Some non-governmental organisations working under the Council for Nongovernmental Organisations in Malawi (Congoma) are strategising to consolidate efforts aimed at easing the poverty burden.
Malawi is ranked amongst poorest countries in Africa with most citizens living below the poverty line as measured by the World Bank.
The group is engaging other stakeholders to come up with lasting solutions to the problem and are targeting to use the NGO week in October as a platform discuss underlying factors escalating poverty levels among the people of Malawi.
Congoma Chairperson, Macbain Mkandawire, said the group will use advocacy as a first step towards addressing poverty levels in the country.
“We need to begin to think outside the box to address this problem,” Mkandawire said.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a cocktail Congoma hosted for the private sector to unveil the initiative to them.
Among other things, the initiative will involve devising measures towards inculcating savings culture among Malawians and fostering an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
Mkandawire then called for reforms to the agriculture sector suggesting that a shift from subsistence agriculture to commercial farming would be a step in the right direction in ensuring that more Malawians earn better returns from agriculture.
The NGOs are planning to engage government and the private sector during the NGO week to find solutions for the country to break from the poverty trap.
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