Items filtered by date: February 2022

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Wednesday, 23 February 2022 10:36

JICA donates MK200 million worth relief items towards ANA response

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has donated K200 million worth emergency relief items to the Government of Malawi for people affected by Tropical Storm ANA-induced floods.

Addressing members of the media on Saturday (12th February, 2022) at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA), the Japanese Ambassador to Malawi His Excellency Satoshi Iwakiri, expressed heartfelt sympathy to people affected by Tropical Storm ANA.

Iwakiri said he requested his government to assist the affected considering that Malawi and Japan are good friends and that the items will make a difference.

“We requested our government to take a quick action so that we reach out to the affected in any possible manner. I hope that the affected people will make use of the items accordingly,” said Iwakiri.

In his speech, Chief Representative of JICA, Kazuhiro Tambara said the donation is in response to President Lazarus Chakwera's appeal for assistance after he declared a State of Disaster.

He said Japan has experienced a lot of natural disasters and received support from friends from other countries hence the need to assist Malawi.

"In response to President Chakwera's call, the Embassy of Japan and JICA, in consultation with Japanese Government, have facilitated Japanese disaster relief assistance which we are witnessing today," said Tambara.

He emphasised the need for Malawi to strengthen disaster risk reduction interventions, stressing that climate change and environmental degradation is considered to be making the impact of disasters more serious.

Receiving the donation on behalf of the Malawi Government and the affected people, Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs, Charles Kalemba commended the people and Government of Japan for responding positively to the declaration of ‘state of disaster’ and appeal for assistance by President Dr Lazarus Chakwera

Kalemba said the donation will go a long way to address the needs of the affected people in particular and the disaster response operations in general as the country is working hard to meet the basic food and survival needs of the affected population, decongestion of the camps as well as restoration of basic services in the affected areas.

“Let me assure you that this donation will be used for its sole intended purpose, that is, the provision of shelter and relief assistance to disaster affected people,” said Kalemba.

He then extended an invitation to JICA representatives to witness the actual distribution of the donated relief items to beneficiaries in the targeted areas, next week.

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Friday, 11 February 2022 08:53

China donates MK129 million towards tropical storm ANA response

The Government of the People’s Republic of China has donated funds amounting to MK129 million to Malawi Government towards Tropical Storm ANA flood response.

Speaking in Lilongwe, on Thursday (10th February, 2022) the Chinese Ambassador to Malawi, His Excellency Liu Hongyang expressed condolences and sympathy to the people that were badly hit by Tropical Storm ANA.

Hongyang said the donation was in response to President Lazarus Chakwera’s call for support towards the affected people immediately he declared a State of Disaster.

He said when his office learnt about the storm and its devastating effects, he reported back to Beijing; hence the donation.

“This is not the first time the Chinese Government is making such a donation. We hope that the money will cushion the hardships the affected people in the southern region are currently facing,” said Hongyang.

He called upon the donor community to provide the needed assistance to government of Malawi as it continues reaching out to the affected people.

He said: “Climate Change is real and it is damaging. It is not only a science issue but also a human rights issue. I hope that the donor community will lend a helping hand to the Government of Malawi to meet the needs of the affected people.

On his part, Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs, Charles Kalemba thanked the Chinese Government for the donation and promised that it will go towards its intended purpose.

Kalemba hailed the Chinese Government for the gesture saying it has been a close ally of DoDMA in terms of humanitarian assistance in all the times that the country has experienced disasters.

“We still have got very huge needs in terms of supporting the people who are in the camps to have food and to provide shelter, later on rebuilding their lives.

“The money that has been donated by the embassy will fast-track the provision of food stuff and shelter so that we decongest the camps,” said Kalemba.

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Thursday, 10 February 2022 16:58

Provision of food assistance under the Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme

Government, through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) in collaboration with various development and humanitarian partners, is providing food assistance to over 1.7 million food insecure households in all the 28 districts and four cities of the country, under the MVAC Humanitarian Response Programme (Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme).

The response programme is being implemented through two modalities namely; cash transfers and in- kind maize distribution. The affected populations in Nsanje, Chikwawa, Neno, Balaka, Ntcheu, Likoma and Phalombe, and some affected populations in Mangochi and Machinga are getting cash transfers while the rest of the districts and some parts of Mangochi and Machinga are getting in-kind support, in form of relief maize.

The programme rolled-out with Chikwawa district in which slightly over 26,000 affected households, are getting cash transfers of K18,000 each for the purchase of food, monthly; from December 2021 to February 2022 while most of the affected populations in the rest of the districts started getting assistance from 17th January, 2022.

Government allocated 29,168 metric tonnes of maize valued at K6.56 billion from the strategic grain reserves for the programme and the department is working with various partners who are providing cash transfers to affected populations. A total of about K16.09 billion worth of resources (financial and in-kind) have been mobilised so far from government and development partners namely; Germany, Irish Aid, European Union, USAID, WFP and UNICEF.

Currently, the department has finalised distributing maize to beneficiaries in Rumphi, Mwanza, Mzuzu City, Karonga and Chitipa.

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Saturday, 05 February 2022 16:17

ERIMA investment donates relief items to people affected by tropical storm ANA

The Lilongwe-based ERIMA investment has donated relief items worth over MK2 million to assist people affected by Moderate Tropical Storm ANA in some parts of the country.

The items include bedsheets, clothes, shoes for babies and women, umbrellas, plates, cups, basins among others.

Speaking on Friday when he handed over the items to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) at Capital Hill; Lilongwe, General Manager for ERIMA, Elias Afewerki said they believe that the donation will alleviate challenges being faced by the affected.

