Lilongwe, 13 August 2022 (TDI): Malawi’s Parliament launched a Population and Sustainable Development Caucus on 12th August 2022.

The purpose of establishing it is to advocate for population management. The USAID-funded project is supporting its launch and is implementing by African Institute for Development Policy – AFIDEP and other partners.

Agenda of the Parliamentary Caucus

Members of Parliament for Dowa West, Abel Kayembe, and Thyolo Central legislator, Ben Phiri is the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Caucus respectively. The Caucus is a way of dealing with the country’s rapid population growth.

Speaking to Journalists at Parliament building in Lilongwe, Chairperson for the Caucus, Abel Kayembe said, “We need to manage the economy very well, there will be pressure on the environment and social sector especially provision of infrastructure in the education and health sectors, all those will hinge everyone.”

He also disclosed the fact that the Caucus would be championing and advocating for policy reforms on population growth at the Parliamentary level.

According to the latest reports of the United Nations, the current population of Malawi is over 20 million. The country’s population is going to surpass 50 million by 2058 and would triple by the year 2099.

Policymakers are of the view that if the population continues to increase at this rate there will be pressure on various sectors.

It includes the economy, health sector, and social sector, especially in the provision of infrastructure. The country first needs to focus on the population issues by advancing policies that manage the population.

Furthermore, the resolution of population issues through policy reforms is the main goal. It is going to help the country in achieving its vision of 2063.

The Malawi 2063 aims to transform Malawi into a wealthy and self-reliant industrialized upper middle-income nation by the year 2063.

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