Bilateral and Multilateral Co-operation
Malawi is a member of the Commonwealth; the Southern African Development Community (SADC); the United Nations; the African Union; the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa; the World Trade Organization; the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States; and the Non-Aligned Movement. The Malawi and German governments co-operate closely in the areas of basic education, democratic decentralisation and health. On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Development Cooperation (GDC) is investing over €6.5 million in the Malawi health programme for 2009–11. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) programmes in Malawi are focused on universal primary education, HIV/AIDS education and prevention, water sanitation and gender equality. CIDA’s disbursements for projects and initiatives in Malawi totalled US$17.3 million in 2006–07. USAID also works in Malawi to promote the country’s political and economic development, and to improve the delivery and access to health services and education. Since USAID started providing assistance to Malawi in the early 1960s, its contribution has totalled more than US$1 billion.