Malawi's Social Cash Transfer program

The Government of Malawi’s (GoM’s) 2016 Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP), locally known as the Mtukula Pakhomo, is an unconditional cash transfer program targeted to ultra-poor, labor-constrained households. The program began as a pilot in Mchinji district in 2006. Since 2009, the program has expanded to reach 18 out of 28 districts in Malawi. The program has experienced impressive growth beginning in 2012, and most notably over the last two years. By December 2015, the SCTP had reached over 163,000 beneficiary households.

Program overview

Program: UNICEF Malawi Social Cash Transfer
Strategy: Income & Economic Strengthening
Intervention: Cash transfers
Ranking: This intervention is categorized as PROMISING
Location: Malawi
Age Group: Early and late adolescence

The SCTP is administered by the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare (MoGCDSW) with additional policy oversight provided by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development (MoFEPD). UNICEF Malawi provides technical support and guidance. Funding for the program from 2007-2012 was largely provided by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund).

In 2011, the German Government (through Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, or KfW) and the GoM signed an agreement to provide substantial funding for paying arrears in existing areas. In 2013, Irish Aid signed an agreement to expand into one new district, and in 2014, KfW and the European Union (EU) topped-up donor contributions to enable full coverage in the seven existing districts, as well as scale-up into eight additional districts.

Also in 2014, GoM launched a “government-funded” district (Thyolo) and the World Bank committed to providing resources to expand into two additional districts. The SCTP was launched in these 11 newly funded districts starting in mid-2014 through early 2015. Bringing coverage to 18 districts.