By Thomas Kachere:
The lives of hundreds of people, including women and children, in Lanchi Village, Traditional Authority (TA) Mlolo, Nsanje District, are at risk as they rely on M’bwazi River for drinking water due to lack of potable water.
The community of 264 households relocated to the area in 2025 after flash floods washed away their houses in villages under Group Village Head Chitseko.
But, a year later, they are still waiting for the government to provide them with a safe water source.
Instead of taps or boreholes, they have the river.
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“We drink river water like animals,” said one elderly woman, summarising the sense of desperation that has defined life on the hill.
For women and young girls, the crisis has a heavier cost.
Every morning, Ireen Wayisoni, a mother of two, descends the steep, rocky hill to M’bwazi River with a 20-litre bucket on her head.
She said she makes the same trip three times a day, for drinking, washing and bathing water.
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“We use the river for drinking, washing and bathing. We do not have a safe water source around this community and it is unsafe to live like this,” Wayisoni said.
She explained that the nearest borehole is kilometres away in another village.
With a child on her back and another expected to be at school, she has no choice but to use water from the river.
“The water is not safe, but we are forced to use it. What can we do?” she asked.
The burden is familiar for Talandila Eliya, another mother in the village.
She said as the rainy season approaches, fear has returned to the community.
“We are afraid of being affected by waterborne diseases. We need help so that we can have a protected water source,” she said.
Her fear is justified.
In 2025, Lanchi Village registered nine cholera cases, according to community records.
Health officials linked the cases to the use of untreated water from M’bwazi River.
Village Head Lanchi described the situation as worrisome.
He said his people moved to higher land voluntarily after being affected by floods, with support from well-wishers and a crisis cash transfer programme.
“Since we relocated here, we have been using the river as our only source of water. We have never had any form of support, in terms of the provision of water services,” the chief said.
He has appealed to the government and other stakeholders to urgently assist the community.
In 2025, Nsanje District was heavily affected by flash floods, triggered by overflowing rivers.
Hundreds of hectares of crop fields were damaged, and thousands of families sought refuge at camps, including M’bwazi Evacuation Camp, after their houses became uninhabitable.
While the government and partners celebrated moving people from low-lying, flood-prone areas as a climate adaptation success, they left behind a critical component: water.
Health rights activist Maziko Matemba described the development as regrettable.
“These people are supposed to be supported. Councillors and the Member of Parliament should discuss this issue during the Full Council Meeting so that lives are protected,” Matemba said.
“More than 200 households is a huge population that requires urgent attention and all of them have a right to life,” he said.
Matemba also appealed to civil society and youth groups to speak out so that the district council prioritises people living in relocation sites.
Member of Parliament for Nsanje North, Francis Folley, did not respond to our questions on the matter despite several attempts.
The crisis in Lanchi exposes a dangerous gap in Malawi’s relocation and climate adaptation strategy.
While relocation saves lives from drowning, relocation without water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash)) creates a new public health emergency.
The situation directly undermines several global and national commitments.
It violates Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which calls for universal access to clean water and sanitation, and SDG 3 on good health and well-being, as the community remains exposed to cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases.
A community that survived floods only to drink from a river like animals is not resilient.
For Ireen Wayisoni, the policy documents mean little. As she waits for the river water to settle in her bucket before giving it to her children, her only request is simple: “Give us a borehole. We don’t need much; we just need clean water.”
