Civil society organisations have urged government to scale up social spending in the 2026/27 National Budget, warning that persistent underinvestment is eroding human capital, weakening productivity and undermining long-term economic growth. This is based on submissions Link for Education Governance in Malawi and the Malawi Health Equity Network during the first leg of pre-budget consultations on Friday in Lilongwe. The groups highlighted deep financing gaps in education and health service delivery.
In his presentation, Link for Education Governance in Malawi representative Benedicto Kondowe observed that the budget continues to prioritise access over quality, with capital expenditure in the education sector remaining critically low. He cautioned that inadequate funding for examinations, infrastructure and curriculum rollout and child protection services is compromising learning outcomes and future earnings for learners. Kondowe said while the government has adopted a new competency-based curriculum aligned with Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development plan, insufficient financing risks turning reform into a paper exercise.
“Access without quality does not deliver results,” he said, noting that under-funded examinations, damaged school infrastructure and weak investment in early childhood education threaten the integrity of the education system and the employability of graduates. Malawi Health Equity Network executive director George Jobe said funding constraints are already translating into service disruptions, rising accident-related injuries and limited capacity to respond to climate-related health shocks. He argued that shrinking donor support has exposed Malawi’s failure to build sustainable domestic financing for essential health services.
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The concerns come against the backdrop of Malawi repeatedly missing its international commitments. In the 2025/26 Budget, health spending fell short of the Abuja Declaration target of allocating 15 percent of national expenditure to health while education financing also remained below the Dakar Declaration benchmark of 20 percent. Civil society groups warned that continued failure to meet these thresholds will worsen inequality, reduce labour productivity and lock the economy into low-growth cycles.
In his response, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha acknowledged the funding pressures, but said blanket subsidies in education and health are limiting the government’s ability to expand social spending. He said: “Our social services, education and health, are subsidising high-earning individuals. We have students who came from international schools paying millions, but are now paying a subsidised rate of about K400 000 in public universities.”
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