Malawi Quality Management Policy for the Health Sector in Malawi 2017

The health sector goals of the Government of Malawi are to improve the health status of all Malawians, to ensure that the population is satisfied with the health services provided, and does not suffer avoidable financial risks in the process of accessing healthcare. During the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) period (2000-2015), Malawi made significant progress in improving access to essential health services. In 2015, Malawi signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which places Universal Health Coverage (UHC) at the core of a global and national health agenda between 2015 and 2030.

To fast-track the achievement of UHC, the Government is undertaking several interrelated health sector reforms aimed at 1) sustaining and further improving access to essential health services; 2) improving the efficiency of the health system; and 3) managing quality of health services at all levels of care. The Ministry of Health recognizes that in order to achieve UHC by 2030, deliberate initiatives to improve quality of care must be implemented across the health sector in addition to sustaining current investments in improving healthcare access.

This Quality Management (QM) Policy succeeds the National Quality Assurance Policy of 2005 (NQAP 2005). The NQAP 2005 for the Malawi Health Sector aimed to provide structures for quality assurance at all levels of the healthcare delivery system. Key developments in the execution of the NQAP included the establishment of Quality Improvement Support Teams (QIST) at the district level which primarily focused on improving infection prevention and control practices.