Esmie Kainja
Esmie Tamanda Kainja | |
|---|---|
| Education | University of Leeds |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Employer | Government of Malawi |
| Known for | Principal Secretary |
Esmie Tamanda Kainja is a Malawian civil servant who in 2026 was the Secretary for Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare in Malawi.
Life
Kainja studied in the United Kingdom at the University of Leeds. Her 2012 doctoral thesis investigated the support of orphans in Malawi. HIV/AIDS had created a large number of orphans and her study looked at the priorities required to best assist them.[1]
In 2015, Kainja was directing the implementation of a social cash transfer scheme for the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare which had been running since 2007. There were over 18,000 beneficiaries.[2] Two years later, she was the Principal Secretary in that ministry.[3] She investigated the introduction of cashless transfer of money in Malawi.[4] Kainja was part of a study that looked at the reporting by children of physical and sexual abuse in six countries including Malawi. The results were published openly in 2020.[5]
Kainja became the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology in 2019. She spoke of the need to get girls involved with ICT, as facilities were becoming available outside Malawi's urban areas.[6] She called on women to educate girls to stand up to sexual and gender based violence. She also reminded women that the law protected widows from their in'laws when they assumed the property of the dead husband.[7] In 2020 she was the Secretary for the Ministry of Labour, Skills and Innovation when children faced the prospect of child labour during the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]
In 2024 she was the Principal Secretary for Local Government, Unity and Culture. She was involved with delivering the government's policy of decentralisation. Progress was slow as the idea of decentralising ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) had been in progress since the millennium. Ministries had resisted the policy and complined that the Ministry of Local Government was seeing itself as a super ministry. Kainja had introduced the idea of a lab that could assist with this task and she was explaining this to USAID who were funding the initiative.[9]
In 2025 she became the Secretary of the Ministry for Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare[10] led by Mary Navicha. Kainja was carrying out a policy in support of the Malawi Parliamentary Women's Caucus and their efforts to increase gender equality.[11] In March she and the minister visited Scotland to speak at a Scotland Malawi Partnership event.[12]
References
- ^ Kainja, Esmie Tamanda Vilili (2012-10). A study of child-related policies, services and the needs of orphans in Malawi (PhD thesis). University of Leeds.
{{cite thesis}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Malawi hails social cash transfer scheme". www.nyasatimes.com. 2015-05-11. Retrieved 2026-03-17.
- ^ "Employers asked to avoid discriminating against people disability". Malawi 24. 2017-12-05. Archived from the original on 2024-06-23. Retrieved 2026-03-17.
- ^ Angeles, Gustavo; Abdoulayi, Sara; Barrington, Clare; Handa, Sudhanshu; Kainja, Esmie Tamanda; Mvula, Peter; Mwamlima, Harry; Tsoka, Maxton; Spadafora, Tayllor (2016-05-01), Davis, Benjamin; Handa, Sudhanshu; Hypher, Nicola; Winder Rossi, Natalia (eds.), "The Social Cash Transfer Programme of Malawi", From Evidence to Action, Oxford University Press, pp. 281–305, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198769446.003.0012, ISBN 978-0-19-876944-6, retrieved 2026-03-17
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ Pereira, Audrey; Peterman, Amber; Neijhoft, Anastasia Naomi; Buluma, Robert; Daban, Rocio Aznar; Islam, Aminul; Kainja, Esmie Tamanda Vilili; Kaloga, Inah Fatoumata; Kheam, They; Johnson, Afrooz Kaviani; Maternowska, M. Catherine; Potts, Alina; Rottanak, Chivith; Samnang, Chea; Shawa, Mary (2020-12). "Disclosure, reporting and help seeking among child survivors of violence: a cross-country analysis". BMC Public Health. 20 (1). doi:10.1186/s12889-020-09069-7. ISSN 1471-2458. PMC 7331131. PMID 32616007.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "The newly appointed Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, Dr. Esmie Kainja, says..." Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority - MACRA via Facebook. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ "Malawi government challenges Christian women to educate girls". www.nyasatimes.com. 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2026-03-17.
- ^ "Child labour: Ministry says children may be forced to work due to Covid-19 Malawi 24 | Latest News from Malawi". Malawi 24. 2020-06-12. Archived from the original on 2024-10-14. Retrieved 2026-03-17.
- ^ "Slow pace for decentralisation". The Times Group. 2024-02-27. Retrieved 2026-03-17.
- ^ "Secretary for Gender Calls for Teamwork among members of staff". Ministry of Gender, Malawi is with Malawi Government via Facebook. 27 October 2025. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ "Dr Esmie Tamanda Kainja, on Monday 9 February 2026,addressed the Parliamentary Women Caucus..." Ministry of Gender, Malawi via Facebook. 10 February 2026. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ "Meet Malawi's Minister of Gender, Children, Disability & Social Welfare". www.scotland-malawipartnership.org. Retrieved 2026-03-17.