The African Union (AU) says it will support Malawi in establishing an early warning system (EWS) to prevent the huge loss of lives and property due to climate change disasters in the future.
AU Commission delegation led by Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development Minata Samate Cessouma disclosed this at a press briefing Wednesday in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi.
The commissioner described the devastation that Tropical Cyclone Freddy made in its wake in Malawi as “heartbreaking and disheartening,” and that the AU is pushing for long-term solutions, including establishing an early warning system to help the southern African country prevent further loss of lives.
The commissioner was accompanied by the Head of Mission for the African Union Southern Africa Regional Office David Claude Pierre, who underscored the need for the EWS for Malawi, saying although it could not stop natural disasters, it could help Malawi avoid preventable damage and loss by evacuating people and property to safe ground well in advance.
“We need that kind of sophisticated system that can predict future climate change events and, at AU, we have the Africa Risk Capacity (ARC), an agency that specifically deals with that,” explained Pierre. “AU Commission will facilitate (the) close collaboration of ARC and Malawi government to have the EWS in place.”
He also said the AU is doing whatever it can to assist Malawi financially, and technically, besides advocating for higher-level support.
The AU supported Malawi with 500,000 U.S. dollars, which the delegation admitted was not enough given the devastation, hence the call for more support from member states and the world at large.
Tropical Cyclone Freddy hit Malawi’s southern areas in March and left more than 1,200 people dead, including 679 confirmed deaths, and 537 people missing and presumed dead, according to the country’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA).
The cyclone impacted more than 2.2 million people and also damaged hectares of crops, and infrastructure in various sectors with the total cost of damage estimated at 147.9 billion Malawian kwacha (about 144 million U.S. dollars), according to the DoDMA. Enditem
