An official from The Commonwealth has praised Malawians’ resilience to shocks, including those triggered by climate change.
Alison Raw, Head of Public Health and Disaster Resilience in The Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Office, stressed the importance of taking action to further support people’s self-reliance.
Raw was in Malawi from March 3 to 9 to see and hear challenges that people in the country are facing in the wake of sustained impacts of climate change and other issues.
Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change Michael Usi had invited the Commonwealth official so that she could see for herself Malawians’ needs and how the organisation can assist.
“It is important to think of how we can leverage that resilience to build programmes that uplift people’s lives.
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“Impacts of clime change will become more frequent, but we want to make people become more resilient through skills, seed funding and any kind of support from international organisations and banks,” Raw said.
The two addressed the press in Blantyre after a nationwide tour of areas such as those affected by dry spells and floods.
Raw also weighed in on the nexus between climate change and health, calling for more investments to address relevant problems.
“For instance, when there is an increase in the impacts of climate change, then we know there is also an increase in cases of malaria and other infectious diseases.
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“When we have intense heat, then you know there will be issues of dehydration,” she said.
In January this year, the World Meteorological Organisation officially confirmed that 2023 is the warmest year on record, by a huge margin.
Local health experts stated that the heat could increase the risk of illness and death from coughs, lung and heart problems and carbon monoxide poisoning from poorly maintained heating appliances.
Speaking during the press briefing, Usi said what Malawi is interested in is more action than just talking when it comes to challenges that people face.
“So when I met Raw in New York and Dubai last year, I invited her to Malawi so that she could see the issues that The Commonwealth can help address,” the minister said.
He added that the transformation of people’s lives must be highlighted by the people themselves who see and feel it.
Usi further said he expects that support from The Commonwealth will soon start flowing in after Raw’s visit.
Raw herself promised that “something will be on the ground” before October, when Commonwealth heads of government will be meeting in Samoa.
Malawi has in recent years been hit by extreme weather events, the latest being Tropical Cyclone Freddy, which left more than 1,200 people dead and over 650,000 others displaced last year.
The country has also been battling prolonged dry spells this year before other areas also got devastated by floods which killed at least six people a few days ago.
