Document Abstract
Published:
2003
Early child development baseline study in selected districts of Malawi
A study on child development in Malawi
The Malawi UNICEF Country Office and the Government of Malawi through the Ministry of Gender and Community Services jointly commissioned this baseline study to provide a set of data which would set a baseline on ECD programmes with a focus on household and community-level child care capacity development. It is hoped that this study will lend itself to the development of indicators and programme interventions to promote the comprehensive development of the child including issues of psychosocial growth hitherto not fully addressed due to inadequate knowledge of the context.
Five pilot districts of Blantyre, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Mwanza and Mzimba were the study areas for this survey. It should be noted that these are the same districts which were used in the household baseline survey. While not scientifically feasible to make accurate comparisons, certainly, trends can be taken into account and some correlations extrapolated. In each district, 4 villages were randomly selected while a fifth was selected non-randomly with the assistance of District Welfare Officers for the qualitative survey, while focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted with 7 distinct heterogeneous groups in the selected villages using a set of interview and discussion guidelines. The survey languages were Chichewa and Tumbuka.
Results from the study show that the most important person in an infant's life is the mother. Mothers are responsible for most of the needs of the child though all districts showed that the task of childcare is to a large extent, a social one, in which all members of the household take turns in looking after the infant. Fathers play a pivotal role in caring for the physical and mental needs of the child. In instances where a mother or primary caregiver is unavailable, fathers take up the role of primary caregiver. Fathers are much more likely to engage with children from the time they are three years old.
Five pilot districts of Blantyre, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Mwanza and Mzimba were the study areas for this survey. It should be noted that these are the same districts which were used in the household baseline survey. While not scientifically feasible to make accurate comparisons, certainly, trends can be taken into account and some correlations extrapolated. In each district, 4 villages were randomly selected while a fifth was selected non-randomly with the assistance of District Welfare Officers for the qualitative survey, while focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted with 7 distinct heterogeneous groups in the selected villages using a set of interview and discussion guidelines. The survey languages were Chichewa and Tumbuka.
Results from the study show that the most important person in an infant's life is the mother. Mothers are responsible for most of the needs of the child though all districts showed that the task of childcare is to a large extent, a social one, in which all members of the household take turns in looking after the infant. Fathers play a pivotal role in caring for the physical and mental needs of the child. In instances where a mother or primary caregiver is unavailable, fathers take up the role of primary caregiver. Fathers are much more likely to engage with children from the time they are three years old.
