Malawi says AfDB aid will boost resilience
Secretary to the Treasury Betchani Tchereni has said Malawi will capitalise on the proposed African Development Bank (AfDB) climate financing to build the country’s adaptation and resilience to climate-induced disasters.
He said this in an interview following a recent call from AfDB board of governors, comprising ministers of Finance for AfDB member countries, for the continental bank to ensure it invests $25 billion for climate financing between 2020 and 2025.
In a communique issued at the end of the meeting on Friday, the AfDB board of governors, to which Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola Banda is a member, further called on the bank to support a climate-resilient and low-emission future in Africa and also scale up climate actions and green investments across the continent.
Tchereni said Malawi is looking for specific and tailor-made climate financing to build the country’s capacity to withstand disasters.
He said: “The minister [Chithyola Banda] has been very specific on this one. If an adverse climatic condition hits us, it should find us ready to withstand it. Whether it be our infrastructure, it should stand adverse climatic conditions.
Addressing the AfDB annual meetings in Nairobi last week, AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina said the bank is on its way to reaching its goal of mobilising $25 billion in climate finance.
He stressed that AfDB is building strong and effective global partnerships to deliver more for Africa
“Last year we devoted 45 percent of our total lending to climate finance,” he said.
In the past four years, Malawi has been hit by natural disasters including cyclones and dry spells that have claimed lives and affected food security.
