The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced the launch of Let Them Grow Healthy (Tiwalere) in Malawi today. Tiwalere is a five-year, $46 million initiative, subject to appropriations, in support of the Government of Malawi’s National Multi-Sector Nutrition Policy. It is anticipated that USAID will invest $23 million and that the private sector will match this by also contributing $23 million.
This alliance of for-profit corporations, non-governmental organizations, and USAID aims to improve the health of Malawians, particularly adolescents, pregnant and lactating women, and children by expanding quality nutrition, maternal and child health, water and sanitation, and malaria program coverage. A focus of the project will be pregnancy through a child’s second birthday, when good nutrition and health care are critical for growth and development. The initiative will support local care groups and communities to produce a local, nutritious fortified food product that would be distributed through a sustainable, market-based approach.
Malawi has achieved dramatic gains in most health indicators over the past decade by focusing on improved delivery of essential health services. With support from the U.S. government, Malawi has made significant progress in child health, reducing mortality for children under age five by 50 percent and malaria-related mortality by 43 percent since 2010. USAID partners with the Government of Malawi to continue addressing these challenges.