WHO WE ARE

Commissioner Chirwa-Ndanga is an award-winning journalist and media leader. She is Regional Communications Specialist at the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA). She was chairperson of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, MISA Malawi from 2017 to 2023. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University in the United States and a certificate in Public Policy obtained alongside her MA. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the Malawi Polytechnic. As a journalist, Commissioner Chirwa-Ndanga has written widely on human rights using the investigative journalism approach. She has written on human rights, publishing with both local and international media including Zodiak, CNN and CNBC. From 2012 to 2018 she headed the newsroom at Zodiak Broadcasting Station as Director of News and Current Affairs. She has won numerous awards including the 2010 African journalist of the year winner of the CNN-Multichoice Health and Medical Award, 2013 Overall Winner of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, Malawi Chapter. In 2015, she was listed among the top 10 women to watch in the media sector in Southern Africa by the Media Institute of Southern Africa’s regional office. In 2012, she was awarded the Journalism for Human Rights Fisher Fellowship through Massey College of the University of Toronto in Canada; an award that is given to only one African journalist annually. Commissioner Chirwa-Ndanga also worked as Public Relations Manager of the Malawi-based AHL Group from 2018 to 2022 and currently runs her own communications consultancy firm which has seen her work with international organizations including the United Nations. She is also a member of the General Assembly of Action Aid Malawi, a Board Member of Spark Microgrants Malawi and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for the Association of Women in Media in Malawi.