World Bank has committed to provide $100 million grant (approximately K103 billion) to Malawi Government to assist in the post Cyclone Freddy response.
World Bank Managing Director of Operations, Anna Bjerde, made the commitment on Thursday when she, together with Regional Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa Victoria Kwakwa, visited Chilobwe to appreciate the extent of damage caused by the Cyclone.
Bjerde said: “I was very heartbroken to hear the stories of how the incident happened. My impression is that such natural disasters can have incredibly devastating and long lasting impact to the people and of course infrastructure.
“And in situation like this, it is very important to be fast. So, World Bank will re-programme its portfolio in Malawi quickly to make funds available as soon as possible to support the quest.
“So far, about $80 million (about K 82 billion) has already been provided to Malawi through our programming and we are hoping in the next few days another $100 million towards the same post cyclone Freddy response will be made available.”
Bjerde then underscored the need for Malawi to work on disaster risk management practices, step up early warnings systems, and address issues of climate change in addition to building resilience in infrastructure, among others so as to prevent future catastrophes.
In his remarks, Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) Commissioner, Charles Kalemba commended World Bank for the gesture.
He observed that the bank’s commitment is in response to the call made by President Dr Lazarus Chakwera recently, urging local and international community to support Malawi with food and non food stuffs during and after Cyclone Freddy.
“We are happy with the Bank’s commitment today which will go a long way in supporting rebuilding and also resilience interventions,” he said.
Reported by Memory Chatonda
