» The government reserves emergency response fund

In a bid to timely respond to disasters, the government of Malawi has set aside a Contingent Emergency Response (CERC) fund to provide short-term bridge financing exclusively for the immediate recovery needs related to an eligible emergency. Through the Regional Climate Resilience Program (RCRP-2), the government of Malawi, with support from the World Bank, has reserved funds for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA). The US$5 million seed money is being facilitated by the World Food Program (WFP) to procure maize, according to DoDMA’s Commissioner, Wilson Moleni. “The CERC will support Malawi’s emergency preparedness and response capacity to the impact of natural hazards, including financing of post-disaster critical emergency goods or emergency recovery and associated services, as well as targeted provision of post-disaster Social Safety Net (SSN) support to affected households and individuals,” he said. Added Moleni: “Following a large-scale disaster, the government’s declaration of disaster, per national law and subject to the bank’s activation policy, would trigger the contingent component. This component is designed to allow rapid access to project funds for response and recovery purposes under streamlined procedures during an emergency.” On top of that, the Program, which is grant aid, is supporting the construction and equipping of the National Disaster Risk Management and Climate Resilience Centre and the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC). “It will also involve technical assistance on the construction of a purposefully built National Climate and Resilience Centre and the NEOC at the national level that will also house DoDMA, the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (DCCMS), and the Department of Water Resources (DWR),” he explained. The centre will be prepared with standard early warning systems equipment, including ICT equipment, furniture, and radio communication to link it with all local authorities in the country, even during times when there is a total communication disruption. “The proposed NEOC, which will be operating 24/7, providing real-time early warning information to facilitate timely decision-making during emergencies, is expected to meet all international standards as well as to be in line with the regulations on the construction of government buildings,” added Moleni. Additionally, he stated that the Operations Centre will further function as the communication hub, bringing all Disaster Risk Management (DRM) stakeholders together during both emergency and peaceful times. “It will also support the functionality of the DRM Technical Sub-committee, area DRM committees and volunteers at the village level through capacity building in areas of search and rescue and DRM reporting and monitoring, as well as to define interventions related to early to medium-term recovery from disasters. “Its technology and operational protocols will serve to train and standardise action protocols for all members of the DRM institutional structure,” mentioned the Commissioner. The RCRP-2 Project Coordinator Adwell Zembele says the Program will also support the development of the National Emergency Response Plan to coordinate response at all levels to ensure timelier and coordinated efforts. “At the decentralised level, District Commissioners coordinate emergency activities. Districts generally develop/update their plans using methodologies and templates that vary, and with limited involvement of clusters at the national level, making the approaches dissimilar. “RCRP-2 will, therefore, support the development of the national Emergency Response Plan to provide guidelines for coordination and response to all types of disasters and emergencies at all levels in Malawi,” he said. The plan will aim to facilitate the coordination for delivering resources and services necessary to deal with the consequences of an emergency or major disaster. The RCRP-2 has five components, including a Contingent Emergency Response-CERC that integrates regional and national dimensions, promoting policy harmonisation, knowledge generation, capacity development, and coordination across RCRP countries. The other components include risk management and climate financing, infrastructure investments and sustainable asset management for climate resilience, and adaptive climate services for resilient communities.