CRS Work in Malawi

Partnership development and capacity building for counterparts and CRS staff, as well as community participation and ownership, drive CRS' work in Malawi. Using an integrated approach to sustainable development, CRS strives to help vulnerable communities improve food security through activities in:

• Health and Nutrition
• HIV and AIDS
• Agriculture and Marketing
• Justice and Peace
• Disaster Risk Management

CRS is moving towards an integrated model of development, addressing pressing food shortages, while at the same time working to increase the ability of vulnerable people to meet their own livelihood needs in the long term. In order to bridge the gap between these two goals, CRS/Malawi is increasingly focusing on HIV and AIDS and Justice and Peace interventions, which have an underlying impact on food insecurity and poverty in Malawi.

Some specific examples of our work include the following:

Managing the HIV and AIDS Crisis

CRS is taking a comprehensive approach in dealing with the HIV and AIDS pandemic in Malawi. Through local partners, CRS is providing home-based care to patients while also assisting families affected by HIV and AIDS to reduce their own vulnerability through the distribution of food and seeds, orphan care, and productive initiatives such as vocational training. In all of the country's HIV and AIDS programming, mitigation, care and support are key components.

Increasing Resilience to Shocks

CRS engages communities in livelihood assessments at the community and household levels in order to create community action plans for coping with risks and shocks, such as HIV and AIDS, drought and flooding.

Addressing Underlying Causes of Injustice

CRS promotes social justice by improving communities' awareness of their human rights through community-based mobilization and training, and by providing support to the creation of justice and peace structures at the grassroots level.