The Mango Tree Kenya started working in Mwanza, Neno, Chikwawa and Nsanje Districts in southern Malawi in 2018. 85% of these communities are dependent on agricultural livelihoods that rely on access to a steady supply of raw materials, as well as markets to sell crops. COVID-19 lockdowns alongside international and local trade restrictions have been particularly problematic for these communities over the past couple of years. This has prevented local farmers from utilising established coping strategies to manage financial strain and left them disconnected from their supply chains.

In addition, Malawis economy is recovering from the adverse effects of two consecutive years of drought, followed by widespread flooding and cyclones, which destroyed harvests in 2017, 2019 and again in 2022. Global food insecurity and economic uncertainty is likely to continue to hamper this recovery, severely undermining the ability of rural communities to rebuild their local economies and especially affecting those with limited capacity to grow food or diversify their livelihoods.

In Malawi the national literacy rate is 73% among the youth population; this is lower than the average compared with other low-income countries, with notably disparity in rates between richer and poorer families. 61% of 15-24 year olds have not completed primary education. In the communities where we work it is estimated that approximately 35% of children from the poorest households are not attending secondary school.