Malawi
Our aim is to lift every person in Malawi above the extreme poverty line.
Cash transfers have measurable impacts across communities and contexts.
ACTIVE Programs
Large transfer
Poverty Eradication
Ongoing program launched in 2023 to deliver large one-time cash transfers to extremely poor households in Lilongwe Rural.
Transfer Size
$550 one-time transfer per person
Recipients Reached
32,766
Outcomes
Similar programs have shown that participants often invest more in assets, experience better food security, and gain easier access to energy, education, and clean water, aligning with key UN Sustainable Development Goals.
More info will be made available as the program progresses.
Partners
Government of Malawi, Canva
Basic Income
Basic Income Pilot
Launched in 2022 to deliver a monthly basic income to people in the poorest sub-district in Lilongwe Rural, and inform plans to address extreme poverty in Malawi at scale.
Transfer Size
$50 monthly for 1 year
Recipients Reached
12,794
Outcomes
This program leverages mobile-phone usage data to remotely identify and register people. This method is more cost-effective for targeting cash transfers when there are significant differences in poverty levels within a region and the geographic area is large.
Proxy means testing (PMT) can more precisely identify people living at a given level of poverty, but it is almost 7 times more costly than remote registration. With a limited budget, a combination of remote registration and PMT reduces costs.
Partners
Cash for Health
Launched in 2022 to deliver unconditional cash to people living with complex HIV and cancer in Blantyre, Chiradzulu, and surrounding areas.
Transfer Size
$250 followed by $55 monthly payments for 1 year or $250 followed by $80 monthly payments for 1 year, depending on relative household poverty level
Recipients Reached
944
Outcomes
Recipients have reported that cash transfers improved their quality of life and access to medical care. Comparing recipient survey responses before and halfway through the program:
- 20% more felt increased self-reliance
- 67% more were able to access nutritious food
- 30% fewer had to take loans
- 31% more had enough money for transport to health facilities
- 30% more had better quality housing
- 42% had more access to clean water
Partners
Medecins Sans Frontieres
Cash for Nutrition
Launched in 2021 to deliver monthly payments to pregnant and nursing women in Balaka and Ntcheu. Compares the impact of two different payment amounts on nutrition.
Transfer Size
30 monthly payments— one group receives $17 per month and the other receives $43 per month
Households Reached
5,724
Outcomes
This program aims to reduce stunting and improve early childhood health and development outcomes. We also include a randomized control trial (RCT) to explore differences in impact and cost-effectiveness of two different transfer values— data collection ongoing.
Partners
Conrad Hilton Foundation, FCDO, Power of Nutrition, Save the Children
PAST Programs
CLIMATE SURVIVAL
Climate Resilience
2022 program that delivered cash and climate smart agricultural support to poor farmers in Balaka district, timed to help with the growing season, land preparation, purchase of inputs, and planting.
Transfer Size
$800 total, delivered across 2 transfers
Households Reached
6,017
Outcomes
This program was designed to support farmers on the frontlines of the climate crisis by helping them to access more resilient agricultural methods. After receiving cash, recipients reported:
- Diversifying their farms to grow 2+ crops, which improves soil fertility and controls weeds, diseases, and insects
- Transitioning to fuel efficient cooking tools such as the Chitetezo Mbuala stove
- Using 1+ water conservation techniques
- 46.2% increase in food security
Read more about GiveDirectly’s approach to climate adaptation here.
Partners
Self Help Africa
LARGE TRANSFER
Poverty Alleviation
2020 program that delivered large, one-time cash transfers to the poorest households in Mangochi and Balaka districts.
Transfer Size
$800
Households Reached
29,410
Outcomes
This cash transfer model draws on a substantial body of evidence demonstrating that large cash transfers have a significant positive impact on the lives of people in poverty. Recipients reported spending their funds on:
- food (79%)
- building a new house or improving their current one (79%)
- clothing and furniture (55%)
- farming investments(35%)
- savings (31%)
Large Transfer
Large Transfer Study
2019 program that delivered cash to the poorest households in Machinga and Chiradzulu districts. Included a randomized control trial component to compare how different cash transfer amounts affected food security, spending on food and other purchases, and non-agricultural income in rural households.
Transfer Size
Recipients received 1 of 3 transfer amounts: $250, $500, or $750. Those in the group receiving $250 got one transfer; those receiving $500 or $750 received 2 or 3 transfers over consecutive months.
Households Reached
11,497
Outcomes
Recipients reported sustained improvements in food security years after the program ended, along with gains in agricultural productivity, household assets, resilience and psychological wellbeing. No evidence of spillover effects on households not included in the program were found. Local goods prices were not affected.
Partners
IPA, USAID
Cash+ Food and Nutrition Security
2022 program that delivered one-time cash transfers to farmers in Dedza district. Transfers were timed with the start of the lean season and were accompanied by nutrition and agricultural diversification interventions.
