The Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN) has predicted continued economic crisis for vulnerable Malawians as the World Bank has revised upwards the international poverty line for low-income countries, including Malawi, from 2.15 US dollars (approximately K3,764) to 3 dollars, which is hovering at around K5,253 per person per day.

MEJN executive director Bertha Phiri has told Zodiak that the development provides a picture of harsh economic realities that Malawians are going through.

Phiri added that the revised figures imply that Malawians will remain in abject poverty as the Malawi kwacha is trading highly against the US dollar.

"We need to find mechanisms on how to bail out Malawians from economic challenges and this must be implemented by government ministries and departments," Phiri added.

This development will see more Malawians classified as ultra-poor, as they cannot afford decent living standards based on the bank's new measures.

Peter Yakobe is an economist who is suggesting a concrete economic trajectory to conform with the revised poverty line figures.

The World Bank Group has updated the global poverty lines to reflect changes in the cost of living and consumption habits of people around the world, including Malawi.

For a country like Malawi, which is classified as a low-income country, this change means that more people are now counted as poor—75 out of every 100 people—compared to 70 out of every 100 under the old system.

The change includes adjustments for inflation and improved ways of calculating what people really consume, which does not mean life has gotten worse, but that the global standard for poverty has changed.

Someone struggling to make ends meet in the village or township, this new line means that even if nothing has changed in their daily life, they may now be seen as poorer according to international standards.