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Malawi

Contacts

Marianna Balampama

deputy regional director, africa
mbalampama@pactworld.org

Jacquie Stone

program manager
jstone@pactworld.org

For decades, Pact has been internationally regarded for its innovative capacity development approaches that help communities gain self-reliance and resilience. Pact’s work in Malawi is based on that tradition.

Pact implements the Restoring Fisheries for Sustainable Livelihoods in Lake Malawi program, or REFRESH. The effort is conserving the freshwater biodiversity of Lake Malawi by restoring natural fisheries productivity and ensuring that aquatic habitats are healthy and well-managed, that endemic fish populations are self-sustaining, and that Lake Malawi fisheries are managed sustainably by 2024.

REFRESH builds on communities' successes under Pact's FISH project, which built social, ecological and economic resilience to climate change and significantly improved biodiversity conservation through sustainable fisheries co-management. The project's Pact-led consortium enabled communities and local government to protect four of Malawi’s main lakes, which contribute significantly to the health of the country and its people. 

Stories and Highlights

In Malawi, building gender equality in the fish sector is key to community wellbeing

April 15, 2022
Margret Aaron Phiri understands well the hardships of gender inequality in Malawi. As a widow, she struggled to take care of her children without a man to bring in income. Business and work outside...
A Lake Malawi sunset. Credit: David Bonnardeaux/Pact.

Pact’s REFRESH project uses data, new collection app to help restore Lake Malawi

January 25, 2022
It’s hard to overstate the importance of Lake Malawi. It is the most biologically diverse lake in the world, with more than 1,000 fish species and about 15 percent of global freshwater fish...

After an HIV peer mentor changes his life, a fisherman in Malawi pays it forward

April 16, 2019
By Maggie Makawa and Mercy Phiri Fishermen are more likely to respond positively to information when it comes from their peers. This is why the Fisheries Integration of Societies and Habitats project...
A BVC member in Mangochi presents a petition to the chair of the PCAIWD committee, Chidanti Malunga.

Parliamentary committee supports Malawi's fisheries sector

March 21, 2019
By Mercy Phiri The main objectives of the USAID-funded Fisheries Integration of Societies and Habitats project, or FISH, are to increase resiliency to climate change and improve biodiversity...

A fish processor in Malawi protects the environment, one stove at a time

March 18, 2019
By Goodwell Thunga Necessity breeds invention, as the saying goes. This was exactly the case for Vincent Sande, a soft-spoken man who owns a self-built fish processing facility beneath a makeshift...

The FISH project in Malawi

January 2, 2019
The Fisheries Integration of Society and Habitats (FISH) project is increasing social, ecological and economic resilience to climate change and improving biodiversity conservation through sustainable...

MBC Documentary: The FISH project in Malawi

December 12, 2018
This documentary by the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation explores Pact's FISH project, which is funded by USAID. FISH -- The Fisheries Integration of Society and Habitats project -- is increasing...

Partnering to End HIV in Malawi

November 11, 2018
USAID and PEPFAR's approach to pursuing HIV epidemic control is transforming lives and supporting the development of healthy, self-reliant Malawian people.

In historic milestone, Malawi fishing communities take true ownership over local natural resource management

September 3, 2018
The notion of participatory fisheries management isn’t new in Malawi. It was first introduced 25 years ago as a means to address collapsing fish species populations in the country’s lakes, which have...

To stop the spread of HIV in Malawi, bringing services to fishermen is critical

July 26, 2018
By Mercy Phiri Layton Nyama lives in Makawa, a village in Mangochi along the southwest arm of Lake Malawi. His only source of income is fishing. Last year, though, Layton began having trouble doing...