Malawi VP Chimulirenji hails World Bank for support towards disaster mitigation
State Vice PresidentEverton Chimulirenji has hailed the World Bank for supporting Malawi Government through the Malawi Flood Emergency Response Project (MFERP) following the 2015 floods that affected 15 districts including Mangochi.
Chimulirenji expressed the appreciation on Saturday at Chantulo Primary School ground in the area of Senior Chief Nankumba in Mangochi on a familiarization tour of the disaster affected areas where he also donated 600 50kg bags of maize.
During the visit, Chimulirenji who toured some of the structures constructed by the World Bank (WB) at the school, said government and the people of Malawi shall always remain grateful for the support they get from partners such as the WB.
“The World Bank has always been Malawi’s ever-present partner and the institution has supported Malawi in various areas,” said Chimulirenji. “On behalf of the State President, Professor Peter Mutharika and the people of Malawi, I would like to thank the institution for the enormous support.”
Chimulirenji asked the WB to continue partnering with Malawi in promoting the well-being of Malawians and all those affected by disasters.
He also asked members of the communities where government and its partners are implementing various infrastructural developments to support the projects by mobilizing local resources.
“As members of the community, you can contribute to the disaster mitigation infrastructures by mobilizing resources such as bricks and sand,” he said.
Chimulirenji also appealed to other development partners who partner with government in building people’s resilience in times of disaster to continue supporting the country.
WB Country Manager, Clegg Toulmin pledged the commitment of the Bank in working hand-in-hand with government and other development partners to see Malawians recover from the shocks of disaster.
Toulmin said the post disaster needs assessment (PDNA) that WB and other partners conducted after the 2015 floods established that the country needed nearly US$500M for recovery and reconstruction and that the education sub-sector alone required US$23m.
He, therefore, noted that during the 2015 floods, public infrastructure was heavily affected and that provision of public services such as quality education, health care and markets were disrupted.
“…the floods substantially damaged about 461 out of 2,662 schools across the 15 districts leaving over 410,000 primary school learners unable to access education,” Toulmin observed, adding that due to the development, school enrolment dropped by 32 percent.
He said to address the recovery needs the World Bank together with Malawi Government developed the MFERP for US$80 million, emphasizing on building back better to enhance the resilience of the affected areas.
Toulmin, however, appealed to development partners in the country to join hands in supporting Malawians affected by disasters to recover from the shock.
“I call upon government, development partners and various stakeholders to champion the recommendations of the 2019 PDNA,” said Toulmin.
World Bank constructed a school block and a teacher’s house at Chantulo Primary School which was heavily affected by floods in 2015.
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