K4.5bn for cyclone response
Malawi is among 14 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East set to receive $125 million from the United Nations (UN) Central Emergency Response Fund (Cerf) to boost underfunded humanitarian operations.
From the total amount, Malawi, which was affected by Cyclone Freddy in March this year, has been given the least funding at $4 million (about K4.5 billion), Central African Republic ($6.5 million), Mozambique ($6.5million), Cameroon ($6 million), Burkina Faso ($9 million) and Mali ($8 million).
In a statement, the UN Emergency Relief coordinator Martin Griffiths said the allocation will have an added focus on advancing efforts to better include affected people in humanitarian decision-making.
This is the second chunk from the Cerf after the UN also released $5.5 million (about K6.1 billion) in March 2023 to support communities that were affected by Cyclone Freddy.
In an interview yesterday, UN resident coordinator Rebecca Adda-Dontoh called for more support, saying Malawi has been heavily affected by disasters in the last three years and needs assistance.
She said: “This is a new one and they call it underfunded emergencies. You know the UN launched a fresh appeal earlier this year asking for $70.6 million and out of that we haven’t even got 30 percent yet. So, we are considered underfunded emergencies.”
Adda-Dontoh said she will use the UN General Assembly in New York later this month to appeal for more support for Malawi to alleviate the suffering of many.
Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Sosten Gwengwe hailed the UN for the support and appealed fo more, saying, the need is still huge.
He said: “We commend those continuing to offer support, the bill is huge and people should really partner with the UN and other partners in supporting Cyclone Freddy survivors because the suffering continues.”
In May, the Malawi Government released the 2023 Tropical Cyclone Freddy Post-Disaster Needs Assessment report which, among others, comprehensively measures the physical damages and economic losses left by the disaster.
The report indicated that $506.7 million (about K520 billion) was lost in the disaster and further estimated that government would require a total of $680.4 million (over K700 billion) for recovery and reconstruction.
The disaster killed 676 and displaced over 600 000 people.
