National Development Plan of Malawi

The National Development Strategy 1997-2020 was launched in March 1998. This vision statement was prepared by a team representing civil society and private sector as well as government. Their work was guided by a broad national consultation process, at the end of which the statement, Vision 2020, expressed the aspiration of the people of Malawi that: ‘By the year 2020 Malawi, as a God-fearing nation, will be secure, democratically mature, environmentally sustainable and self-reliant, with equal opportunities for and active participation by all; having social services, vibrant cultural and religious values, and being a technologically driven middle-income economy’.

Vision 2020 also sets out a path for the country’s long-term development, providing a framework for the government to prepare medium-term development plans, such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy 2002-05 and the Growth and Development Strategy 2006-10, as well as a national participatory machinery for monitoring progress against the long-term strategy.