“We saw the suffering of the people and decided that we reach out with the little we had. We hope that the donation will make a difference and put a smile on someone’s face,” said Afewerki.

Receiving the donation, Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs, Charles Kalemba thanked ERIMA for the kind gesture towards the affected persons.

Kalemba said the devastation is huge and every hand that stretches to help makes a difference.

“On behalf of the Government of Malawi, I want to say thank you to ERIMA for the donation. What you have done today is no little gesture for it will touch lives of the affected and will relieve the pain they have gone through,” said Kalemba.

He assured ERIMA that whatever they have donated will be channeled towards the intended beneficiaries.

He added that DoDMA will be transparent as much as it can and will account for every donation made to gain the confidence of those that think DoDMA will abuse the donations made.

Kalemba encouraged those that want to make donations to inform DoDMA for coordination purposes so that the affected are equally assisted.

He said: “We call upon all well-wishers to inform us so that we coordinate areas of assistance to avoid duplication. Even those that have donations but lack transport should come to us so that we provide transport to the affected areas.

ERIMA Investment is located at the Gateway Complex and sells clothes and assorted items.

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Thursday, 03 February 2022 13:48

FDH Bank donates MK27.5 Million for disaster response

First Discount House (FDH) Financial Holdings Limited has donated a relief package of MK27.5 million to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) extending a heartfelt helping hand to areas that have been affected by Moderate Tropical Storm ANA.

Handing over the cheque to DoDMA, FDH Managing Director, Mike Chiwalo said FDH Financial Holdings mobilized itself and pooled some funds to go towards purchase of food and non-food items including maize flour, cooking oil, beans, soya pieces, kapenta, buckets, blankets; just to mention a few.

Chiwalo said FDH, as a responsible citizen, do not only care about the people of Malawi when there is good business only, they care about their welfare in all times because FDH resonates with the needs of Malawians.

“ANA badly affected the nation at large and it left many families destitute as they were stripped of their livelihoods and now lack the basic necessities to survive.

“Even though these donations cannot reverse the tragedy of the floods, it is a first step towards assisting these families to get back on their feet. We wish to extend our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones in these terrible floods and hence rendering the support,” said Chiwalo.

Out of the MK27.5 million, FDH Bank Plc has contributed MK15 million, FDH Limited contributed K7.5 million while FDH Money Bureau contributed MK5 million.

“We would like to take this opportunity to commend DoDMA under the Malawi Government for their efforts in managing the impact of the floods,” said Chiwalo.

Receiving the donation, Director of Response and Recovery, Moses Chimphepo said the department was grateful for the support rendered and assured the bank that the donation will go towards its intended purpose.

Chimphepo said any donations towards Tropical Storm ANA response operations will be accounted for and will be handled in a transparent manner.

“This is a very good gesture as the bank has responded to the call made by the President when he declared a State of Disaster on 26th January, following the devastating effects of ANA. These funds and relief items will go towards the intended purpose,” said Chimphepo.

So far, UNICEF Malawi, Concern Worldwide, Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS), Partners in Health, Gift of the Givers, Save the Children, the World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health Organisation (WHO) have also provided relief assistance in affected districts.

DoDMA continue to receive relief assistance from organisations, companies and individuals of goodwill amidst widespread disinformation aimed at frustrating response operations towards ANA. The department will be updating the general public on any donation it receives on behalf of the affected people.

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Thursday, 03 February 2022 13:43

Chakwera calls for unity in disaster response operations

President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has called for unity amongst the citizenry of this country and all stakeholders in disaster response saying it will help the country to be resilient and make fast strides in recovery and building back.

Chakwera made the remarks Monday in Chikwawa after an arial and road tour in the affected areas.

Speaking at Thabwa where he addressed the affected persons, Chakwera said the effects of moderate tropical storm ANA are very devastating and call for concerted efforts if the country is to experience a speedy recovery.

He said that he was aware that people were warned in advance and some moved to upland areas but they never had an idea, judging from previous experiences, what was to be before them.

“I have gone round to see the affected areas. The community leaders have confirmed that ever since their existence, they have never seen anything flooding of this magnitude, which means that it was beyond anyone’s capacity to withstand,” said Chakwera.

He said that there is need for people to hold hands to reach out to the affected so that in no time the country can get back to normality.

Chakwera added that Malawi will need help to reconstruct in terms of housing, road and electricity infrastructure.

He said: “I have been informed that in two days time they will have completed compilation of all what is needed as they are currently doing an inter-agency assessment.

“And we trust that friends will have to come to our aid from anywhere around the globe.”

On his part, one of the affected people at Thabwa camp, Jonathan Ngozo informed the President that the camp has 354 affected households and that the number keeps on rising.

Ngozo said their immediate needs are food, shelter as they plan to rework on their farms since all their crops were washed away.

“The numbers of those affected keeps rising. As you can see Mr President, it will take time for us to recover hence a plea to government to continue supporting us till when we are ready to provide for ourselves. In the immediate term Mr President, we need inputs to replant,” said Ngozo.

Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs, Charles Kalemba assured the President that the department will continue to look after the affected households especially those in camps making sure that the environment in the camps is conducive for all.

Kalemba said the department is aware of the needs in the camps and all affected areas but response has been hampered by road cut-offs.

“The department in collaboration with other stakeholders is trying its level best to reach out to all affected districts. In most areas, trucks carrying relief items cannot deliver the items to designated points because the roads are impassable,” said Kalemba.

However, he said that stakeholders such as the Roads Authority, Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi (ESCOM)are working tirelessly to restore the services in all the affected districts and assured the president that road and electricity services for the Lower Shire may be reinstated by the end of the week.

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