Contribution to international development report: 2018-2019

Chapter One: Malawi

1.1 Introduction

Scotland-Malawi links stretch back over 150 years to the days of Dr David Livingstone and the Scottish medical missionaries. Since 2005, the governments of Malawi and Scotland have collaborated across areas such as education, health, civic governance and sustainable economic development; a new Global Goals Partnership Agreement was signed in April 2018 by Scotland’s First Minister and Malawi’s President Mutharika, to continue this valuable work.

In signing the new Global Goals Partnership Agreement, which sets out both countries’ commitment to realising the UN Global Goals, setting out both countries commitment to realising the United Nation’s Global Development Goals, Scotland’s First Minister said:

“Scotland and Malawi have historical and enduring ties of friendship and cooperation. We have committed today to maintain this relationship and partnership in the future.

“Thirteen years since our governments first formally approved a development cooperation agreement, I am pleased we have the opportunity to update it to reflect our commitment to the UN Global Goals, and to each other, in the signing of a new Global Goals Partnership Agreement.

“By working together on areas such as environmental sustainability, health improvement and education, we can take steps to improve the lives of those in our countries and further afield.”

Under our Malawi Development Programme 2018-23, more than £11 million is being provided to support 11 local projects in Malawi focused on health, education, economic development and renewable energy, delivered between Scottish based organisations and their Malawian partners. Funding awards were to the following projects, all of which completed their first year of activity in 2018-19:

• Health: Water Aid to improve the health of mothers and children through better sanitation and access to safe water in healthcare facilities and childhood development centres; NHS Tayside working to develop emergency and trauma units at all central hospitals in Malawi, with the aim of delivering a national emergency trauma network; St John Scotland to improve maternal, newborn and child health by increasing health behaviours and the use of critical health services; Edinburgh University to build on the prior collaborative and successful partnership in delivery of same day cervical cancer ‘screen and treat’ programmes, and roll-out of that work in Northern, Central and Southern Regions; Glasgow University for the MalDent Project;
• Education: Global Concerns Trust, for tools and training for livelihood for disabled men and women in Malawi; Mary’s Meals for school feeding to vulnerable children in primary and Early Childhood Development centres in southern Malawi; and Sense Scotland for promoting equal access to education in Malawi North;
• Renewable energy: Strathclyde University, for rural energy access through social enterprise and decentralisation (EASE) through the deployment of appropriate renewable energy infrastructure and service provision under sustainable social business models and decentralised energy strategies;
• Civic governance: Chance for Change, to support the Malawi Government in enabling access to justice, and humane, child-welfare based treatment for children in conflict with the law in Malawi;
• Sustainable Economic Development: Challenges Worldwide, to strengthen farmer owned crop Value Addition Centres while creating rural sustainable business models and wealth for smallholder farmers.

Additionally, project grants are awarded under our Small Grants Programme for Malawi as a partner country, with details of the Small Grants Programme at Chapter Five. So too, we are currently funding scholarships for girls in Malawi, via the Mamie Martin Fund.

Strengthening capacity is the second funding stream of our IDF, and provides funding to a number of peer-peer partnered institutions from Scotland and our partner countries. In Malawi, during 20181/19 we provided funding to support the following capacity strengthening initiatives:

• Police Scotland, in the final year of their three year Programme of specialist training with the Malawian police force, for tackling gender-based violence and improving child protection, and supporting governance;
• University of Glasgow, for the collaborative clinical research project with the College of Medicine in Blantyre, Malawi, and the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust (the Blantyre-Blantyre project), which is now in its third year;
• the Scotland Malawi Psychiatry Capacity Development Project, for consolidation of the project in Malawi and extension now to Zambia to support mental healthcare provision;
• the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland, for the Livingstone Fellowship Scheme to allow experienced doctors from Malawi to spend a year in Scotland receiving further training which they will then take back home to the benefit of their communities; and funding for further doctors to receive smaller fellowship grants;
• University of Glasgow, for a new collaboration requested of them by the College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi, supporting the governance structures required by the College for it to become a fully independent university;
• the Social Enterprise Academy, for ongoing support for the new Social Enterprise Academy Malawi, to join the global network of SEAs.

The third funding stream of our IDF is focused on commercial investment, and currently funds our Malawi Investment Initiative, through the African Lakes Company Ltd (ALC). The ALC secures match-funded funding from private investors based in Scotland to funding made available by the Scottish Government, to support investment in Malawian businesses, thus providing leverage on our funding.

