Funding frustrating Malawi disaster department response

Malawi’s department of disaster management has confessed it is failing to handle natural disasters in the country to the best of their levels due to lack of funding.

During a policy dissemination workshop the department conducted in Mangochi, it was revealed that the department does not have fixed funding from the government.

“The phenomenon affects our responses to the disasters,” said Veronica Mhango, mitigation officer at the department.

Mhango added that the department has not had an independent budget vote since 1991.

“When a disaster strikes we immediately start looking around for funds instead of helping out those affected. That is how serious the situation has become,” said Mhango.

She however said that they have drafted a policy whose purpose is to solve some of the challenges in responding to disasters.

Association of Environmental Journalists in Malawi (AEJM) president Emmanuel Muwamba asked members of the media to take a pivotal role in disseminating the policy to the general public.

He said the policy, dubbed ‘National Disaster Risk Management Policy’ “presents an opportunity for effective implementation and coordination of disaster risk management programmes and activities in the country.”

The policy has been developed to guide disaster risk management mainstreaming in the country by providing policy strategies that would achieve the long term goal of reducing disaster losses in lives and in the social, economic and environmental assets of communities.

Studies show that in the 2014/2015 season natural disasters are responsible for the drop in maize production from projected 3,978,123 metric tonnes to 2,898,123 metric tonnes.

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