The Malawian government says validating the Artificial Intelligence Readiness Assessment Methodology Report marks a significant step towards building a safe and effective AI ecosystem.
Government officials, development partners, academia and other stakeholders met in Lilongwe on Wednesday to review the report’s findings at a workshop organised by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, with support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Regional Office for Southern Africa (UNESCO-ROSA).
The report is intended to guide Malawi’s national AI strategy and policy development.
Dr Ken Ndala, secretary of the ministry, said: “AI is transforming how the world conducts business and delivers services, making it essential for Malawi to assess its current status before implementing AI-driven solutions.”
He added AI is already shaping global development and offers opportunities to address many of the country’s challenges.
Ndala said the assessment would help the government understand the country’s strengths and gaps in areas such as policy, infrastructure and institutional capacity, allowing it to direct resources to priority areas that support effective AI adoption.
UNESCO’s focus on Malawi is part of a regional initiative piloted in 2025 to assess the preparedness of six Southern African countries to harness AI.
This initiative is built around UNESCO’s globally endorsed Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, and aims to generate action-oriented reports to guide national AI strategies.
The aim is to ensure these strategies are both innovative and ethical.
Dr Abdul Rahman Lamin, UNESCO head of social and human sciences, said although AI has the potential to transform lives and improve service delivery, it also presents challenges related to privacy, human rights and [cybersecurity.
He said the assessment is designed to help the government determine whether existing institutions, policies and systems are resilient enough to support the responsible use of AI.
UNESCO said Malawi faces infrastructure and access gaps, resulting in high operational barriers due to limited connectivity.
Only 27.7 percent of the population is connected online, while computer ownership stands at 4.2 percent of households.
The national education system is not yet prepared for automated classrooms, with significant curriculum updates needed to foster digital literacy without undermining learners’ critical thinking skills.
The report proposes that localised AI systems be designed to reduce]class, youth and gender biases.
UNESCO recommends establishing robust data protection and governance mechanisms to manage AI systems safely, co-investment in localised energy, cybersecurity networks and affordable data solutions, as well as collaboration between government and the private sector to implement the forthcoming national policy.
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