Of the many initiatives and projects which we support in Malawi, we have selected just a few here for this 2018/19 Report as case studies. All our Malawi projects are, however, summarised in the Annexes to this Report, with links to each project’s End Year Report (e.g. in Annex A).

1.2 Towards a Dental School for Malawi – The MalDent Project

1.2.1 The Project

Despite the high burden of oral disease in Malawi there are only 39 dentists, working with 137 dental therapists, to serve the Malawian population of 18.6 million people. Most of these dental professionals work in the cities, resulting in severe inequity of access particularly in rural regions. There is no provision to train dentists in Malawi, currently all registered dentists were trained overseas and Malawi also currently lacks a national oral health policy. The MalDent project has two objectives; firstly, to establish an undergraduate dental degree (BDS) within the College of Medicine at the University of Malawi, which will train dentists who are ‘globally competent and locally relevant’; and secondly to work with the Malawian Ministry of Health to establish an oral health strategy which focuses on prevention of dental disease, particularly in children.

3 Good Health and Well-Being

4 Quality Education

10 Reduced Inequalities

17 Partnerships for the Goals

1.2.2 Contribution to Development 2018-19

This project began in October 2018 and already, during the period to March 2019, the new Bachelor of Dental Surgery curriculum has been written and approved, with the first cohort of 15 dental students beginning their studies in August 2019. The students will receive support from a range of faculties from dental schools across Scotland. Building partnerships with multiple academic, healthcare, charity and commercial organisations in Malawi, South Africa and the United Kingdom has been key to progress made.

IDF Case Study 1: MalDent – the power of collaboration

The MalDent project is a fantastic example of the power of collaboration, building upon the foundation of the Scottish Government IDF grant 2018-23, and the previous grant for “phantom heads” for the College in Malawi.

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde became aware of the project and, in August 2018, generously donated 16 dental chairs that were removed some years ago from a clinic during a refurbishment programme. The chairs were now made available for the Dental Clinic at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, to be in place as clinical facilities for dental students when the BDS course commenced in 2019.

Another partner in the project, the charity Dentaid, which services and repairs donated dental equipment prior to shipping, refurbished the chairs before they were shipped to Malawi. This meant the chairs would all now have many years of useful working life ahead of them to the benefit of patients, students and staff at Kamuzu Central Hospital. It emphasises too the importance of ensuring that donated surplus equipment is fit for purpose.

Visit the MalDent Project blog to follow the work of the many partners and ongoing progress of the project.

1.3 WaterAid – Life to Mothers, Girls and Children in Southern Malawi

1.3.1 The Project

WaterAid is targeting marginalised populations in rural and peri-urban areas in Malawi, by facilitating access to safe water, improved sanitation and good hygiene in: health care facilities (HCFs); early childhood development centres (ECDCs); and communities. This is to be achieved through service provision, strengthening planning and monitoring systems for WASH in HCFs and ECDs and promoting empowering relationships between citizens and duty bearers. The project target is to reach 141,000 women, girls and children in Machinga and Zomba Districts.

3 Good Health and Well-Being

6 Clean Water and Sanitation

10 Reduced Inequalities

1.3.2 Contribution to Development 2018-19

In Zomba District:

• 8 boreholes were constructed in ECDCs and one village borehole was constructed in Chipembere village.

In Machinga District:

• 10 Citizen Forum Committees (CFCs) and four women action groups (WAGs) have been established with total membership of 200 (117 women and 83 men)
• 4 Health Centre Management Committees (HCMCs) were oriented about the project and their roles.

IDF Case Study 2: WaterAid – Delivering safe water

Beatrice Muliya is one of the happy beneficiaries of a borehole at Mgwalangwa early childhood development centre where she is the secretary of the Centre Management Committee. She is among the 10 women who work as volunteers and are responsible for managing day to day operations including mobilising women from the community to come and assist in cooking porridge and cleaning.

While Beatrice has always been committed to the work and her contribution to the community, it became a burden due to unavailability of a water point at the ECDC.

The situation would worsen during the rainy season when most women are scared to go to fetch water because the path to the old source becomes slippery. Beatrice and other committee members would be left to fetch the minimum amount of water in the few storage containers at the centre.

To minimise wastage, water would be re-used where possible sometimes at the compromise of health and safety.

