By Tione Andsen

Dowa, September 9, Mana: Oxfam has acknowledged the support and collaboration from various stakeholders saying they have assisted towards successful Implementation of phase I & II of Food and Nutrition Security Programme (FNSP) with funding from Germany Cooperation through GIZ.

Livelihoods Resilience Programme Manager for Oxfam, Steve Kuliyazi said this Monday during the planning meeting for the ‘Increasing Resource Allocation and Prioritization of Nutrition in Malawi Phase III Project at Chikho Hotel at Mponela in Dowa. 

He said the implementation of this initiative started in June 2020 and it began with Phase I, which was implemented from June 2020 to October 2021, followed by Phase II from January 2022 to December 2023.

Kuliyazi stated that the two phases focused on strengthening the capacity of national and district councils to advocate for increased resource allocation and accountability in the nutrition sector.

“I am happy to report that through these efforts, the project successfully contributed towards several achievements in the nutrition sector.

“For instance, the devolution of the Nutrition budget line, which we are all celebrating, is benefiting all 28 districts, which is beyond the three targeted districts of Dowa, Salima and Dedza,” he explained.

The Manager said this has strengthened the movement in advancing nutrition, comprising various stakeholders including CSOs, private sector, local communities, technocrats and the media.

Kuliyazi said the initiative contributed to positioning of nutrition onto the national agenda as demonstrated by the pronouncements of strategic commitments by high profile stakeholders during the launch of the SUN 3.0 in September 2021

He added that the project also strengthened integration of nutrition in district planning frameworks such as District Socio Economic Profiles (SEPs) and District Development Plans (DDPs) of many districts.

“The capacity of DNCCs in the three districts of Dowa, Salima and Dedza in policy engagement of the nutrition sector, led to the development of district-specific advocacy plans and costed district nutrition Implementation Plans to guide the district-level nutrition response,” the Manager added.

He said the project supported media houses in documenting, airing and publishing stories on nutrition which helped to amplify local voices, drawing the attention of district and national-level decision-makers of the nutrition sector.

Kuliyazi observed that despite this progress, significant nutrition-related problems persist, including the triple burden of malnutrition, low dietary diversity, high prevalence of stunting, low resource allocation to the nutrition sector, the absence of nutrition indicators in the programme-based budget at the district council level and limited foothold of food system transformation narrative in the country.

He said phase III project was developed to build on the achievements of Phase I & II, and continue to leverage on the opportunities presented by these two phases.

Kuliyazi said they would promote the Food System Transformation Approach among district councils, policymakers, and decision-makers.

He said phase III has been planned to be implemented from July 2024 to Jan 2025, targeting Salima and Dedza districts for local level action whose evidence will be used to engage nutrition and food system policy at national level.

Budget Analysis at National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC), Jonathan Banda said the first budget 2023/24 financial year with an amount provided for within the financial year K109 million which was 100 percent funding for that year.

“For 2024/25, the annual provision for council has risen to K250.7 million averaging K 8 million per council. As at July 2024, 37 percent of annual budget was funded,’’ he noted.