Strengthening Driver Training Capacity in Malawi

2nd February 2026

Project Background

In Malawi, road traffic injuries are a major public health concern, with drivers of commercial vehicles often involved in serious incidents. In response, the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services (DRTSS) partnered with Transaid in 2016 to strengthen the country’s professional driver training capacity for heavy goods vehicles (HGV) and passenger service vehicles (PSV). The initiative aimed to improve sustainable access to improved driver training standards.

The project focused on building institutional capacity through the development of a formalised training curriculum and the upskilling of instructors and assessors, as well as implementing improvements to vehicle inspections. It was delivered in close collaboration with the Malawi Government and the Central Transport Training Institute (CTTI) in Lilongwe, the country’s leading public driver training facility.

Results

The project provided training to 55 individuals from across public and private institutions, including the Traffic Police. The project demonstrated that targeted investment in training systems is important to long-term improvements in road safety and professional driving standards. From the in-country findings during this intervention, the following recommendations were made:

• • • Introduction of national minimum standards for professional driver training
    • Standardised national HGV and PSV curriculum and driving instructor manuals
    • Establishment of a specialist driver training facility – The Works Training Centre, Zomba (government run)
    • Rollout of the delivery of a package of train the trainer inputs including HGV and PSV
    • More robust system of registration of driver training providers.