Without adequate safe water for drinking and essential hygiene practices, children attending the ECDC were at high risk of infectious diseases such as diarrhoea and parasitic infections which lead to declining health and nutrition.

The projects support with onsite boreholes has reduced the time and effort previously spent fetching water and more women now come in to help with cooking and cleaning.

Beatrice is now able to focus on other productive activities at her home because she does not have to come to the centre on daily basis any more to fetch water, cook and clean.

“This borehole has come at the right time because during this rainy season, mothers are reluctant to come and assist with fetching water to be used at the centre since the path leading to the old water point is very slippery and not safe for someone carrying a bucket of water on the head”.
Beatrice Muliya, Secretary for Mgwalangwa Centre Management Committee, TA Mwambo

1.4 Mamie Martin Fund – Alison Cameron Scholarships

1.4.1 The Project

Established in 1993 Mamie Martin Fund (MMF) Charity helps provide secondary school education for girls in Northern Malawi. Currently, secondary school enrolment rates for girls stand at 27%; however, only 13% actually attend school, and only 5% pass their final exams. Secondary education in Malawi is not free and many girls drop out due to financial hardship.

The scholarships are named after Alison Cameron from Irvine, a patron of the MMF, who has worked with her husband Colin for 60 years to build and maintain civil society and governmental links between Malawi and Scotland.

4 Quality Education

5 Gender Equality

10 Reduced Inequalities

1.4.2 Contribution to Development 2018-19

Scottish Government funding since 2017 is enabling the MMF to support 23 girls at secondary school, by paying their school fees for the duration of their studies. The ‘Alison Girls’, as they are called in Malawi, are selected on the basis of need and are further supported through termly visits by the MMF Malawi Manager. Two women will also be supported to attend university in Malawi through this MMF funding.

IDF Case Study 3: Mamie Martin – Supporting Vulnerable Girls

In addition to the payment of school fees, all Mamie Martin supported pupils have access to a Discretionary Fund. This fund provides money to assist with personal needs, including uniforms, sanitary products and travel. For example, a student at Karonga Girls’ Secondary School required medical assistance which her family could not afford. This contingency fund enable the student and her father to travel to get assessments and suitable treatment.

1.5 UN Women Malawi – We Learn: Virtual Skills School pilot

1.5.1 The Project

In recognition of the 70th Anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the Scottish Government provided funding to UN Women Malawi for their ‘We Learn: Virtual Skills School Pilot’. The special funding was announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during a meeting with the Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, in New York in February 2019.

The pilot project aims to reduce rates of early and child marriage in rural areas. Malawi has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world with around 50% of girls married by the time they are 18. The project overarching aims are ensuring that: 1) girls are motivated and equipped to return to school and; 2) social norms are transformed to enable women’s economic empowerment.

This will be achieved by empowering girls through the provision of information, skills and the support networks necessary to reduce social and economic isolation and educating and mobilising their parents and community members (including men and boys) to influence broader change in social norms.

4 Quality Education

5 Gender Equality

10 Reduced Inequalities

1.5.2 Contribution to Development 2018-19

This project is using innovative methods to assist young women from some of the most disadvantaged communities in Malawi. By providing high-quality learning programmes which are delivered both online and offline, these young women engage in collaborative learning, real world projects, courses on digital and financial literacy and are coached and mentored throughout the process to ensure success. Gender equality and women’s rights awareness training will be mandatory training for all participants.

Through online learning, girls will also be taken through entrepreneurship courses to build capacity and motivate them to develop, organise and manage a business venture. This will provide them with business education and experience which will improve the capacity of rural women entrepreneurs in order to consolidate sustainable enterprises. The participants receive information about local financial services with the project working in partnership with village savings and loans groups to ensure girls become more knowledgeable and confident, working together and developing skills around negotiation and communication, and managing money.

UN Women Malawi believe that this project has the potential to invest in and unlock the potential of teenage girls and young women in the areas in which it will be piloted. We will report more fully on its development impact in future years.

1.6 African Lakes Company – Malawi Investment Initiative

2 Zero Hunger

3 Good Health and Well-Being

5 Gender Equality

7 Affordable and Clean Energy

8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

9 Industry Innovation and Infrastructure

12 Responsible Consumption and Production

14 Life Below Water

17 Partnerships for the Goals

1.6.1. Background

The third funding stream of our IDF is focused on engaging the Scottish financial community with our African partners, to encourage foreign direct investment in Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda and to promote good governance in investment, banking and finance.

