New York, New York, March 18th, 2015 – The Minister of Gender, Children, Disabilities and Social Welfare, Honourable Patricia Kaliati has said the Social Cash Transfer Programme in Malawi has gained recognition as a critical tool for development, hence the need for political as well as material support by duty bearers at International and local levels to make the programme sustainable and to support the roll out of the Mtukula Pakhomo (Empowering Families) programme, not only in Malawi but across the globe.
Honourable Kaliati made the remarks on Monday during a side event organised by the Malawi delegation participating in the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59) currently in its second week at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
“The Side Event is significant in that it resonates very well with the very essence and objectives of the 59th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women,” said Kaliati.
The Minister said the Social Cash Transfer Programme has been demonstrating gains in child well-being to ultimately break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, as well as women’s empowerment and stimulating their productive activities and economic inclusion.
Honourable Kaliati told the gathering, comprising delegates from a number of Member States of the United Nations, government officials, and representatives from non-governmental organizations, that in 2006, the Government of Malawi, started the Mtukula Pakhomo Social Cash Transfer Programme which delivers regular and reliable cash transfers aimed at addressing poverty and extreme hunger among the ten percent of the population that are ultra poor and labour constrained.
The Mtukula Pakhomo programme targets households that are ultra-poor and labour constrained. Currently, the programme is reaching out to nearly 82,000 households with over 373, 771 individual beneficiaries. 72 percent of the beneficiaries are children coming from female-headed households, constituting 75 percent of all households.
“In the face of ultra-poverty and socio-demographic vulnerabilities, the Mtukula Pakhomo programme has been an effective instrument of social protection by allowing beneficiary households to protect themselves from economic, demographic, and seasonal shocks; overcome barriers imposed by poverty; improve nutrition and food security; and increase asset ownership and expenditures on basic necessities,” the Minister said.
The Minister explained that the impact brought about by cash transfers have allowed households to increase expenditures on children’s education, resulting in higher enrolment and fewer school absences. In addition, she said, increased household incomes have resulted in a decreased need for children to go to work in order to provide income support to their families. Further, she said, “households have greater health seeking behaviours and malnutrition is significantly reduced among beneficiary households.”
“It is worth noting that Mtukula Pakhomo is stimulating women’s engagement in agriculture. Mtukula Pakhomo households invest in productive assets and farming equipment, as well as livestock. Others even hire labour for their farms, leading to greater agricultural production. Given that around 75 per cent of households are female-headed, the link to greater women’s involvement in agriculture is very well pronounced,” the Minister said.
Mtukula Pakhomo is currently piloting e-payments in three districts. The e-payment system is a significant step to ensure that those who are most marginalized have access to financial services. Early signs are indicating that the e-payments are also encouraging a culture of savings. Since the majority of the household are female-headed, there are indications that this will go a long way to encourage financial and economic inclusion of women.
Mtukula Pakhomo households hold their savings in informal savings accounts including in Village Savings and Loans (VSL) and with family friends. The popularity of VSL’s reflects the inherent realization by the beneficiaries to be resilient through savings, in an environment where access to finance and formal savings still remain limited or a far-fetched dream.
“Because ultra-poor households are particularly vulnerable and are at a greater risk of social marginalization, they may continue to face problems that cannot be solved with cash alone. Additional support is provided to link beneficiaries to the social services and support activities that are already available in the community. Ensuring that beneficiaries are aware of social services that can assist them with their remaining needs is accomplished through awareness-raising sessions delivered during paydays,” said Kaliati
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The Minister explained that Malawi is implementing an alternative delivery mechanism for paying cash transfers (electronic payments) to Mtukula Pakhomo beneficiaries. One initiative involves adoption of mobile phone payments where beneficiaries use mobile phone handsets and SIM cards with a linked ‘mobile wallet’ run by Airtel, a mobile network provider. The other initiative is the bank card system, known as Banki Nkhonde, implemented by Opportunity Bank International Malawi. For the first time, such an initiative is according the household beneficiaries an opportunity to access various financial services offered through the two payment mechanisms.
“There is a close link between cash transfers and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It is undisputable that Mtukula Pakhomo remains one of the significant programmes leading to the realisation of the empowerment of women as enshrined and envisaged in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action agreed upon 20 years ago. Such being the case, sustaining such a programme is paramount in taking women out of poverty, vulnerability and marginalisation,” the Minister said.
Making presentations during the event were Mr. Vincent Herlihy, Irish Aid representative; Christine Musisi, Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa (UN Women); Sara Friedman, UNICEF representative and M/s Ana Paula from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Also, Dr. Esmie Kainja, Director for Social Protection Services in the Ministry of Gender gave an overview of the Malawi Social Cash Transfer programme while Dr. Maxton Tsoka from the University of Malawi made a presentation on the impacts of the Social Cash Transfer programme in general.
The event, funded by the United Nations Entity for Gender and Women Empowerment (UN Women), was moderated by Dr. Mary Shawa, Secretary for Gender, Children, Disabilities and Social Welfare in Malawi.
