SITUATION UPDATE
In April 2022, people affected by the passage of the Tropical Storm Ana (January 2022) and Cyclone Gombe (March 2022) weather systems in southern Malawi continued to face challenges, including displacement, disease and difficulties accessing food and essential services. About 52,000 people affected by Tropical Storm Ana remained displaced in 67 camps during April, and the cholera outbreak declared on 3 March persisted, with 94 cases reported as of the end of April, mainly in Nsanje and Chikwawa districts. Many families who lost their food stocks when their homes were destroyed, damaged or flooded by the tropical storms have yet to recover. At the same time, essential services such as education and healthcare remained disrupted.
By the end of April, humanitarian partners had provided vital assistance to an estimated 303,000 people out of 542,000 targeted in the six hardest hit districts prioritized under the Malawi Tropical Storm Ana Flash Appeal (February-May 2022), in support of the Government-led relief efforts. This included 226,000 people who received food assistance, livelihoods or agricultural inputs, and close to 96,400 learners who were provided with learning materials. Some 133,000 people received access to temporary sanitation or hygiene facilities, and 137,000 people accessed safe drinking water, while mobile health clinic services reached 10,200 people. About 94,000 children under age 5 were screened and referred for treatment of malnutrition, and over 90,200 children had access to early childhood development and safe spaces. Nearly 41,600 vulnerable women and girls received support through cash transfers and almost 13,000 women and girls received dignity kits. The Logistics Sector assisted 29 partners with storage and/or transportation of relief items.
However, with just 32 per cent of the required resources mobilized under the Flash Appeal by 30 April, partners urgently required more funding to assist people in need. Only US$9.5 million had been allocated against the Flash Appeal by end-April, including $3 million from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and additional contributions from several donors (amounting to $4 million, of which $1.5 million was recorded on the global Financial Tracking Service (FTS)). Humanitarian organizations had also allocated more than $2.56 million from their internal funds to enable rapid action.
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs