The Malawi government has received 152 printers from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to decentralise birth, marriage, and death registration services and reduce the distance people travel to access essential documents.
The printers were handed over at a ceremony in Lilongwe on Friday, with 100 allocated to National Registration Bureau (NRB) offices at Traditional Authority level and 52 to health facilities.
Minister of Homeland Security Peter Mukhito said the equipment will support the digitalisation of registration services and improve access for people in both rural and urban areas.
Mukhito said the government aims to ensure children are registered at birth in their respective centres and marriages recorded within local communities while improving death registration through public awareness.
He urged the NRB and the Ministry of Health to take care of the printers and ensure they are used for their intended purpose to reduce waiting times for Malawians.
The minister said the government is committed to decentralising national registration and health services to make them more accessible to citizens.
He added that 180 health facilities have already been digitalised, while efforts were underway to extend registration services through traditional and sub-traditional authorities.
Meanwhile, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Malawi Dr Chika Charles Aniekwe said the donation forms part of a broader digital transformation programme aimed at improving access to essential public services, particularly in underserved areas.
Aniekwe said the initiative will help reduce costs for families while supporting the development of a reliable and inclusive national identity system.
He added that UNDP remains committed to supporting Malawi in ensuring that every life event is recorded and no one is left behind.
The handover was supported by UNDP through the Inclusive Digital Transformation for the Malawi Project, with financial assistance from the European Union, Norway, and Ireland.
