Despite Malawi launching the National Social Support Policy (NSSP) in 2012, the social protection programme in Malawi is still in its infancy stage. There are a series of learning processes which Malawi can build on for better social protection programmes in the near future from its current focus on school feeding, public works, village saving and loans, social cash transfers and micro-finance, among others. In this regard, the Malawi Platform for Social Protection conducted a desk study on Social Protection.

A consultant was engaged to do the desk study and dissemination of the results targeted 35 strategic representatives from government, media, development partners and CSOs. The study raised issues like; Failure of current government policies and development strategies embracing Social protection as a right hence social protection interventions are a social support as opposed to a right, targeting of social protection interventions despite 50.7% of Malawians being in poverty, politicization of social protection interventions and lack of resources in government departments that can implement social protection programmes.

Following the study, the Malawi Platform for social Protection plans to develop a Strategic Plan which will guide implementation of the policy issues uncovered by the study.  Among other recommendations from the study were; need to come up with a clear and shared definition of social protection, country to put in place principals of social protection, government to come up with guidelines for shifting beneficiaries between different social protection components, Government to anchor social protection within human rights-based approach and Government to put sustainable financing mechanisms that are on budget and predictable.