08/12/2025
GAMBIA’S NATIONAL SOCIAL PROTECTION AGENCY CONDUCTS STUDY TOUR ON MALAWI’S HARMONISED GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM
A delegation from The Gambia’s National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) has completed a week-long study tour in Malawi aimed at learning from the country’s Harmonised Grievance Redress Mechanism (HGRM) and the Integrated Social Protection Call Centre, widely recognised as one of Africa’s leading models for coordinated grievance management in the social protection sector.
The visit comes as The Gambia establishes its National Social Protection Agency and works towards developing a unified national grievance redress system, as mandated by the National Social Protection Act (2024). Malawi’s HGRM, with its proven record of strengthening accountability and citizen feedback across multiple social protection programmes and beyond, offered an important benchmark for the delegation.
During the mission, the team engaged with national-level institutions responsible for social protection coordination and conducted field visits to district structures in Ntcheu and Nsanje. These interactions provided firsthand insights into Malawi’s end-to-end grievance management processes, ranging from complaint intake and categorisation to referral pathways and resolution, both at the central Call Centre and through district councils and community structures.
Speaking during a courtesy call in Lilongwe, the Principal Secretary for Economic Planning and Development, Mr. Patrick Zimpita, welcomed the delegation and conveyed Malawi’s commitment to continued south-to-south collaboration. He highlighted that Malawi’s HGRM is built on principles of transparency, efficiency, and citizen trust, enabling multiple Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to work through a single harmonised mechanism that has gained regional recognition.
On behalf of The Gambian delegation, Madam Fatoumata Samateh, Social Safeguard Officer, expressed appreciation for Malawi’s openness in sharing its experience. She noted that lessons from the visit will inform the development of The Gambia’s institutional and technical framework for a national GRM, strengthen staff capacities in case management and ICT-enabled grievance tracking, and guide the creation of an implementation blueprint tailored to the Gambian context.
This study tour marks an important step in advancing bilateral cooperation in social protection between Malawi and The Gambia and contributes to the broader continental effort to build resilient, inclusive, and citizen-responsive social protection systems.
