components of a three-year Joint Programme on Monitoring and Evaluation, a US$ 3.7 million partnership between Government and the UN System in Malawi, EU, GTZ, Millennium Challenge Corporation (USAID) and DFID. MASEDA is live on www.maseda.info and available on CD-Rom.

UN family remembers the lives lost to AIDS in Malawi

Candlelight Memorial is marked on the third Sunday of every May, to remember lives lost to AIDS.

In Malawi, about 84,000 people succumbed to AIDS related illness last year and close to one million adults and children continue to live with HIV and AIDS. It also strives to show support to our family, friends and colleagues living with HIV and AIDS and raise community awareness and decrease stigma related to HIV and AIDS. This year the UN joined in the memorial under the theme Leading the way to a world without AIDS.

The event was organised by UN+, which is managed by UN Helping Employees Living Positively (HELP) Coordinator, Ulanda Chilezi. The UN+ Mission is uniting for solidarity, equality and acceptance of people living with HIV within the UN system through awareness raising, policy change and advocacy.

School Feeding Programme targets 200,000 more children

Malawi has a high primary school enrolment rate of 80 percent, but half a million children or 16.1% do not complete primary education. A study commissioned by UNICEF in 2002, found that food shortages increased student absenteeism and dropout rates, particularly during the lean season between January and March. Almost 70 percent of children go to school without having breakfast, affecting their ability to concentrate and learn.

From January 2008, 635,000 primary school-going children will enjoy a nutritious meal of likuni phala every day. In addition, 114,300 girls and orphaned boys in standards 5-8 will also receive a monthly take-home ration of 12.5 kg of maize during the lean season, providing an additional incentive for their parents and guardians to send them to school.

The School Feeding Programme has increased enrolment rates and reduced drop out rates, particularly among girls and orphans. It is a Ministry of Education, Science and Technology initiative supported by World Food Programme.

In June, WFP’s Executive Board approved the expansion of the Programme in Malawi to 672 schools in 14 districts from 442,000 children in 489 schools from January 2008 to December 2011.

Donors who have made the expansion possible include the countries of Algeria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland and United States of America as well as European Union, TNT, USA Friends of WFP and private donors.

Earlier, the United States Department for Agriculture (USDA) committed MK2.7 billion (US$19.5 million), through the McGovern–Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program Award over the next three years.

WFP anticipates that the government will eventually take over the programme.

Issue 1 2007