Malawi ranked among most vulnerable African countries
Malawi is among the world’s poorest countries facing some of the worst economic and financial risks arising from climate change, information published on the African Development Bank (AfDB)website shows.
The bank said it has worked on addressing the issues around climate risk among others through the launch of the Africa NDC Hub, a cooperative initiative to support implementation of nationally determined contributions (NDC) in Africa.
“One of the funding instruments through which we support these activities is the Africa Climate Change Fund,” said Louise Brown, climate change expert and the fund’s coordinator.
“The African Development Bank is supporting the identification of gaps for NDC implementation, building institutional capacity, and facilitating south-south learning between African countries. ”
Malawi has in recent years been affected by weather related shocks, which in turn affected growth projections.
Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development last year revised downwards 2017 and 2018 growth projections, to an average of four and 4.5 percent, respectively, from the initial 6.4 percent and six percent, respectively.
Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) immediate past president Henry Kachaje earlier observed that Malawi sets ambitious growth targets, but fails to invest into what can bring about that growth, observing that over dependence on rain-fed agriculture will make such projections unpredictable while at the same time giving false hope and eroding confidence among investors.
Agriculture remains key to Malawi’s economic growth and development. It contributes nearly 30 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), employs over 64 percent of the country’s workforce, and provides over 80 percent of the country’s export earnings.
The Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Ministers of Finance of the Climate Vulnerable Forum is a dedicated cooperation initiative of economies systemically vulnerable to climate change. The V20 works through dialogue and action to tackle global climate change.
Although V20 countries are the worst-hit when it comes to climate change impacts, many of the pledges made by those countries rank among the most ambitious and comprehensive ones to date.n
