Member of Parliament for Chikwawa South Elias Abdul Karim has applauded the government of President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera for responding swiftly when Tropical Cyclone Freddy hit some districts in the Southern Region.
Speaking after distributing aid to hundreds of people in camps in Chidyamanga, Dolo, Lombe, Nyambiro and Tabwa camps, Karim stated that Malawi leader has demonstrated that he is indeed a selfless leader by being in touch with the survivors at all times.
He also thanked the President for dispatching maize to the affected areas.
In his remarks, Senior Group Village Headman Konzere commended Karim and President Chakwera for visiting the affected communities and for the aid provided.
He stated that the food aid would be of great help to the hungry people who have lost their crops due to the cyclone.
Konzere further lamented that the people’s matured crops had been washed away by the cyclone.
The United Nations in Malawi (UN) has released US$5.5 million (approximately MK5.5 billion) to the Malawi Government to enable the latter to respond to the needs of communities affected by floods that came with Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
The funding has been provided through the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
Speaking after visiting flood-affected areas on 16 March, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Malawi, Ms. Rebecca Adda-Dontoh, stated that the destruction and suffering that I witnessed in southern Malawi is the human face of the global climate crisis.
“The people I met with—many of whom have lost their homes and loved ones—have done nothing to cause this crisis. We, as the United Nations, stand in full solidarity with the people of Malawi at this tragic time and we call on the international community to do the same,” Adda-Dontoh said.
Nearly 363, 000 people are displaced and sheltering in over 500 camps across flood-affected areas of Malawi, and the death toll has risen to 447, with at least 282 people still missing, according to authorities on 18 March.
Some 75, 000 hectares of cropland has been flooded, just as farmers were about to harvest the only crop of the year. These figures are expected to rise in the days ahead as further information becomes available, especially in areas where people remain trapped by the flood waters and full information is not yet available.
The Government of Malawi is leading the response, with support from humanitarian partners. More than 1,500 people have been rescued from isolated locations and, as flood waters begin to subside, assistance is being dispatched to the hardest-hit districts.
“People are traumatized, and many have lost their homes, their belongings and their livelihoods,” said Ms. Adda-Dontoh. “In support of the Government-led response, through this CERF grant, we will aim to assist those who have been hardest-hit with life-saving and life-sustaining assistance, including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), shelter and vital non-food items, food, healthcare and prevention of gender-based violence and child protection risks.”
Southern Malawi was affected after Tropical Cyclone Freddy made its second landfall in Mozambique on 11 March and moved over land as a tropical depression, bringing torrential rainfall, devastating floods and mudslides to Malawi from 12 March. Malawi is also still facing its deadliest cholera outbreak in recent history, and there is a high risk that the disease could spread in flood-affected areas.
President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera’s appeal for support for survivors of Tropical Cyclone Freddy continues to receive overwhelming response, with Umodzi Park becoming the latest corporate entity to donate.
Umodzi Park, which is Malawi’s leading hospitality firm offering five-star hotel accommodation and tourism services, has donated K10 million worth of food and non-foodstuffs to the cyclone survivors in Lunzu Ward in Blantyre.
Speaking after presenting the donation at Ntenjera and Chilapenda Primary Schools in Lunzu Ward, Umodzi Holdings and Park Chairman John Robson Kamanga commended President Chakwera and his government for demonstrating and providing unwavering love, care and support for the survivors.
Kamanga said their initiative is therefore aimed at complementing government efforts to alleviate pain and destitution among the survivors.
President Chakwera cheering Tropical Cyclone Freddy survivors in Mangochi
“We decided to take part in the initiative, which was launched by President Lazarus Chakwera to share the pain and suffering together with the affected people. We have reached out to almost 150, 000 people with the assistance we have provided in Lunzu Ward,” he said.
Among the donated items included blankets, maize flour, plastic buckets, bed sheets, towels and soya pieces.
Kamanga disclosed that the donation was also part of corporate social responsibility for the hospitality firm.
“As one of the players in the hospitality industry, we thought of putting together assorted relief items to assist the survivors of cyclone Freddy,” he said.
Ntenjela Primary school alone has 112 survivors comprising 73 women and 39 men.
