World Bank Impressed with MWASIP implementation
The Malawi Government has hailed the World Bank for its continued partnership, which has seen the country registering enormous progress in various facets of development.
The remarks were made by Honourable Abida Sidik Mia, Minister of Water and Sanitation, during the luncheon that was organised on 20th May, 2025, for Ms. Anna Wellenstein, the World Bank Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa.
The luncheon was organized as a climax after the World Bank visited one of the sites where the project is implementing its activities to check the progress being made on the ground.
Honourable Mia said: “The Malawi government appreciates the continued partnership with the World Bank to reduce poverty and promote economic growth.”
She noted that the “country has enjoyed tremendous support from the World Bank in most of the critical sectors that spur economic growth, such as energy, agriculture, environment, health, education, transport, as well as water and sanitation, among others.”
On her part, Ms. Anna Wellenstein, the World Bank Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said that she was impressed with the implementation of the Malawi watershed improvement project.
She urged the project to continue carrying out its activities to empower the communities, thereby reducing poverty in the long run.
As one of the challenges, the Minister acknowledged the delays that have been experienced under the project, especially on the development of enabling infrastructure such as multipurpose water sources (multipurpose dams) and irrigation schemes, which could have been a catalyst for enhanced water and food security.
The Minister, further, requested the Bank’s support in prioritizing the financing of the second phase of MWASIP to facilitate the upscaling of the restoration of the watersheds and provision of essential infrastructure to improve various watershed services.
She noted that as a country, there is a need to do more to address the issue of landscape degradation and provide infrastructure that is transformational to spur economic growth, especially in the water sector.
KEY STATISTICS
- 70% of the targeted 13,000 ha of degraded forest area has already been restored;
- 75% of the targeted 15,000 ha of agricultural area is put under good soil and water conservation measures;
- 97% of the households within the targeted catchments under the project are now engaged in Sustainable Land Management (SLM) activities; and
- 48, 950 beneficiaries and being issued certificates out of over 61,000 adjudicated land parcels.