By Memory Chatonda

Blantyre, November 13, Mana: Blantyre District Council is set to enroll at least 11,909 ultra-poor households into the Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) in the retargeting exercise, currently underway in the district.

Speaking during the extraordinary full council meeting in Blantyre on Wednesday, Principal Social Welfare Officer in the Ministry of Gender, Given Mukisi said the exercise follows the 2019 study on the impact of the Malawi SCTP on lifecycle vulnerabilities, which revealed that the current targeting approach indirectly reaches many individuals with lifecycle vulnerabilities.

Mukisi said it was thought necessary by the Ministry of Gender, with support from United Nations Children Fund to explore a new, innovative targeting approach to cover the lifecycle vulnerabilities.

“During the retargeting exercise, the selection criteria for the households would include those headed by a child, those with at least one member with a chronic illness, a household with a member with a disability, those with one child aged two or below and those with at least one member aged 65 and above,” she said.

Mukisi said overall, Blantyre will have 11,909 beneficiaries, a slight increase from the current number of beneficiaries which is at 7,869.

She, therefore, underscored the significance of the SCTP which aims at reducing poverty, malnutrition and improve school enrollment.

In his remarks, District Commissioner for Blantyre, Alex Mdooko welcomed the retargeting exercise, observing that it helps to address inclusion and exclusion errors.

Blantyre District Council Chairperson, Elson Dumuka urged local leaders to work in unity to ensure that various social protection programmes, like the SCTP being implemented by the council, benefit the intended households at the grassroots level.

The SCTP targets 10 percent of ultra-poor households which are sourced from the Unified Beneficiary Registry database.