Amidst reports of theft of relief foodstuffs meant for Tropical Cyclone Freddy victims, President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has warned that his government will unleash law enforcement agents to deal with the culprits.
Chakwera issued the warning in his daily evening updates on Friday evening.
Following his appeal to local and international organizations to support Malawi efforts to care for the victims, various governments and organisations have been donating food and non-food materials to the Malawi Government.
However, reports indicate that some unscrupulous people have been stealing the materials.
The revelation has shocked President Chakwera who has worked tirelessly to ensure the victims have enough to eat whilst in the camps.
The Malawi Head of State said it was unfortunate to hear rumours that some people were mouth watering for the relief items especially in Blantyre.
“This is why I am appealing to all of you who are able to help to adopt a camp and commit your support in accordance with the needs of that camp, and we will produce a comprehensive report of everything that you donate to DoDMA so that you know how it was used. I will jealously protect your generous donations from abuse, because I know how desperately these supplies are needed. In fact, even for other non-state actors who are raising money and supplies for those in need, my Government will require them to submit reports of their usage of those resources to DoDMA so that there is accountability across the board for the use of these resources by all those who are using the resources on the ground.
Minister of Homeland Security Dr Kenneth Zikhale Ng’oma echoed Chakwera’s warning, adding that the law will take its course on people who are stealing relief items meant to support Tropical Cyclone Freddy survivors in various evacuation camps in some districts in Southern Malawi.
Ng’oma made the remarks when he led a delegation comprising Education Minister Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima, Deputy minister of Local Government Owen Chomanika and other senior government officials to donate over 2400 bags of maize to Cyclone Freddy survivors at camps in Thyolo district.
President Chakwera visiting Tropical Cyclone Freddy survivors in Chikwawa
Ng’oma and his team visited Nansato and Thangadzuwa Primary School camps in the district.
According to Ng’oma, some people are taking advantage to steal relief items meant for the victims of the cyclone Freddy, saying the behavior is dentrimental to the country’s development.
The minister warned that the law will take its course on any one involved in the malpractice.
He said: “Those of you who are planning to steal relief items for the survivors of the Cyclone, I will catch you. You better stop your evil plans because you will see the long arm of the law.”
On his part, Deputy Minister of Local Government Owen Chomanika advised the affected people to take good care of the relief items.
Chomanika stressed that government is doing its best to help all the people affected by the cyclone.
Member of Parliament for Thyolo Central Constituency, Ben Phiri thanked government for the support.
Additionally, Phiri suggested that there is need for government to decentalize disaster response for quick response once people are hit by the disasters, considering that at the moment the response takes abit long.
Meanwhile, Thyolo District Commisioner Rosemary Nawatcha has revealed that the district has registered over 3000 survivors with 13 reported dead.
She has since appealed for more support from non-governmental organizations and well-wishers.
ActionAid Malawi has disclosed that it is scaling up its interventions and working with local partners in the affected districts to urgently assess the situation, provide vital assistance to the worst affected survivors and support rescue efforts.
Tropical Cyclone Freddy has made landfall for a second time this week in East Africa, raging through Malawi and causing gusty winds, heavy rainfall, mudslides and increased flooding. The death toll in Malawi stands at 225 but this is expected to increase.
Cyclone Freddy has affected over 83, 000 people in Malawi, including displacing thousands of people from their homes., 707 are injured and many more are missing. The devasting impact of the cyclone has left many people in dire need of humanitarian aid.
Speaking to Nthanda Times on Friday, Maria, who was displaced by the storm in Kampira village said: “I have lost all my property. We are in urgent need of food, shelter, and clothing.”
Esther, another displaced person and survivor from Nyang’a Village said: “My property and belongings have been washed away. As a result, I am currently displaced.”
ActionAid Malawi Country Director Pamela Kuwali said the country is reeling from the impact of Cyclone Freddy.
Kuwali: the country is reeling from cyclone Freddy
“This is a community which was already under huge pressure before the cyclone hit, with a fifth of people in the country facing food insecurity, over 70 per cent of people living below the poverty line and the deadliest outbreak of cholera experienced by Malawi underway. Our priority now is to support partners working in the districts affected to undergo a rapid needs assessment to understand the scale of the damage. We are also involved with rescue efforts to find people who are missing,” said Kuwali.
