Communities from TA Chowe in Mangochi District have called for concerted efforts in the implementation of disaster risk management (DRM) programmes for the country to make significant strides in reducing disaster risks.
Chairperson of Chowe Civil Protection Committee, Fundson Goliati, made the call on Tuesday when DRM stakeholders monitored the implementation of the National Resilience Strategy (NRS) under the Titukulane Project.
Goliati said it was high time stakeholders joined hands in efforts aimed at mitigating the impact of disasters which are impeding development works at both community and national levels.
“Communities are in need of items such as megaphones, cell phones, bicycles and whistles which are required in disseminating flood early warning messages, yet there are other stakeholders who have the capacity to provide the materials but are working in isolation, let us all join hands for the good cause,” said Goliati.
In his remarks, Director of Disaster Risk Reduction in the department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) Dyce Nkhoma concurred with Goliati, saying it is expensive to respond to and recover from disasters than carrying out mitigating works.
“We need to work in close collaboration at all levels. Let us all sacrifice our time and energy in reducing disaster risks,” said Nkhoma.
Titukulane is a five-year USAID-funded-project which started in 2019 and aims at providing sustainable, equitable and resilient food and nutrition security for ultra-poor and chronically vulnerable households in Mangochi and Zomba Districts.
Among others, the US$75 million Project which is being implemented by CARE Malawi in collaboration with Emmanuel International, International Food Policy Research Institute, Save the Children, Water Aid and National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi, supports the implementation of the NRS.
The NRS is a12-year strategy led by DoDMA and aims at breaking the cycle of food and nutrition insecurity in the country by bridging development and humanitarian interventions and prioritizing a continuum of more predictable livelihood support that target vulnerable households.
