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The purpose of the paper is to report on a study that investigated the critical success factors (CSFs) in the supply chain management of essential medicines in the public health-care delivery system in Malawi.

The exploratory and descriptive study followed a qualitative and quantitative research approach. Data were collected by means of semistructured interviews and a questionnaire administered to suppliers of essential medicines, regulators, donors and logistics companies in Malawi. Data was analyzed using SPSS.

The findings revealed that the significant CSFs are knowledge of disease patterns and prevalence, skills and experience of personnel, adequate financial resources, collaboration with supply chain partners and an efficient procurement and distribution system.

There were a number of limitations in this study. Although every effort was made to carefully and purposefully select the participants for the in-depth interviews in the first phase of the study and the respondents for the questionnaire in the second phase of the study, they were not randomly selected. As such, the findings cannot be generalised to all stakeholders in the pharmaceutical supply chain in Malawi. However, they can be used as a basis for further research on the topic.

No previous studies that deal with the identification of CSFs in the Malawi pharmaceutical supply chain were found. Therefore, this research makes a twofold contribution to the body of knowledge in the field. First, it identifies CSFs; second, it could assist stakeholders in the public health-care service delivery system in Malawi with regard to how they can improve the supply of essential medicines.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse some vital aspects of floods in Malawi by examining the case study of the Lower Shire River Valley. Whilst the world has many wars taking place and causing unbearable human suffering, natural disasters are also taking their toll on humanity in various ways. The threats of the flood hazard have become complex and interrelated whilst the number of the vulnerable is growing fast. Floods have not spared the peaceful country of Malawi. The whole of Malawi is virtually vulnerable to floods. However, the Lower Shire Valley has been one of the most affected parts of the country.

The paper has focused on the extent of people's vulnerability to the flood hazard and the effectiveness of its management in the area. It has duly analysed the risk reduction measures in practice and identified the various political, social, and economic factors that influence the management of floods in this valley. The study exposes the Malawi strategy towards flood mitigation as well as the situation and attitudes of the flood victims pertaining to the policies and the measures being utilised to address the hazard.

The study confirms that floods can be an issue of broad security agenda. Despite the entanglement of financial constraints, the study recommends that policy makers should make more effort to alleviate the lamentable situation in this valley.

It is a requisite to have a comprehensive approach and pragmatic policies as well as their implementation mechanisms. There is also a requirement for effective consultation, collaboration and coordination, progress monitoring and above all, the will.

Both the intensity and the frequency of floods are definitely indicating to be on the increase in the country while the capacity to contain them and to protect people to substantial levels is lacking. The paper indicates that the flood hazard has continuously made the habitants of flood plains in Malawi vulnerable and that the extent of vulnerability to the flood risk is very high in the Lower Shire Valley.

The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of the structural adjustment policies on library and information services in the University of Malawi Libraries.

A case study methodology was adopted, and data – budget documents and various reports and technical papers – were collected.

Findings show that libraries in this study were affected by the structural adjustment reforms. Budgets of the libraries increased but were affected by currency devaluations, unavailability of foreign exchange to pay for subscriptions and purchase books and this had negatively impacted on the provision of library and information services.

The study looks at implications of the structural adjustment policies in the five libraries in the University of Malawi, namely the Bunda College, Chancellor College, College of Medicine, Kamuzu College of Nursing and the Polytechnic only. However the results give a general picture of both academic and public libraries in Malawi.

Libraries are encouraged to consider adopting UNESCO coupons to solve foreign exchange shortages for software and journal subscriptions as well as engage international publishers with local shops to circumvent paying for library purchases in foreign currency. Libraries are also encouraged to use the Malawi Library and Information Consortium (MALICO) for bargaining prices against ever escalating journal and book prices.

The paper explores the impact of the structural adjustment polices in Malawi.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the challenges and opportunities the new public procurement legislation has created for academic librarians as regards the acquisition of library materials in academic libraries (university/college libraries) in Malawi.

The study used a multi-method approach. Quantitative data were collected through questionnaires. The questionnaires were sent online to the university/college libraries of seven major accredited public universities in Malawi. After an initial analysis of that data, qualitative data on patterns were obtained through a mailing listserve with all the possible 19 librarians. Responses were analysed and categorised using a thematic approach.

Academic libraries (university/college libraries) are involved in the internal procurement committees. Librarians are represented in internal procurement committees, though their representation differs from one institution to another. All the academic libraries (university/college libraries) either use the centralised or independent procurement methods. As a result, the public university libraries deal with agents as independents. Working as independents has negatively affected the libraries, as materials are procured at different prices and sometimes at higher prices, thereby ignoring the value for money.

