ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS CAMPAIGN IN MALAWI
1. BRIEF BACKGROUND
The Millennium Development Goals, MDGs in short, represent a framework which world leaders agreed upon to reduce poverty and improve lives. The Millennium Summit of 189 world leaders in September 2000 pledged to meet the eight MDGs by 2015. Malawi as a signatory to the Millennium Declaration is facing a lot of challenges to eradicate poverty. According to the HDR (2009), Malawi ranks 160/177 countries with around 40% spending less than US$1 per day. GDP per capita is around US$149.
Towards the end of 2004, a global movement called Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) was founded at a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa and officially launched on 1 January 2005 at the World Social Forum in Porto Allegre, Brazil. The movement seeks to monitor, coordinate and facilitate activities on MDGs and related activities in its quest to remind world leaders to fulfill their promises. Since its launch, several anti-poverty campaigns have been carried out during national and international conferences/summits/dates to pressurise leaders to live up to their promises.
CONGOMA was designated national GCAP’s campaign focal point in 2005. In February 2006, a National Civil Society Taskforce on MDGs in Malawi was formed (refer to Annex 1: Members of the National Civil Society Taskforce on MDGs in Malawi for more information). The purpose of the taskforce is to coordinate MDG activities carried out by over 450 CSOs (FBOs, NGOs, CBOs, trade unions etc) in Malawi. Largely composed of sector networks, the Taskforce which consists of 24 members including the media and faith based organisations seeks to ensure that activities and policies on specific MDGs are properly designed, monitored and implemented to benefit the poor. The Taskforce has so far:
1. supported networks and other civil society organisations in coordinating activities on MDGs
2. developed a CSO implementation plan of activities on MDGs
3. produced and disseminated CSO counterpart reports on progress on achievements of MDGs in Malawi.
4. fundraised for taskforce activities in collaboration with CONGOMA
5. developed a monitoring and evaluation system/mechanism on MDGs i.e. resource allocation, impact etc
6. raised awareness on MDGs.
7. advocated and lobbied for MDGs implementation
2. CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES
2.1. Overall Objective:
To ensure that activities and development policies are properly designed, implemented and monitored to achieve MDG targets by 2015 in line with both local, regional and international development strategies .
2.2. Specific Objectives:
- To strengthen policy, social and political dialogue/consultations between government, parliamentarians, civil society organizations and other development stakeholders;
- To endorse a civil society organization’s national monitoring and evaluation mechanism of MDGs in line with the national M & E system;
- To advocate for renewed government’s commitment to MDGs and the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS);
- To campaign for increased awareness of MDGs to the whole country with special focus on women, girls and other excluded groups.
3. CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE
CONGOMA Membership
Board of trustees
Governing Council
National Taskforce
National GCAP Secretariat (CONGOMA)
Desk Officer
4. SOME ACHIEVEMENTS
- Production of MDGs shadow reports and other relevant reports. So far, the national coalition has produced three shadow reports based on government reports on MDGs.
- Coordination of various civil society partners including youth organisations, faith based organisation and other non-state actors on issues surrounding MDGs and poverty eradication
- Intensification of media advocacy through publicity materials, print and electronic media. The messages have included what the Government, Parliament, donors/WTO/IMF, CSOs, traditional leaders, ordinary villagers and other institutions need to do in order to win the battle against poverty
- Broad participation in reviewing and monitoring the MGDS, a development strategy which localises MDGs
- Maintaining contact and dialogue with Government on various policy issues. This includes the Executive, Parliament and line government ministries e.g. access to medicines, budget analysis, maternal mortality issues and climate change
- Engagement of the general public through popular mobilisation, particularly during commemoration dates e.g. women’s day, campaign against maternal mortality, youth poverty hearings, international youth day, world poverty day etc. The coalition has shown that it is capable of mobilising more people potential that it is capable of mobilising
5. KEY LESSONS
- Public discussion with local communities, government officials and other development stakeholders greatly motivates and inspires communities to support local development programmes
- Regular contact with government officials, donor community, traditional leaders, coalition members and the grassroots on the campaign has given a powerful capacity and mandate to the coalition to the extent that it cannot be ignored in various development fora at national level. This is so because the coalition’s taskforce has been seen operating to the expectations of its membership/partners and responding to their demands where possible and is participatory such that members/partners take part in key decision making processes to ensure ownership of the institution.
- Implementing activities relevant to the masses enhances program efficiency. This is clearly manifested in Malawi as the coalition is getting support from the general public on various issues surrounding the welfare of the marginalised. The massive support is giving the coalition more impetus to campaign against various forms of injustice existing in Malawi and beyond.
6. REGULAR ACTIVITIES
The coalition regularly implements the following activities:
- Engaging Government Ministries, Parliament/Parliamentary Committees, judiciary and bi/multilateral institutions on specific policy issues related to MDGs targets
- Popular mobilisation and advocacy during coalition’s key moments including World Poverty Day.
- Budget, Constituency Fund, Local Development Fund and Youth Fund tracking/monitoring through the national coalition’s taskforce members, who happen to be sectoral/thematic networks.
- Media advocacy e.g. press conferences, press releases, feature articles, radio and TV programmes etc
- Collaboration with faith based organisations, private sector, youth groups, schools/colleges and issue based campaigners
- Production and dissemination of advocacy materials
- Production and dissemination of shadow report
7. MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY TASKFORCE ON MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs) IN MALAWI
1. Council for NGOs in Malawi (CONGOMA) – Taskforce Secretariat
2. Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET)
3. Hope for the Elderly (HOFE)
4. Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN)
5. Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Education (CSCQBE)
6. Forum for African Women Educationists in Malawi (FAWEMA)
7. NGO Gender Coordination Network (NGOGCN)
8. Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN)
9. Malawi Network of AIDS Service Organisations (MANASO)
10. National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi (NAPHAM)
11. Micah Challenge – Malawi Chapter
12. Federation for Disability Organisations in Malawi (FEDOMA)
13. Coordination Unit for the Rehabilitation of the Environment (CURE))
14. Network of Organizations working with Vulnerable Orphans and Children (NOVOC)
15. Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC)
16. National Media Institute of Southern Africa (NAMISA)
17. Malawi Congress of Trade Union (MCTU)
18. Eye for Development (for the Youth)
19. National Organisation of Nurses and Midwives in Malawi (NONM)
20. Institute for Policy Research and Social Empowerment (IPRSE)
21. Action Aid International Malawi – Ex-Officio
22. Joint OXFAM Programme in Malawi – Ex-Officio
23. Lilongwe City Assembly – Ex-Officio
24. UNDP – Ex-Officio