Strengthening Emergency Foster Care in Zambia and Malawi
MJF Global, part of the Martin James Foundation, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Alliance for Children Everywhere (ACE) to strengthen emergency foster care in Zambia and Malawi. According to UNICEF, an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 children in Zambia remain in institutional care, while fewer than 200 children are in formal foster care. In Malawi, UNICEF estimates that 8,000 to 10,000 children remain in orphanage care. The project will identify and prepare more foster carers and strengthen the systems that support children to access safe care when they are in crisis. It is expected to create emergency capacity to care for several hundred children in foster care settings, enabling more children to receive timely care within families rather than entering institutional care.
About Alliance for Children Everywhere
ACE began working in Zambia in 1998 and has extensive experience in strengthening systems to prioritise family care for vulnerable children. ACE began working in Malawi in 2020 and works with local organisations, social workers and government partners to promote family care and prevent unnecessary separation. In Zambia, ACE has worked with the government to develop foster care pathways and has trained more than 350 foster carers.
ACE works with local leaders, churches, communities and governments to strengthen families, protect children and develop alternatives to institutional care. Its approach is based on the belief that every child belongs in a family and focuses on equipping individuals and communities to support vulnerable children and families.
Context
Both Zambia and Malawi are committed to advancing care reform and strengthening family care. Zambia has national guidelines and policies that prioritise family care, while Malawi launched its National Children’s Care Reform Strategy in May 2026. There is now an opportunity to further strengthen implementation and the systems, emergency care and foster care provision needed to make this a reality for children in crisis.
This work also comes at an important time for care reform across Africa. In 2025, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child launched General Comment No. 10 on children without parental care, reinforcing the importance of preventing unnecessary separation and prioritising family care where alternative care is needed.
This partnership focuses on one practical part of that work: ensuring that when children need urgent protection, safe family care options are available to them.
Churches and faith communities are also important to this work. As trusted entities within communities, they can help identify foster carers, influence attitudes towards family care and support community-based solutions.
About the Partnership
This partnership will strengthen and scale emergency foster care in Zambia while piloting and establishing structured emergency foster care pathways in Malawi.
In Zambia, ACE will build on its existing work, expanding engagement with church networks, preparing 100 additional foster carers and strengthening coordination within existing government referral and placement pathways.
In Malawi, ACE will work with church networks and government partners to establish referral processes, train foster carers and support children entering foster care. The project will also provide an opportunity to learn from the Zambian approach and adapt it to the local context in Malawi.
Across both countries, the project will strengthen the capacity of government social workers and local systems to identify, match and support children in family care.
By addressing both the supply of foster carers and the system capacity needed to match and support children, the project is expected to create emergency placement capacity for several hundred children over the project period and beyond.
The project will also generate learning about engaging faith actors in care reform and strengthening emergency foster care models in different contexts. By working through government systems and existing community networks, the partnership aims to contribute to sustainable alternatives to institutional care.
Investing in Family Care
Building effective emergency foster care requires investment in foster carers as well as the systems that enable children to access safe care within families when they need it.
We encourage organisations, funders and others working to advance care reform to learn more about ACE’s work and consider how they can support the development of sustainable family care in Zambia, Malawi and beyond.
“ACE is so pleased to partner with MJF and their incredible team. We know that this new collaboration will enable sustainable, localized and effective family-based care programming to continue in both Zambia and Malawi.” Gabriel Walder (CEO, ACE)
“Faith leaders are trusted voices in their communities and many already play a central role in supporting families. In Zambia, ACE has worked in partnership with churches to identify and support foster carers, enabling children who need alternative care to live with a family rather than in an orphanage. We’re delighted to support ACE as it adapts that approach for Malawi, helping to make sure more children can access this kind of care at times of crisis.” Ailsa Laxton, Director of Global Programmes, Martin James Foundation
