Malawi Health Sector Strategic Plan II 2017-2022.

The Health Sector Strategic Plan II 2017-2022 is a national cross-sectoral strategy prepared with the goal to move Malawi towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) of quality, equitable and affordable health care with the aim of improving health status, financial risk protection and client satisfaction.
One of the objectives of the strategy is to reduce environmental and social risk factors that have direct impact on health through improving food safety, hygiene and nutrition services as well as promoting use of safe water and good sanitation practices.
To help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition the strategy envisions the following actions: finalize the food safety guidelines and monitor implementation; continuous inspections, certifications, and audits of food establishments; monitoring of food fortification (per the Food Fortification Act) - Iodine in salt at household & commercial level, Vitamin A in flour, cooking oil, and sugar, Iron in flour; continuous health promotion on food handling and hygiene practices at all levels and conduct medical examination of food handlers; create awareness at community level on the right foods to eat for good nutrition status and promote their production; screen for malnutrition in all age groups and ensure appropriate care and rehabilitation for the identified individuals; facilitate establishment of safe water facilities with the Ministry of Water and other partners; repair damaged boreholes, pumps and other sanitation and hygiene infrastructure to appropriate functional standard; continuous water quality monitoring; collaborate with city councils and other institutions to improve waste management systems; train extension workers on community-led total sanitation; and promote hygiene behavioral change interventions. Gender mainstreaming and community participation shall also be central in the planning and implementation of all health policies and programmes.
Regarding governance, the Ministry of Health with is the main authority responsible for the strategy implementation. Monitoring and evaluation will take place at every stage of implementation and will allow the Ministry of Health to continuously improve programme planning, implementation, and decision-making. Monitoring and evaluation related to HSSP II will take place under the Malawi National Health Information System Strategy (2017-2022). The Central Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the Ministry of Health will be the primary stakeholder responsible for the HSSP II monitoring and evaluation.