In 2006 the Regional Network for Equity in Health in east and southern Africa (EQUINET)
and the Health Systems Research Unit of Medical Research Council (MRC), South Africa
commissioned a series of country case studies on existing food security and nutrition
programmes in the region that demonstrate good practice in health systems promotion of
food sovereignty and equity. This report outlines one of the case studies.
Malawi’s greatest developmental challenges over the past 10 years have been its high levels
of poverty, recurring food insecurity and widespread malnutrition. All three of these social
phenomena are linked because poorer households cannot buy sufficient food for their
needs, cannot get a suitable income from their own agricultural production, and suffer from
malnutrition as a result. In response to the crisis, levels of global food aid to Malawi have
increased and food aid has become a key way to address food insecurity and malnutrition in
the country.