Donor-driven harmonised payment of allowances policy and NGOs’ community engagement in Malawi

ABSTRACT

NGOs are recognised as key players in international development, yet recent studies have highlighted the complex problem of per diem allowances in the sector. In Malawi, donors responded and developed harmonised guidelines on payment of allowances. This study explored NGOs’ responses to these harmonised guidelines and provides new insights. The findings show that the case study NGO dealt with multiple stakeholders’ expectations and demands. Donors demanded compliance, so the NGO took steps to comply with the guidelines while trying to manage other stakeholders’ expectations. In effect, compliance limited the NGO’s operations, damaged its working relations and significantly increased their programme costs.

KEYWORDS:

• Aid – Development policies, Aid effectiveness
• Civil society – Participation, NGOs
• Social sector – Health
• sub-Saharan Africa

Notes on contributors

Chikosa Ngwira is a public health professional working on a doctorate degree in public health and policy at the Department of Global Health and Development at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Over the last 12 years, Ngwira has mainly worked in the health development sector with international NGOs.

Susannah Mayhew is a Professor in the Department of Global Health and Development at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Mayhew’s main research interests lie in analysing health policy and systems development. Mayhew has conducted research at policy, health systems, health service and community levels in a wide range of countries across sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The group of donors include African Development Bank, Canadian High Commission, DFID, and Delegation of the European Union to Malawi, Flanders International Cooperation Agency (FICA), German Embassy, Icelandic International Development Agency (ICEIDA), Embassy of Ireland, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Royal Norwegian Embassy, United Nations, US Government, and World Bank.

2 Ownership refers to “partner countries exercise effective leadership over their development policies, and strategies and co-ordinate development actions” (OECD 2008, 3). Alignment refers to “donors base their overall support on partner countries’ national development strategies, institutions and procedures” (OECD 2008, 3).

3 Malawi Government staff on two different grades (e.g. a driver and professional officer), when using government funding are provided with different rates of daily subsistence allowances yet even when they are on the same trip.

4 Full board is an arrangement whereby everything participants need (accommodation and meals) is catered for and directly paid by the organiser of an activity (e.g. training/workshop) to the service suppliers.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Commonwealth Scholarship Commission [Commonwealth Scholarship] and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine [DrPH OPA Travelling Scholarship]