Turning Commitments into Action: Deepening Disability Rights in Malawi

Blog by Chrissy Zimba, Program Officer Sub-Saharan Africa

The 2025 Malawi grantee convening in Mangochi brought together disability rights leaders, advocates, and civic society partners united by a common mission: to move beyond rhetoric and make disability inclusion an undeniable reality across every sector of society. Disability Rights Fund recognizes the importance of resourcing peer and collective learning opportunities to build unity and synergy and center the expertise and lived experiences of activists with disabilities.

Over four days in July, participants engaged in frank discussions about advocacy gains, the donor landscape, explored ways to align advocacy with global disability rights frameworks, and reaffirmed a collective commitment to prioritize persons with disabilities above organizational politics and personalities.

1. Rethinking Disability Financing

With the continued shrinking of disability rights funding, a sobering insight emerged: Malawi has relied too heavily on traditional funding mechanisms rather than exploring disability investment. This demands a shift in mindset:

• The focus should not only be on how much money is channeled to organizations of persons with disabilities, but on how resources directly fund inclusive services at both national and local levels
• Organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) must take the lead in developing sustainable financing models that benefit persons with disabilities rather than maintaining organizational overheads. OPDs must take the lead in developing sustainable financing models that directly benefit persons with disabilities rather than primarily sustaining organizational structures
• The recently adopted Global Disability Summit (GDS25) commitments by the Government of Malawi include a pledge to invest in the health sector budget to provide resources for community-based mental health care, inclusive medical equipment, accessible communication, disability awareness, an inclusive health workforce, and assistive devices within the next five years. Furthermore, by 2030, Malawi will review all health-related budgets to ensure they are fully disability inclusive.
• In addition, Malawi will establish a system for the ongoing engagement of persons with disabilities in national development processes, including budget consultations led by Federation of Disability Organizations in Malawi (FEDOMA) and the National Planning Commission). The government will also lobby for direct and sustainable donor funding to OPDs to strengthen their organizational capacity and guarantee meaningful participation (led by FEDOMA, INGOs, and the Treasury).

Resolutions adopted urged Ministry of Finance to allocate at least 15% of budgets of national budget to disability-related programs, with active monitoring to ensure that funds translate into tangible impact.

2. OPDs: Own Your Proposals

A strong reminder was raised on the importance of ownership in grant proposal development and priority-setting. OPDs in Malawi emphasized that they must not only take time to research, review, and refine their proposals, but also ensure that their priorities are well-aligned with the national development agenda.

This call goes beyond securing funding, it speaks to participation, credibility, and accountability. By leading the process themselves, OPDs can guarantee that proposed solutions genuinely reflect the realities and aspirations of Malawi’s disability community, rather than being shaped solely by external actors or donor preferences.

3. Center the Constituents, Not the Competition

Another powerful message set the tone for the convening: “It doesn’t matter who is doing what. What matters are the constituents we serve—persons with disabilities.”

This call challenges the movement to put collaboration before competition and to celebrate collective wins rather than individual credit.

4. Linking Local Action to Global Commitments

Participants reaffirmed the importance of grounding Malawi’s advocacy in global disability rights frameworks such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and other human rights framework including commitments made at GDS 2025. They stressed that:

• These commitments must not remain on paper; they should inform meetings, proposals, and national-level monitoring.
• OPDs need structured spaces to regularly review and apply these frameworks to ensure advocacy remains relevant, coherent, and impactful.
•  The government and other relevant actors should therefore allocate adequate funding to ensure the realization of these commitments

5. Breaking Barriers Through Representation

The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Dr. Nether Chisemphere, challenged persons with disabilities to step forward into political leadership roles. Representation at every level, from village councils to parliament, is critical for driving lasting change.

In her keynote, she emphasized: