By Alfred Chauwa, Senior News Analyst
Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and social welfare, Mary Navitcha on Tuesday launched the Umunthu Social Index (USI) at a colourful ceremony held at Ufulu Gardens in Lilongwe.
Speaking at this year’s Umunthu Impact Social Forum, Navitcha commended the organizers, saying the forum “is a statement on its own” that promotes honest conversation, structured thinking, and commitment to meaningful, sustainable change.
“The Umunthu philosophy teaches that a person is a person through other people. This is more than a cultural expression; it is a guiding principle for nation-building. It reminds us that our progress as individuals, institutions, communities, and as a nation is interconnected,” she said.
“Our impact is not measured by what we achieve in isolation, but by what we accomplish together,” Navitcha told the conference.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Umunthu recognizes unity in diversity, and that together everyone achieves more,” she continued.
She cited Nelson Mandela as a classic example of Umunthu in practice. Despite being the greatest victim of apartheid, Mandela reconciled Black and white South Africans and turned the ‘rainbow nation’ — once full of hatred, division, and calls for revenge — into a united, prosperous country for all.
“We are gathered at an important moment in Malawi’s development journey. As a nation, we continue to pursue the aspirations of Malawi 2063, which envisions an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation,” the Minister said.
Navitcha added that in implementing this development blueprint and the Democratic Progressive Party manifesto, President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika has emphasized the centrality of the Umunthu concept in driving national development.
“The K5 billion Constituency Development Fund is one initiative aimed at equally distributing development resources across the country and promoting fairness and equality among people,” she said.
Navitcha closed with a powerful statement: “The future we seek will not be built by individual institutions acting alone. It will be built through collective action, mutual accountability, and a shared commitment to the values of Umunthu.”
Thrive Afrika Executive Director Wilson Chivhanga said the USI measures how organizations, communities, and institutions embed values of shared humanity, accountability, and local ownership in their work.
“The USI is not a ranking tool to shame organizations. It is a mirror. It helps us see where we are strong and where we must do better as a sector,” he said.
He added that the first baseline report shows Malawi’s social impact ecosystem scores highest on community participation but needs improvement in data use and domestic resource mobilization.
Conference Organizing Chairperson Ruth Kulaisi said the newly launched indexes are important tools for strategic planning, as they turn complex, multidimensional realities into measurable, comparable signals for action.
Kulaisi said the indexes will also provide a baseline for benchmarking and show comparable status across time, regions, sectors, or peers.
“The index will reveal strengths and weaknesses. Aggregate scores and sub-indicators pinpoint which components — such as health, education, and media access — are underperforming and need targeted interventions,” she said.
She added that the index will help communicate progress to stakeholders using trends and visualizations. “For example, if the Umunthu Social Index shows low scores in civic information and media reliability, a strategic plan might prioritize media literacy campaigns, support for independent local journalism, and measures to increase transparent government communication — each with targets tied to improving the relevant sub-index,” she said.
