President Lazarus Chakwera has said the freeze in United States (US) aid has been disruptive to Malawi.
He was speaking during a chat on Podcast Malawi on Tuesday, when he was asked as to what plans the government has to mitigate the impact of the aid freeze, which has already seen 27,000 jobs being lost.
On January 20 this year, US President Donald Trump sanctioned a 90-day halt on foreign aid, a decision that affected all financial support distributed by the United States Agency for International Development (USaid).
The decision has had a profound impact on sectors and generated widespread alarm worldwide, none more so than in Africa.
According to Chakwera, at the moment, what is important is to seek alternative partnerships to avoid a big sense of loss and let down.
He admitted that 27,000 jobs lost was not a small number.
“Sometimes, this just shows us that we need to see some things from a distance on how we can be prepared; how to manage some skills by encouraging issues of technology-based programmes, Tevet [technical, entrepreneurial, vocational, education training] programmes— job creation programmes which do not necessarily depend on someone from outside.
“Because, let’s face it, this is truly a global village. You have bilateral relations but you also have multilateral relations and you need to navigate these things,” Chakwera said.
He observed that diversifying the economy through the promotion of agriculture mechanisation would help create sustainable jobs.
“Today’s misfortunes could lead to good fortunes tomorrow [prompting us] to look at even the young people we are training now. Are we giving them the sufficient skills matching what is out there on the market so that everyone is relevant?
“A child sometimes grows the same day his father dies. Because now they have a different sense of responsibility they didn’t have yesterday. And so, rather than just saying I am finished, you wipe out your tears and make sure that life must go on. So, we will look at other partnerships which could help.
“In fact, we are discussing [the issue] with them because this new [US] administration will still relate to other nations, including Malawi. And, so, we have always believed in contact and dialogue and we are also doing that even as we speak,” Chakwera said.
In 2023, USaid had allocated a total of $12.1billion to countries in sub-Saharan Africa with the objective of improving healthcare, delivering food assistance and promoting security. Critically, USaid distributes funds for the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aid Relief (Pepfar), the Global Fund to fight Aids.
The 90-day funding freeze has caused considerable distress across Africa, as millions of people that are dependent on services supported by the US government now face a daunting and uncertain future.
The US Government was giving more than $350 million to Malawi annually, according to the US Department of State. This represents more than 13 percent of the 2024- 25 budget of the recipient country, where over half of healthcare spending comes from foreign donors.
Since 2003, the US has put more than $2.1 billion into fighting HIV and Aids, malaria and tuberculosis.
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