Transfer Size
$350
Households Reached
2,243
Outcomes
Recipients reported spending their transfers on food, agricultural inputs like fertilizer, and livestock to improve their families’ nutrition and earn income.
Partners
GIZ, Self Help Africa
EMERGENCY RELIEF
COVID-19 Emergency Relief
2020 program to deliver cash transfers to poor households impacted by the pandemic in the cities of Lilongwe, Blantyre, Zomba, Mzuzu, and Dzaleka refugee camp as part of Malawi’s National COVID-19 response plan.
Transfer Size
$35 per month for 3 months
Households Reached
33,720
Outcomes
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted livelihoods and made it difficult for the poorest and most vulnerable families in Malawi to afford their basic needs. Here’s how recipients reported spending the cash they received:
- 47.7% purchased food
- ~14% invested in existing businesses or started new ones to help rebuild their livelihoods
- 13.3% covered school fees and education expenses
- 12.6% rebuilt or improved their homes
Partners
Government of Malawi, Conrad Hilton Foundation
EMERGENCY RELIEF
Cyclone Ana Emergency Relief
2022 program that delivered emergency cash assistance to households affected by Cyclone Ana in Mulanje district.
Transfer Size
$75 monthly for 3 months
Households Reached
6,658
Outcomes
The aftermath of Cyclone Ana saw houses leveled by the flooding and families displaced into humanitarian camps. Recipients reported using their transfers to rebuild— 84% of people spent their cash on improving existing housing, or building a new house with better materials. Before the flood, many houses were built with mud and thatch and were not able to withstand the damage.
Other common ways people used their transfers:
- 71% bought food
- 22% bought clothes and furniture
- 11% put money into savings
EMERGENCY RELIEF
Tropical Cyclone Freddy Emergency Relief
2023 program that delivered one-time cash transfers to households displaced by Tropical Cyclone Freddy in Chikwawa District.
Transfer Size
$300 one-time transfer
Households Reached
2,795
Outcomes
Communities in Chikwawa district are increasingly impacted by flooding as a symptom of the growing climate crisis in the region. Recipients used their cash to fortify or rebuild their homes with bricks and iron sheets as many mud-built and thatched-roof homes were damaged in the cyclone. Recipients also purchased food and invested in businesses like selling dry fish and raising goats or chickens.
In the News
Malawian families are using cash to transform their lives.
Basic income empowers women in poverty
“My husband and I worked together on our farm. We always argued after selling the produce about how to spend what little money we had. I could not see a way out of it. Even the children were not well taken care of. Now when we receive the money, we plan together. Maize is life. So we thought it would be smart to buy fertilizer. We also built a house for the children.” — Beatrice
Joseph bought maize and fertilizer
“I am a farmer and a businessman, I sell malichero (winnowing baskets). Each morning when I woke up, I used to stress about what my family would eat. Most days that meant two meals a day. As a parent I was hurt knowing my children would go on an empty stomach to school. Our lives have changed since we received the money, we now eat three times a day. I am looking forward to a bumper harvest this year. I spend more time with my family, and I am the happiest, most satisfied, and proud husband and father today!”
Liness bought food and sent her daughter to school
“The money I received the first two months was used to buy food…in the months to follow, I decided to enroll my daughter Conscious in the nursery school in our village. I bought her a school bag at $3.5, I made her a school uniform at $3 and I also pay her school fees which are $5 a month. Besides providing for my daughter’s school fees, I have also been able to buy fertilizer for my vegetables.”
Poverty in Malawi
In the past 15 years, $16.5 billion has been spent on development assistance in Malawi. Yet in that same time, poverty rates have hardly changed. Malawi remains one of the poorest countries in the world with at least 70% of the population living below the international extreme poverty line of $2.15/day. Malawi is also a climate change “hotspot” characterized by declining agricultural productivity and very low resilience to shocks. These economic and climate challenges feed into the chronic food insecurity that affects 5.4M people in Malawi and leaves 35% of children under 5 years of age stunted.
The Government of Malawi’s First 10-year Implementation Plan of its ‘MW2063 Agenda’ (2021-2030) focuses on meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, which crucially include “No Poverty,” and emphasizes enhancing human capital, adopting climate-smart practices in agriculture and other sectors, diversifying the economy, improving productivity, and creating employment opportunities among others.
Sources: Government of Malawi, World Bank, IPC
We commend the impactful work of GiveDirectly in our shared mission to realize His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera’s Vision of wealth creation. Through our collaboration, we are empowering communities, especially women and the youth, to thrive and fully engage in economic activities, ensuring that every contribution leads to tangible change.
Colleen Zamba
Secretary to the President and Cabinet of Malawi