In academic libraries, the library consortia have pulled resources towards a basket fund for wide access and cheaper licensing. However, for print library materials, a collaborative procurement process in which the academic libraries identify an agent capable of achieving a supplier list and then purchase directly from the preferred suppliers seems not to have been tried in the most developing countries.

The study suggests that academic libraries (university/college libraries) should emulate the library consortia approach when dealing with agents. The academic libraries should consider collaborative procurement models as a means of procuring library materials.

Since the enactment of the public procurement legislation in Malawi, no research has been documented on the challenges and opportunities the public procurement act and the acquisition of library materials. This research seeks to bridge the literature gap.

The purpose of this paper is to explore health researchers’ involvement of policy or decision makers in knowledge translation activities in Malawi.

The case study collected quantitative through questionnaire from health researchers from the University of Malawi. The study used inferential statistics for the analysis of the quantitative data. Pearson χ² test was used to establish the relationship between categorical data and determine whether any observed difference between the data sets arose by chance. The Kruskal–Wallis H test was used to determine if there were statistically significant differences between independent variable and dependent variables. Data has been presented in a form of tables showing means, standard deviation and p-values.

Health researchers sometimes involve policy or decision makers in government-sponsored meetings (M=2.5, SD=1.17). They rarely involve policy or decision makers in expert committee or group meetings (M=2.4, SD=1.20). Researchers rarely involve policy or decision makers in conferences and workshops (M=2.4, SD=1.31). Rarely do researchers involve policy or decision makers in formal private or public networks (M=2.4, SD=1.17). In events organised by the colleges researchers rarely involve policy or decision makers (M=2.3, SD=1.11); and rarely share weblinks with policy or decision makers (M=2.0, SD=1,17). On average, health researchers occasionally conduct deliberate dialogues with key health policy makers and other stakeholders (M=2.5, SD=1.12). The researchers rarely established and maintained long-term partnerships policy or decision makers (M=2.2, SD=1.20). They rarely involve policy or decision makers in the overall direction of the health research conducted by themselves or the Colleges (M=2.1, SD=1.24).

The study recommends that there should be deliberate efforts by health researchers and policy makers to formally engage each other. Individuals need technical skills, knowledge of the processes and structures for engaging with health research evidence to inform policy and decision making. At the institutional level, the use of research evidence should be embedded within support research engagement structures and linked persons.

Formal interactions in a form of expert meetings and technical working groups between researchers and policy makers can facilitate the use of health research evidence in policy formulation.

In terms of framework there is need to put in place formal interaction frameworks between health researchers and policy makers within the knowledge translation and exchange.

There is dearth of literature on the levels of involvement and interaction between health researchers and health policy or decision makers in health policy, systems and services research in Malawi. This study seeks to bridge the gap with empirical evidence.

The purpose of this paper is to study the use of Koha integrated library system by higher education institutions in Malawi.

The study made use of the diffusion of innovation theory as an anchoring model. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire that was administered to library managers of higher education institutions registered with the National Council for Higher Education in Malawi. The data collected were analyzed using SPPS version 21 to generate descriptive statistics.

The findings revealed that 84.2 per cent of libraries in higher education institutions in Malawi are automated, and 81.3 per cent of them are using Koha ILS and the rest were using proprietary and other open source software. Cost and technical aspects have been discovered to be the primary factors that have assisted in the rapid diffusion of Koha. The study also exposed some factors that negatively impacted the use of Koha in the adopting institutions. The main ones included lack of information and communication technology infrastructure, unreliable Internet connectivity and limited finances.

Previously, some small-scale case studies have been performed to examine implementation of Koha in some higher education institutions in Malawi. However, this is the first large-scale attempt to investigate use of Koha among higher education institutions in the country. Findings that have shown that Koha can be installed easily and used at minimal cost could assist in its rapid adoption in the higher education institutions, a majority of whom face a myriad of financial challenges.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the opportunities for tobacco farmers in Malawi from diversifying to cannabis, and the potential benefits for reducing deforestation by producing a cannabis based alternative fuel. It further argues that there are tensions between the conflicting objectives of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

Field interviews were conducted with cannabis farmers, traders and sellers in different parts of Malawi.

The findings of this study show that there are opportunities for cannabis farmers but they have been blocked by legal impediments. Now that legislative reform have made cannabis cultivation possible, farmers need support in developing products.

Any attempt to provide a precise assessment of the cannabis market in Malawi is constrained by the criminalised status of the product. The suitability of cannabis briquettes as an fuel has yet to be trialled in Malawi.

There is an urgent need to revise the drug control conventions to address environmental degradation and deforestation.

The linkage between tobacco farming, deforestation and desertification in Malawi has not been made. This is the first time that hemp has been suggested as an alternative crop for farmers and as a solution to deforestation.

