ASPIRE Final Report Malawi

USAID/Malawi launched the Girls’ Empowerment through Education and Health (ASPIRE) Activity in December 2014, beginning a bold cross-sector investment to improve the achievement of girls in upper primary and secondary school in Malawi. USAID’s investment in ASPIRE recognized that for girls’ to achieve academic success, they must enter and stay in school, be learning and safe while in school, and be healthy and supported by their community at all times.

ASPIRE targeted all primary and secondary schools in Malawi’s Balaka, Machinga, and Zomba districts. This included 537 primary and 80 secondary schools. The 617 schools and their catchment communities were the focus for interventions to meet the three ASPIRE objectives: Reading skills for girls in upper primary school improved, Adoption of positive sexual and healthcare-seeking behaviors among youth ages 10–19 increased and Key structural and cultural barriers for girls ages 10–19 decreased.

Led by Save the Children (SC), the ASPIRE implementing team included three accomplished Malawian implementing partners, Creative Center for Community Mobilization (CRECCOM), Forum for African Women Educationalists – Malawi Chapter (FAWEMA), and the Malawi Institute of Education (MIE). ASPIRE implementation relied on the engagement of key government and community partners from across the education, health, and social welfare sectors.

From its inception, ASPIRE promoted integrated girl-focused programming by bringing together three separate funding streams from three different technical teams within the USAID/Malawi mission, with complementary objectives to support girls’ learning, retention and safety in school, and self-efficacy to make healthy choices to avoid pregnancy and the risks of HIV infection.