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This insights brief by the Southern African Resilience Academy (SARA) examines the role of urban informality in building equitable resilience in cities across southern Africa and the Global South. It argues that while informality is often invisible or viewed as a challenge, it provides critical services, livelihoods, and innovation that can enhance urban resilience if harnessed through inclusive governance and partnerships.

This policy briefing examines the historically strained bilateral relationship between Mozambique and Malawi, detailing the causes of distrust and the recent efforts to recalibrate relations following the change of leadership in Malawi in 2012.

This case study describes the operational challenges faced by Carlsberg Malawi Ltd. (CML), a beverages company operating in Malawi through three subsidiaries: Southern Bottlers Malawi Limited, Carlsberg Malawi Brewery Limited, and Malawi Distilleries Limited.

Sunbird Tourism, the largest hospitality provider in Malawi, faces significant operational barriers including high taxes (specifically a 1% tourism levy and a turnover tax), difficulty accessing international finance, and infrastructure deficits in electricity and water. While the company leverages local pension funds for finance and internal training to address a shortage of senior Malawian management, it continues to struggle with high costs associated with backup utilities and the loss of import tax incentives.

The research paper argues that violent protests in Malawi were a symptom of an economic crisis caused by growth without productive investment. Despite aid and debt relief, the government focused on consumption and subsidies rather than supply-side constraints, leading to a rising trade deficit, foreign exchange shortages, and a failure to develop human capacity, leaving 70% of the population in extreme poverty.

This research paper examines the crisis of road infrastructure decay across Africa, highlighting the gap between maintenance needs and available national budgets, the resulting economic losses, and various funding and management strategies being tested to address the deficit.

This report chapter details the development of anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) frameworks in Malawi between 2004 and 2006. It outlines the legislative struggle to pass the Money Laundering, Proceeds of Serious Crime and Terrorist Financing Act 2006, the regulatory measures introduced by the Reserve Bank of Malawi, and the systemic challenges facing enforcement, including limited police capacity and the absence of a national identity system.

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) conducted two workshops in Blantyre and Lilongwe in March 2006 to educate Malawian accountants on money laundering and terrorist financing. The workshops highlighted Malawi's vulnerability due to its cash-dominated economy and the prevalence of corruption. Participants urged the government to pass the pending anti-money laundering bill, establish an autonomous financial intelligence unit, and engage the judiciary to ensure the law's effectiveness. While generally well-received, participants called for better preparation and more localized practical examples in future sessions.

This case study examines the Malawi Police Service's (MPS) institutional response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. While the MPS is noted as having one of the most developed public sector responses in Malawi, including a formal policy and coordinating structures, it faces significant challenges including high attrition rates, staffing shortages, and a policy framework that is poorly disseminated and lacks specific implementation guidelines.

This situation report by the Institute for Security Studies analyzes the political climate in Malawi as of November 2003, focusing on President Bakili Muluzi's efforts to amend the constitution to secure a third term in office. The document details the tension between the executive and the judiciary, the fragmentation of political parties based on leadership personalities rather than ideology, and the risk of Malawi regressing toward the autocratic patterns seen during the regime of Hastings Kamuzu Banda.

This report presents the results of Malawi's first National Crime Victimisation Survey, conducted between May and July 2003. The survey of 6,861 respondents reveals that while violent crime is relatively uncommon, property crimes—specifically crop and livestock theft—are prevalent and closely linked to food shortages and poverty, termed 'crimes of need'. The document also examines public perceptions of safety, the performance of the police and courts, and the role of community-based security groups.

This research paper provides a historical analysis of civil-military relations in Malawi, tracing the evolution of the state's security apparatus from the pre-colonial Maravi Kingdom through British colonial rule and the one-party state under Hastings Kamuzu Banda to the current multi-party system. It examines the role of the Malawi Army and the Malawi Young Pioneers (MYP) as instruments of both state security and political control, highlighting the transition toward professional civilian oversight and international peacekeeping roles after 1994.