1.6.2. The Project

The African Lakes Company Limited (ALC) has successfully engaged the minds and resources of some of Scotland’s leading investors and entrepreneurs with the proposition that investment in unlisted companies in Malawi should be an integral part of Scotland’s contribution to social and economic development in Africa.

The ALC is intended to reinforce Malawi’s move away from reliance on aid and towards a self-sustaining economy supported by trade and investment. To successfully secure investment, companies need to show that they have a positive social impact, as well as a financial return. This will be demonstrated through job creation and sustainable livelihoods. An initial £1 million from the Scottish Government, through its investment funding stream in the IDF, was matched by private investors in Scotland, to create an initial £2 million funding pot for commercial investment, for development outcomes.

1.6.3. Contribution to Development 2018-2019

The first investment into a company in Malawi was announced in September 2018 when ALC invested £38,000 in the Lake Malawi Aquaculture Project to design an innovative cage based aquaculture operation based on indigenous species for the local and regional market. This investment will help reduce poverty by creating high quality jobs in a rural area and provide new opportunities for smallholders and traders.

The announcement was accompanied by the signing, at the Lake Malawi Aquaculture premises, of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the four companies from Scotland, Norway, Kenya and Malawi involved. The signing event was witnessed by Scottish Government Minister Ben Macpherson and the Norwegian Ambassador to Malawi Steinar Egil Hagen. Under that MoU between the parties, it was agreed to joint-fund the feasibility study and subsequently work together to secure the investment required.

A follow-on commitment to invest was subsequently made in Lake Malawi Aquaculture in early 2019, with £400,000 of Scottish Government funding being matched by new private investors from Norway and Scotland, providing a total additional £800,000 investment. The engagement of the Norwegian company Willing Hands as with Lake Malawi Aquaculture brings with it experience of responsibly and sustainably managed aquaculture at scale, and in the longer term an affordable and sustainable source of protein. Overall, this blend of expertise drawn from across the four countries of Malawi, Norway, Kenya and Scotland will deliver a large-scale project which ALC is convinced has very significant potential for nutritional, economic, and developmental impact.

IDF Case Study 4: Support for investment – SDGs

The commercial fish farm will directly employ c.30 members of staff. These individuals will benefit from training and development, primarily via an apprentice scheme. This will then enable the business to provide opportunities for many more individuals through community-operated enterprises.

ALC anticipate 600 market traders will be required and a further 400 families will benefit through participation in a small-scale local fish farmers programme.

We will report more fully on its development impact in future years. ALC has committed to working with St Andrews University to monitor the development of the project, assess the environmental and social impact, assess the contribution of aquaculture (SDG 14) to improving nutrition (SDG 3), to maximise the use of renewable energy in this commercial operation (SDG 7) and to develop sustainable livelihoods for women in the supply chain (SDG 8, SDG 5). The innovation and expertise in the ALC investments and investment pipeline sit firmly with SDG 9, SDG 12 and SDG 14.

In the year 2018-19 the ALC also:

• Hosted the President of Malawi at a private meeting of ALC Board members and Scottish investors to discuss the wider issues around attracting more foreign direct investment. Good governance and building the correct climate for foreign investment was a key theme raised by ALC with the President and his team and remains an important part of the ALC engagement with Malawi.
• Broadened civil society engagement through the Managing Director of Old Mutual Investments (Malawi) spending time in Scotland to meet investors and attend the annual conference of Archangels, Scotland leading angel investor network.
• Strengthened their presence in Malawi through the part time appointment of Desmond Woods, a Scottish investment analyst based in Blantyre (Malawi), to provide support to Malawian companies seeking investment from ALC and to build the pipeline of investment opportunities.
• Maintained a watching brief on the development of Malawi Mangoes. During the year there was a change of ownership and significant changes in the business strategy, which led ALC to decide to hold back on investment until the position is clearer. As an important local employer and a flag bearer for foreign investment Malawi Mangoes remains of interest as a potential investment.
• Individual investors in ALC have elected to provide financial support for investment readiness in Malawi through a series of workshops for emerging leaders in economics and finance.
• The pipeline of good quality investment opportunities under review has continued to grow, notably with the help of Desmond Woods in country. The majority of investment opportunities being explored continue to be in agriculture and agri-processing which is to be expected in the Malawi context
• ALC has been co-operating with St Andrews University, Chancellor College in Malawi and the University of Witwatersrand on a research project on local African philanthropy and the impact of foreign donors.