Download Committee: United Nations Development Programme

Malawi
United Nations Development Programme
Democratic governance
Dianya Pu, Min Qiao
Carmel High School
According to the United States Department of State, “democracy is a means to achieve
security, stability, and prosperity for the entire world.” However, even now countries such as
Egypt, Rwanda, Nigeria, Algeria, Zimbabwe, and the Sudan are still classified as authoritarian
states. Because of the lack of democratic governance in these countries, crisis such as the Darfur
Genocide has arisen and continuous plagues Africa.
Malawi believes that in order to alleviate and eradicate such human rights violations,
democracies must be instituted in these countries. As a state with a multi-party democracy,
Malawi can proudly proclaim that it has continued its pro-Western foreign policy, as established
by former President Banda. In order to achieve African democracy, Malawi has strove to
maintain strong diplomatic relations with other African countries. Malawi has also alleviated the
internal crisis of follow democratic country Mozambique by accommodating more than a million
of its refugees. Malawi is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the African Union, and
the Southern African Development Committee, all of which promote democracy and cooperation.
President Bingu wa Mutharika has committed himself on tackling corruption, strengthening the
government, promoting economic growth and reducing Malawi’s poverty levels. Malawi
understands that it recently fell short of holding an election in 2005, but it assures its Western
brothers that this deficiency was due the onslaught of draught. The importance of providing for
its citizen’s livelihood temporarily superseded the need for an election. It further guarantees that
the 2008 election will be held without additional delay.
The United Nations has aided the youthful democracy of Malawi by consolidating the
democracy and delivering social services in the country. The solutions Malawi proposes to the
ongoing problems include the continued promotion of African democracy through the African
Union and Western initiatives. Within the country, Malawi is dedicated to developing better
capacities to implement policies and plans as well as a plan to modify section 65 of the
Malawian constitution to strengthen Malawi’s democracy. Malawi is prepared to offer assistance
to any developing democracies in Africa as well as following in its Western brothers’ steps to
prevent any humanitarian crisis from occurring in Malawi.
Malawi
United Nations Development Programme
Poverty
Dianya Pu, Min Qiao
Carmel High School
Like in much of the rest of Africa, poverty has remained a major challenge to Malawi. As
a predominantly rural country in which the majority of the population is engaged in subsistence
farming, it is susceptible to adverse weather conditions and climate change.
In 1998, the Institute for Humane Studies revealed that 65.3 percent of the population in
Malawi lives below the poverty line. Malawi continues to have health and education indicators
that are among the worst in the world with its per capita GDP below $200. Distribution of
incomes is very unequal, and poverty is widespread and severe. These indicators of poor living
conditions persist despite the relatively high economic growth rates experienced by Malawi
during the 1970s and 1980s. In order to reduce the poverty levels and poor living conditions of
Malawians, the government of Malawi has launched the Malawi Growth and Development
Strategy in 2006. This policy has served as the framework to reduce poverty through economic
growth and empowerment of the poor and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
The United Nations’ initiative in eradicating poverty has also played a key role in
improving the living conditions in Malawi. 2006 brought about a year of great contrasts in
Malawi. The first few months of the year saw the UN contributing to a government-led, donor
supported effort to provide food assistance to 40 percent of the population, and famine was
averted. The UN has also commenced the millennium village project which instituted
millennium villages in rural areas of African countries. This project includes investments for bed
nets to fight malaria, for school lunch feeding programs and for improved safe water drinking
points. The results of this project have been dramatic. The distribution of free, insecticide-treated
bed nets in Villages has led to a decline in malaria by threefold and the project’s support of a
school feeding program has allowed over three times the number of students to be fed at schools.
All these actions by the UN have been crucial to the reduction of poverty in Malawi. Although
Malawians continues to suffer from poverty, a report from the Resident Coordinator's Office
states that the level of population living in extreme poverty has been reduced to only 22 percent.
As stated by the Malawian president, Bingu wa Mutharika, “My government's strategic objective
is to establish a sound foundation for sustainable economic growth and development.” For
Malawi, the solution to reduce poverty is simple. Malawi will continue to pursue the policies set
by the UN and cooperate with the UN in the movement towards achieving the Millennium
Development Goals. By raising productivity and promoting off-farm employment, incomes will
raise in villages. Higher incomes will also raise household savings and thus accelerate economic
diversification and household investments in human capital. The resulting economic growth in
the villages will reduce income- and non-income poverty, and enable the communities to finance
a growing share of investments to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.