UN Requests Immediate Assistance for Malawi Cyclone Survivors

More than a million people who were impacted by Cyclone Freddy are in need of assistance, and the United Nations and its humanitarian partners in Malawi are requesting $70.6 million to do so.

More than 650,000 people were displaced by the cyclone, which also affected Mozambique and Madagascar, and hundreds of people died in southern Malawi.

According to the U.N., the rapid appeal would give people most affected by the crisis shelter, food, health care, water, and sanitation.

The new flash appeal brings the total to $115.9 million, adding to the $45.3 million requested earlier this year by humanitarian partners to address a cholera outbreak.

The United Nations claims that with the money, it would be able to act quickly in support of the government of Malawi’s initiative to aid communities devastated by Cyclone Freddy and cholera.

According to Rebecca Adda-Dontoh, the U.N. resident coordinator in Malawi, Malawians have banded together to help one another during this dire need. The plea aims to increase global solidarity.

In Malawi, the cyclone destroyed a large number of bridges and cut off numerous roads, rendering many places only accessible by boats and planes.

According to official data, the hurricane killed at least 676 people, and because more than 600 more remain missing, the death toll is certain to increase.

Committee on Natural Resources and Climate Chair Werani Chilenga

According to a change in Malawi’s parliament, if the nation had managed its natural resources more effectively, the cyclone’s destruction would have been less.

“We nearly lost all of our woods. Our land has been damaged, he claimed. “As a group, we have already begun to press the government to develop intentional policies that would provide free distribution of these gas stoves to residents of cities and towns. Because the charcoal market is concentrated in urban areas.

In order to discourage people from burning charcoal, the committee gave out gas-powered stoves to cyclone victims on Sunday who were residing in a camp in Blantyre.

Chilenga remarked, “If we can’t accomplish it, then these disasters will continue to occur.” And every year, we’ll return to this location to provide meals to campers, which is against our will as Malawians.

According to a statement from the U.N., the appeal aims to give people most affected by the disaster an integrated response that includes housing, food, health, water, sanitation, and hygiene, as well as protection.

The government is now striving to assist people migrate out of disaster-prone regions and begin a new life, according to Reverend Moses Chimphepo, director for preparedness for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs in Malawi.

“We are attempting to put together a package with the food the government is supplying and organise enough money to provide it to the district councils so that they may distribute to those who are willing to go,” he added.

In the meanwhile, Saulosi Chilima, the vice president of Malawi, has requested Blantyre municipal officials to overturn a court decision that permitted locals to construct unpermitted dwellings in mountainous regions.

Cyclone Freddy triggered mudslides on slopes in Chilobwe Township, which resulted in thousands of residents in Blantyre having their homes washed away and hundreds of others losing their lives.