> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://dpisafeguards.gitbook.io/resources-hub/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://dpisafeguards.gitbook.io/resources-hub/country-implementation/malawi.md).

# Malawi

*As of August 2026.*

## At a glance

<table><thead><tr><th width="210">​</th><th>​</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>DPI system</strong></td><td>Foundational digital ID, applied to agricultural subsidy delivery and voter registration</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Lead institution</strong></td><td>National Registration Bureau, Ministry of Homeland Security, with UNDP Malawi</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Current stage</strong></td><td>Deployed at national scale, extending to further use cases</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Safeguards focus</strong></td><td>Inclusion in low-connectivity settings, and integrity of beneficiary verification</td></tr></tbody></table>

## The problem

Malawi's national digital ID programme reached 98 percent population coverage, around 12.5 million people registered. Coverage on that scale would normally count as success.

Implementation showed otherwise. Delays in issuing physical cards, uneven connectivity and electricity, and pressure on frontline delivery left people unable to use their identity when they needed it. At the same time, weak verification in some service settings allowed proxy collection and impersonation, including cases where people used someone else's card to collect agricultural subsidies. Registration alone was not enough, and the gap fell on exactly the people the system was meant to reach.

## The journey

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### Commit

Malawi was a core contributor to the Framework, helping shape its priority risks and safeguard practices.

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### Assess and prioritise

An assessment with the National Registration Bureau identified the two failures that registration figures had hidden: people who held an identity but could not use it, and services that could not confirm the person in front of them was the right one.
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{% step %}

### Design and implement

UNDP Malawi, working with the National Registration Bureau under the Ministry of Homeland Security, supported an offline digital ID approach addressing both problems at once.

**A digitally signed biometric QR code.** Cryptographically signed and uniquely linked to the holder's biometrics, so authorised devices can verify identity with no internet connection while confirming the credential has not been forged.

**An offline verification kit.** QR scanners, mobile tablets, and software that validates credentials offline, tested in-house then piloted in rural settings.

**Verification built into subsidy delivery.** Biometric confirmation is now required before a Farm Input Subsidy Programme transaction proceeds, which cuts impersonation while keeping verification possible where there is no signal.
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### Measure and sustain

The model was proven at national scale through subsidy delivery and the 2024 to 2025 voter registration, and is being considered for social cash transfers, public works programmes, healthcare delivery, and SIM registration, with the level of verification matched to the risk of each transaction.
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{% hint style="info" %}
The interview below was recorded in 2024 and reflects the programme at that time.
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{% embed url="<https://youtu.be/_z2z0yByuvg>" %}

## Results so far

* **1.1 million farming households** receive Farm Input Subsidy Programme inputs through biometrically verified distribution.
* **Over 2 million Malawians** awaiting printed IDs, or holding lost or damaged cards, received a digitally signed QR code on the spot during voter registration. The Malawi Electoral Commission accepted it as valid proof, contributing to **7.2 million registered voters**.

Two lessons carry beyond Malawi. Safeguards are not only policy or compliance, they are concrete implementation choices that make DPI work more reliably and fairly in real conditions. And the approach travels: as part of South-South cooperation, a UNDP Malawi technical team supported Somali counterparts on operational diagnostics, a phased registration plan, and similar offline approaches for displacement and fragile settings.

## Resources

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* [Universal DPI Safeguards Framework](https://www.dpi-safeguards.org/framework-visualization), the standard being applied
* [Safeguards Assessment](https://www.dpi-safeguards.org/assessment), for running a comparable assessment
* [Digital Legal ID Governance Framework](https://www.governance4id.org/), for the identity component


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