{"id":3581,"date":"2025-04-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/news\/malawis-kick-off-meeting-for-the-multi-country-gcf-readiness-project-calls-for-enhanced-capacity-for-climate-finance-programming\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T16:12:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T15:12:21","slug":"malawis-kick-off-meeting-for-the-multi-country-gcf-readiness-project-calls-for-enhanced-capacity-for-climate-finance-programming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/news\/malawis-kick-off-meeting-for-the-multi-country-gcf-readiness-project-calls-for-enhanced-capacity-for-climate-finance-programming\/","title":{"rendered":"Malawi\u2019s Kick-Off Meeting for the Multi-Country GCF Readiness Project Calls for Enhanced Capacity for Climate Finance Programming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Held from 9 &#8211; 10 April 2025 in Lilongwe, the meeting was organised by the Ministry of Water and Sanitation with technical support from Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA). The meeting brought together a diverse range of stakeholders, including representatives from Malawi\u2019s Nationally Designated Authority (NDA), officials from key ministries and departments linked to water, sanitation, and climate change and technical experts from GWPSA.<\/p>\n<p>The workshop discussed strategies to enhance capacity for climate finance programming, strengthening water investment project pipelines, and aligning national plans with global climate action priorities.<\/p>\n<p>In his opening remarks, Mr. Elias Chimlambe, Principal Secretary for Water and Sanitation, reaffirmed Malawi\u2019s commitment to water security and climate adaptation efforts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis workshop is an opportunity for our sector to brainstorm game-changing water and sanitation projects that could benefit from climate financing. As you are aware, there are global financing cuts which are a real threat to the achievement of SDG 6. We must pursue every financing opportunity with all seriousness,\u201d said Mr. Chimlambe.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Malawi Kick-Off Group Photo\" alt=\"Malawi Kick-Off Group Photo\" src=\"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/04\/malawi-kickoff-group-photo-640x300-1-1.jpg\" height=\"300\" width=\"640\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><b>Mr. Elias Chimlambe, Principal Secretary &#8211; Ministry of Water and Sanitation (seated centre) in a group photo with Malawi\u2019s water sector stakeholders during kick-off meeting<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The workshop provided Malawi\u2019s water sector an opportunity to consolidate gaps and align project ideas with the Malawi 2063 Vision, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and the Malawi 2063 First 10-Year Implementation Plan (MIP-1).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMalawi aims at achieving universal access to safe water and sanitation through guiding blocks such as the Malawi 2063 agenda and the Malawi first 10-year implementation plan (MIP-1). The Ministry has outlined a number of priority areas for both water supply, water resources and sanitation in alignment with the country\u2019s vision and strategic plans,\u201d explained Dr. Max Wengawenga, Deputy Director of Planning in Malawi\u2019s Ministry of Water and Sanitation, who also made a presentation on the priorities.<\/p>\n<p>A World Health Organization and UNICEF joint monitoring 2023 report revealed that Malawi still has challenges around water and sanitation. Some of the findings included the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>30% of households, representing 7 million persons, do not have basic drinking water<\/li>\n<li>76% of the population (14 million people) are using unimproved sanitation<\/li>\n<li>43% of rural populations (6.8 million people) and 49% of urban persons (1.4 million people) populations had access to at least basic sanitation<\/li>\n<li>17% of rural populations (2,698,698 people) and 7% of urban populations (211,663 people) have no handwashing facility on their premises<\/li>\n<li>92% (17 million persons) do not practice handwashing with soap and water<\/li>\n<li>&gt;24% of public institutions (health facilities, learning centres etc) do not have access to climate-resilient WASH facilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Malawi is one of 15 African Union Member States participating in the AU AIP Multi-Country GCF Readiness Project, which is designed to build national capacities for accessing and implementing GCF resources for water-related climate action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis initiative stands to support AU Member States to unlock climate finance. The project seeks to build their capacity for water investment planning to address climate change risks that affect the water sector. The programme will enhance access to climate finance so that there can be more investments. This is part of efforts to bridge the annual investment gap of about $30 billion, which exists in the water sector,\u201d said Mr. Joseph Mbinji, Programme Officer for the AU AIP Multi-Country GCF Readiness Project at GWPSA.<\/p>\n<p>Through group discussions and technical sessions, the workshop in Malawi produced draft concepts for projects aimed at addressing key water challenges. Among the project ideas discussed were:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Solar-Powered Groundwater Resilience Water Supply Systems<\/li>\n<li>Integrated Surface and Groundwater Climate Adaptation Projects<\/li>\n<li>Sustainable Water Access for Market Centres and Public Institutions<\/li>\n<li>Real-time Groundwater Monitoring Systems<\/li>\n<li>Climate Shock Management using Managed Aquifer Recharge<\/li>\n<li>Sanitation Infrastructure Projects, including faecal sludge treatment and school toilet systems<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These initiatives will feed into Malawi\u2019s broader Water Investment Programme (WIP), currently under development with support from the World Bank.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A key takeaway was the need to ensure synergy between the AU AIP framework and Malawi\u2019s Water Investment Programme to maximise impact and avoid duplication. As GWPSA, we are happy that the World Bank is already supporting the process of developing the WIP, which is one of the deliverables under the GCF Readiness Project. We will collaborate with them to make this a success,&#8221; explained Mrs. Debora Muheka, National Technical Coordinator for the AU AIP Multi-Country GCF Readiness Project in Malawi.<\/p>\n<p>The workshop concluded with a strong call to action from Mr. Stanley Kamtukule, Deputy Director for Water Resources, who thanked participants for their dedication and emphasised the importance of sustained collaboration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is only the beginning. With GCF support and the AIP framework guiding us, Malawi is well on its way to unlocking climate finance that will improve water security and the lives of our people,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p>Follow-up actions include the development of pre-concept notes by the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, feedback from the NDA on nominated Direct Access Entities (DAEs), and realignment of terms of reference for consultants working on the WIP to align with AIP guidelines on the development of national Water Investment Programme.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Photos&nbsp;courtesy of Malawi\u2019s Ministry of Water &amp; Sanitation&nbsp;<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In its continued efforts to strengthen climate resilience in the water sector, water stakeholders in Malawi gathered for a two-day kick-off workshop for activities under the AU AIP Multi-Country Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Project, being implemented under the broader umbrella of the Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP), a flagship initiative aimed at closing Africa\u2019s water investment gap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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its continued efforts to strengthen climate resilience in the water sector, water stakeholders in Malawi gathered for a two-day kick-off workshop for activities under the AU AIP Multi-Country Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Project, being implemented under the broader umbrella of the Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP), a flagship initiative aimed at closing&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3581"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4400,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3581\/revisions\/4400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}