The World Meteorological Organization continues to assess whether Cyclone Freddy is the longest-running tropical cyclone in history. According to reports by World Health Organization (WHO) extreme weather conditions and climate events directly affected over half a million people in 2021 and increases the vulnerability of women and girls.
Calling on governments to make loss and damage funding a reality for groups with increased vulnerabilities, Teresa Anderson, Global Lead for Climate Justice at ActionAid International, said: “The reality is that climate change is bringing ever more intense cyclones, floods, and storms. In Africa, the cyclone season has the potential to be deadly.
“Women, children and girls, are hit hardest by climate disasters. During the COP27 climate summit last year, wealthy states in the Global North pledged to set up a loss and damage fund so that countries can rebuild at the aftermath of severe weather events, such as Cyclone Freddy. Governments must act now to make this fund a reality and deliver for those on the frontline of climate chaos who can’t wait any longer.”
Ministry of Health has warned Malawians against relenting and relaxing in the fight against HIV and Aids as latest statistics indicate that the country is registering 15, 000 new HIV cases annually.
Additionally, the country loses 11, 000 HIV and Aids-related deaths per year, a development authorities at the Capital Hill and its development partners have described as ‘still too huge’.
Care and Treatment Programme Officer in the Department of HIV and Aids (DHA), Dr. Bilaal Wilson, lamented that while the country on track to attain UNAIDS’ 95:95:95 targets, the battle to reduce new infections seems to be far from reach.
A cross-section of the participants to the National Strategic Plan 2020-2025 for fighting HIV and Aids in Malawi
Wilson made the sentiments in an interview on the sidelines of a mid-year review of the National Strategic Plan for HIV and Aids (2022-2025). The review meeting took place at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Thursday.
“In term of progress, we have made a good progress towards achieving the 95:95:95 targets. Of course, we are lagging behind in the first 95, which deals with testing and the number of HIV people who know their status. But that is just at 94 percent, and we believe that by 2025, we should be able to hit the target,” he said.
One of the presenters making his presentation during the review meeting
“However, although we are mostly likely to achieve the targets, the fight against HIV and Aids is not over. We still have a high number of people contracting HIV annually. We also have a challenge with HIV positive persons adhering to treatment and care,” added Wilson.
This notwithstanding, UNAIDS Country Director Dr. Nuha Ceesay, said his organization is impressed with the progress Malawi is making towards eliminating Aids by 2030.
Ceesay pledged continued support to Malawi’s fight against the disease.
National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) –a government parastatal responsible for the enhancement and promotion of science and technology in Malawi – has challenged journalists to develop interest in science and technology reporting.
NCST Acting Director of Planning Kondwani Victor Gondwe observed that the industry is receiving minimal coverage because majority of the journalists do not understand its importance to the social and economic growth of the nation.
Gondwe made the sentiments in Mponela, Dowa, on Wednesday during a one-day orientation workshop that drew journalists from a number of media institutions in Malawi.
He observed that many journalists are afraid of reporting on science and technology because they think the subjects are either too complicated for them to understand or too boring for their audience.
However, Gondwe stated that with the proper preparation, and by following a few simple rules, reporting science and technology can be one of the most interesting jobs a journalist can do.
“Hence, we organized this orientation to appraise our journalists so that they gain knowledge and skills that can enable them to report effectively on science and technology. We believe that empowering our journalists is very critical in terms of creating stories that should help Malawians to learn what science, technology and innovation is and how they can use science products in our economy,” he said.
Gondwe granting journalists an interview on the sidelines of the orientation workshop
Gondwe stated that the orientation is part of the initaitives the Commission is undertaking to bridge a gap that exists in media coverage on the subject.
“What we are doing is to appraise our journalists to do investigative journalism, but also to science journalism. If you can’t understand science, it will not be easy to report on science and technology,” he narrated.
In his presentation, National Planning Commission (NPC) Research Manager Dr. Andrew Jamali., said aggressive reporting science and technology can help Malawi fast-track attainment of Malawi 2063 – the country’s long-term development agenda.
