The RHVP National Social Protection Awareness Day in Malawi, which took place on 2 July 2008, kicked off with a day event, open to all, led by civil society (particularly the Institute for Policy Research and Social Empowerment) at the Mitundu High School in Lilongwe district. An evening event was then held for invited guests at the Capital Hotel. The events were used as a platform to bring together various stakeholders involved in social protection, hear about beneficiary experiences of cash transfers, and look to the future of social protection in Malawi.

Coordinated by civil society with funding from RHVP, the events were attended by parliamentarians Hon Mangulama (UDF), Hon Chafukira (MCP), Hon Loveness Gondwe (AFORD), Hon Mtukula and Hon Chikalimba (Parliamentary Task force for Social Protection), high level representatives from several government ministries (Economic Planning and Development, Elderly and People with Disabilities and Women and Child Development); donors (DFID) international organisations (UNICEF); NGOs (HelpAge), and a range of civil society institutions.

In his keynote address at the Awareness Day, Honourable Dr Ken Lipenga, Minister of Economic Planning and Development, highlighted Malawi’s commitment to social protection and emphasised the importance of learning from other country’s experiences in designing social transfer programmes for the country. Beneficiaries from the Mchinji Social Cash Transfer pilot told of how their lives have changed since receiving cash transfers; and a variety of media were used to portray the role of social protection to the public, including dances, skits by well-known comedians, and the launch of a song by local band Mlaka Maliro.

The evening event was an opportunity for key stakeholders to hear international perspectives, with John Rook of RHVP exploring how the successes of Mchinji could be scaled up to a national social transfer scheme in Malawi. Anna Pearson of HelpAge International outlined the potential for a social pension scheme, and Professor Michael Samson of the Economic Policy Research Institute emphasised how national level schemes can be affordable for developing countries.

To listen to the song by Mlaka Maliro, see below.

Clip title	Duration	File size	Format	Date	Play audio
Song by Mlaka Maliro (band from Malawi)	6 minutes, 23 seconds	3.7 MB	MP3	July 2008