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Dodma gives community tips to mitigate disaster impact

 

Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) commissioner Clement Chinthu-Phiri has advised people in flood-prone areas to develop a habit of protecting natural resources to contain and minimise the impact of natural disasters.

Chinthu-Phiri, who is also Principal Secretary in the Office of the Vice-President, told the people to conserve the environment, avoid environmental degradation and control population growth to ease pressure on resources such as land.

Chinthu-Phiri (2nd R) and Shi-Ting (R) lift the cut ribbon symbolising the launch

He made the remarks during the official handover ceremony of one of the K470 million evacuation centres from the People’s Republic of China and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at Mankhwazi Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Khombedza in Salima under the Small Grants Scheme (SGS).

Chinthu-Phiri said overpopulation is slowly becoming a major contributing factor to natural disasters such as floods and drought.

He said: “Some of the things that cause these disasters are avoidable. We need to put measures to control population and degradation of natural resources. When we are multiplying a lot, we finish up the natural resources fast and in the end they have an effect on climate, which leads to the calamities. Building resilience requires great sacrifice and changing our mindset.”

Half of the country’s 28 districts are prone to disasters and the impact is seen largely due to lack of preparedness, slow recovery capacity and limited early warning systems.

In his remarks, Chinese Ambassador Shi-Ting Wang said it is sad that disasters have a greater impact on the people, especially in the disaster-prone areas, as they are left destitute, without anything; hence, their small grants project to give a hand where it is needed.

He said: “This is part of our SGS to the country. We know that Malawi is vulnerable to disasters and people suffer because of that. This facility will go a long way in disaster resilience and it will help to bring temporal shelter to those affected, on top of this, China has also donated 10 000 tonnes of rice to Malawi as part of disaster response.”

The project, according to UNDP, is expected to benefit an approximate 23 000 people in Chikwawa, Mangochi, Karonga, Salima and Nsanje districts.

UNDP resident representative Maria Jose Torres Macho said they will continue doing more to promote resilience.

“The safe homes will help the communities a lot, especially women and children who become desperate when such disasters strike, UNDP is committed to do more to ensure that we reduce disaster risks and are well prepared for future risks,” she said.

Each evacuation centre is expected to accommodate a maximum of 200 people. The structures have separate rooms for males and females, store rooms, kitchen, and an office room, with separate male and female pit latrines and a nearby borehole.

In recent years, Malawi has been experiencing more frequent floods, droughts, strong winds and other extreme weather conditions which have put lives of communities at risk. n

 

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