Jamali said the media is therefore supposed to act as a bridge between the world of science and their communities.
NCST officials and journalists pose for a photo
He, however, emphasized that journalists do not need to be experts in science and technology, but simply need to be able to put the relevant parts of their knowledge into words, which your audience can understand.
“You do not have to understand the whole of any field of science yourself, but you must not write anything you do not understand. If you write something you do not understand, you risk making errors,” he said.
Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) reporter Cassim Aubi commended NCST for the training, describing it as an eye opener to them.
Aubi said the training had come at the right time when Malawi is making advancements in the science and technology sector.
“The knowledge and skills we have gained from this training will help us report correctly on the subject,” he said.
The raging Tropical Cyclone Freddy has made most health facilities inaccessible to people in the affected districts, a preliminary report from the Ministry of Health says.
The cyclone, according to the report, led to the loss of access to health facilities and infrastructure, resulting in an acute shortage of staff and supplies.
The report states that four health centres of Luwani, Dambe, Nsambe, and Matope, are inaccessible in Neno while in Chikwawa, Nchalo Hunger and Ngabu Rural Health Centres are also inaccessible due to road washouts.
In Nsanje district, there is no access to all M1 health facilities due to road washouts, and all outreach clinics have been suspended.
In Mulanje district, three health facilities are inaccessible, two of which are due to road washouts, and one due to flooding.
In Phalombe district, four health centres are not accessible, and Phalombe Health Centre was completely flooded. Blantyre district, however, has not reported any damage to infrastructure so far.
Human resources have also been affected, as health workers in the affected districts have been displaced and have lost property, leading to an acute shortage of staff in their facilities.
Makhanga Health Centre in Nsanje
Some health centres have lost all their supplies, while others have lost some, leading to a critical shortage of supplies in certain accessible facilities.
Additionally, power outages have led to a need for an urgent supply of fuel for transportation and generators.
Some health facilities do not have running water due to the power outage.
Cyclone Freddy has also resulted in deaths and injuries.
In Blantyre district, a total of 119 people were brought in dead (BID) at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), while the total number seen at QECH was 404.
There were 111 adult admissions, including 54 men, 57 women, and three pregnant women.
A total of 76 children were seen, with one child reported dead in the hospital. In Nsanje district, the cumulative number of deaths reported is 10.
The ministry is still waiting for data on the number of injuries and deaths in other districts as they have yet to do a rapid assessment.
Meanwhile, the ministry urges everyone in the affected areas to exercise caution and follow the guidelines provided by the authorities.
Former President and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leader Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika is expected to visit and cheer victims of Tropical Cyclone Freddy in Blantyre this afternoon.
DPP spokesperson Shadric Namalomba told Nthanda Times on Wednesday morning that Mutharika will visit the victims at Matope Primary School in Ndirande at 2pm and Good Samaritan Camp in Green Corner.
To visit cyclone victims – MUTHARIKA
Namalomba has since invited Malawians of goodwill to accompany APM to the sites.
Malawi President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has assured victims of the Tropical Cyclone Freddy in some districts in the Southern Region that his government will provide maximum support to them.
He has since expressed deep sadness at the loss of life and destruction caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy in some districts in the Southern Region.
The cyclone reportedly claimed over 200 lives and destroyed dozens of homes in the Southern Region of Malawi.
In his speech at the Kamuzu International Airport on his arrival from Doha, Qatar, where he attended the United Nations 5th Conference of Least Developed Countries in Qatar, Chakwera, assured that his government will provide the needed support to the victims.
Chakwera: Government will provide needed support to the victims
He emphasized the need for urgent action and support.
President Chakwera also traveled to South Africa, where he carried out a number of bilateral engagements, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He urged all stakeholders to prioritize the safety and well-being of those affected by Cyclone Freddy and to work together to provide urgent support and assistance.
The Malawi Government has declared a state of disaster in the affected areas, and international partners and humanitarian organizations have responded to provide relief and support.
Install the Nthanda Times APK for a faster, smoother, and more seamless browsing experience.
