Countries around the world are committing to eliminate hunger, achieve food security, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030 under the UN’s second Sustainable Development Goal. Malawi is among the countries taking their commitment a step further by taking concrete steps to tackle this challenge through consultation, research, and consensus-building.
What is ZHMSR?
The Zero Hunger and Malnutrition Strategic Review (ZHMSR) is an independent, government-led initiative which includes consultations and evidence gathering across Malawi. By collecting findings and examples of successful approaches used elsewhere, it aims to identify a set of prioritized actions to help Malawi substantially eliminate hunger and malnutrition within the target time frame.
The ZHMSR team is diverse and cross-sectoral. It includes a lead convener, former Vice President, the Honorable Justin Malewezi; an advisory board of about 30 Malawian leaders on issues related to nutrition, food security, and economic development; a technical team; a Secretariat including WFP, UNICEF, FAO, and the UN Resident Coordinator; and lastly, the research team comprised of a small group of national and international researchers led by IFPRI.
Insight from across Malawi
On 28th August, ZHMSR hosted a roundtable consultation in Lilongwe, bringing together a range of stakeholders, including Ministry leaders, NGO representatives, researchers and leaders from academia, representatives from the President’s Cabinet, and traditional leaders and senior chiefs from districts across the country. The aim of the event was to share initial findings from a series of five regional consultations and to welcome new feedback into the process.
Dr. Grace Kumchulesi, a member of the ZHMSR research team first shared some key research findings, including an overall decline in Malawi’s rates of child stunting and child underweight, with remaining data gaps in the drivers behind these indicators.
From the research, six strategic themes emerged: 1) Sustaining recent positive nutrition trends in Malawi; 2) Strengthening institutional coordination for action to reduce chronic malnutrition in Malawi; 3) Food security in Malawi – going beyond agricultural production; 4) Social protection—particularly for those not economically productive or whose livelihoods are adversely affected by shocks; 5) The role of agriculture within the Malawian economy; and lastly, 6) Structural transformation of Malawi’s economy.
Emerging priorities
Kumchulesi summarized key takeaways on each of these themes from the recent regional consultations. In terms of accelerating nutrition trends, there was consensus to re-establish nutrition frontline workers in villages. On nutrition leadership, many agreed that decentralization of nutrition coordination is essential, and that more public fund allocation and private sector financing can enhance nutrition sustainability. To assure food security for all, a shift is needed away from own-production agriculture only. This means strengthening agricultural and food markets to shift Malawian food systems away from their currently dominant reliance on subsistence production. Farming cooperatives can contribute to markets if included. To drive economic transformation in Malawi, many agree that a reformed version of FISP reform can play a role, as can commercial smallholder farmers, if strengthened. To meet the nutrition needs of chronically poor and disaster stricken, improvements to data systems are needed, perhaps building off existing or emerging platforms, such as the universal beneficiary register. Lastly, to expand employment options beyond agriculture, we must invest in people, in energy, and in cities, while also promoting private sector investment. Emphasizing and intensifying Malawi’s underutilized services sector (sales, transport, tourism, finance) has the most potential to increase national income and employment levels—above any other sector.
Next steps
As Malawi’s UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Maria Jose Torres said in her opening remarks, “We can end hunger in Malawi.” The ZHMSR uses an inclusive approach, linking national actors, local authorities, and leaders in academia. The process takes these leaders and researchers out into communities to gather local insight on what works and what needs to be done to end hunger. Malawi’s Chief Secretary, Mr. Lloyd Muhara echoed this commitment, stating, “The only acceptable number of hungry Malawians is zero, and the Government remains committed to eliminating hunger in this country at all costs.”
The ZHMSR process will continue through early 2019. A set of consolidated ZHMSR briefs are being produced and a report of findings will be formally presented to the government by Q1 of 2019, after which the analyses and materials will be shared publicly.