This paper seeks to examine the impacts of the new public management (NPM)‐oriented management accounting on political control at the Malawian local government level. The objective is to investigate the extent to which NPM‐based management accounting practices have increased managerial autonomy and reduced political control.

The paper is based on an empirical study conducted in six local government assemblies in Malawi. These include Salima Town Assembly, Blantyre City Assembly, Lilongwe City Assembly, Mzuzu City Assembly, Mzimba District Assembly, and Zomba Municipal Assembly. It is based on qualitative research methodology. The qualitative data were mainly collected through personal interviews with assembly managers and councillors. In addition, the study also relied on a review of various literature and newspaper articles providing insights to the subject under study.

The paper has found that the NPM‐based management accounting has led to loss of local political control. In this regard, politicians resort to unproductive behaviors which include interference, sabotage and corruption to regain their lost political control. On the other hand, the administrators sustain their managererial autonomy through NPM‐based managerial prerogatives, seeking central government intervention and colluding with the councillors in corrupt activities.

The paper is of both theoretical and empirical value. Theoretically, the paper contributes to the management accounting literature by looking at management accounting in the context of new organizational arrangement models. In addition, the paper makes an empirical contribution to the knowledge vacuum of the impacts and applicability of the NPM‐based management systems in developing countries. It provides information and insights for reformers to consider the social, political, and cultural environment of the implementing countries so as to prevent counter‐productive consequences that may present massive negative implications on public policy outcomes.

A growing number of African countries are starting to produce science, technology and innovation (STI) indicators. The purpose of this paper is to provide some lessons learnt in the production and use of STI indicators in Malawi and South Africa. It is compares the two countries’ efforts to conduct Research and Development (R&D) surveys and examines whether and how STI indicators are used in policymaking processes.

The study approach is qualitative. The research methodology encompasses a thorough review of both policy and academic literature as well as some interviews.

The study demonstrates that South Africa has a relatively developed institutional arrangement for undertaking R&D and innovation surveys and developing related STI indicators. There is evidence that efforts are being made to use STI indicators to inform policymaking in the country. On the other hand, Malawi conducted its first R&D survey under the African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators Initiative (ASTII) and has not established an institutional mechanism dedicated to producing STI indicators. There is no evidence that indicators are used in, or to inform, policymaking in the country.

Because of significant differences in STI policymaking histories, capacities and cultures of the two countries, it is not really useful to compare the STI production and use. Rather it is important to draw lessons from the efforts of the two countries.

The results suggest that the production of STI indicators should be embedded in policy processes. To be useful and effective, STI indicators production needs to be explicitly linked to policy formulation, evaluation and monitoring activities without necessarily undermining the independence of producing STI indicators.

Creating stand-alone programmes or agencies for R&D and innovation surveys without clear articulation with policymaking needs erodes opportunities of having evidence-based STI policy regimes.

Although in 2005 only South Africa and Tunisia had national programmes dedicated to the generation of R&D statistics, by the end of 2010 at least 19 African countries had experimented with conducting R&D surveys under the auspices of the ASTII of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. These countries accumulated different experiences and consequently build different kinds of institutional capacities. Through the Malawi and South Africa case studies, some important lessons for STI indicators production and use and STI policymaking can be drawn for developing countries in general and African countries in particular.

The purpose of this study is to examine levels of health research evidence in health policies in Malawi.

The study selected a typology of health policies in Malawi from 2002 to 2017. The study adopted the SPIRIT conceptual framework and assessed the levels of research evidence in health policy, systems and services research using the revised SAGE policy assessment tool. Documentary analysis was used to assess levels of health research evidence in health policies in Malawi.

In 29 (96.7 per cent) of the health policies, policy formulators including healthcare directors and managers used generic search engines such as Google or Google Scholar to look for heath research evidence. In 28 (93.3 per cent) of the health policies, they searched for grey literature and other government documents. In only 6 (20 per cent) of the heath policy documents, they used academic literature in a form of journal articles and randomised controlled trials. No systematic reviews or policy briefs were consulted. Overall, in 23 (76.7 per cent) of the health policy documents, health research evidence played a minimal role and had very little influence on the policy documents or decision-making.

The empirical evidence in the health policy documents are limited because of insufficient research citation, low retrievability of health research evidence in the policy documents and biased selectivity of what constitutes health research evidence.

The study indicates that unfiltered information (data from policy evaluations and registries) constitutes majority of the research evidence in health policies both in health policy, systems and services research. The study seeks to advocate for the use of filtered information (peer reviewed, clinical trials and data from systematic reviews) in formulating health policies.

There is dearth of literature on the levels of health research evidence in health policy-making both in health policy, systems and services research. This study seeks to bridge the gap with empirical evidence from a developing country perspective.