Highlights
• At least seven people have been killed and hundreds displaced by Tropical Cyclone Gombe, which has caused infrastructure damage and displacement in about ten districts, mainly in southern Malawi.
• On 2 March 2022, Malawi confirmed the first case of cholera at Machinga District Hospital. As of 17 March 2022, the outbreak has been reported in two districts registering 6 cases (1 Machinga, 5 Nsanje) and one death. 2,893 children (1531 girls 1362 boys) have benefited from nutrition screening during the reporting period bringing the total reach to 27,000.
• 3,300 children have been aided to access psychosocial support services by providing children’s corner kits.
A total of 255 villages across 5 Traditional Authorities (TA) and five health care facilities have been supported with safe water access through blanket disinfection of water sources as part of efforts to control the spread of cholera.
• 8,704 people have been reached with child protection and gender-based violence community awareness activities bringing the total reached with this intervention to 18,675.
Situation Overview
At least seven people have been killed and hundreds displaced by Tropical Storm Gombe, which has caused heavy damage mainly in southern Malawi. About 10 districts have been affected by this new flooding (Mulanje, Thyolo, Chiradzulu, Phalombe, Nsanje, Chikwawa, Mangochi, Zomba, and Machinga). The flooding comes as Malawi starts to recover from the effects of tropical storm Ana, which hit the country earlier, affecting more than 900,000 people in 17 of the country’s 28 districts. Reports from Mulanje district indicate that a police station, the local Revenue Authority Offices, and an immigration office at the Mozambique border were submerged and temporarily closed. The ChikwawaNsanje road was damaged once again, making Nsanje district inaccessible by road. In several districts, sites hosting displaced people affected by tropical storm Ana and other sporadic flooding events were submerged in water. The internally displaced people (IDPs) had to be evacuated. Meanwhile, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) has directed all affected districts to conduct a rapid assessment from Wednesday, March 16 to Friday, March 18. Interagency rapid assessment teams have been deployed to provide technical assistance to the District Civil Protection Committees (DCPCs), assessing the damage in three districts (Nsanje, Phalombe and Mulanje) that the recent floods have severely hit.
Outbreak of Cholera was declared in Malawi on 2 March. As of 17 March 2022, the outbreak has been reported in two districts (1 case Machinga, 5 cases Nsanje). In addition, the health authorities in Malawi declared an outbreak of wild poliovirus type 1 after a case was detected in a young child in the capital Lilongwe. This is the first case of wild Poliovirus in Africa in more than five years. No other case has been reported.
Humanitarian Strategy
The multiple burdens of floods, COVID-19, Polio, and Cholera outbreaks require a unique and urgent response to prevent the current emergencies from having a severe further impact on the wellbeing of children. UNICEF is providing immediate lifesaving and life-sustaining assistance to populations affected by climate-related shocks and preventable disease outbreaks, while also investing in resilience-building interventions focused on system strengthening. Response to the floods focuses on the four worst-affected districts of Chikwawa, Nsanje, Phalombe, and Mulanje. UNICEF delivers the services through a multi-sectoral response in child protection, education, health, nutrition, social protection, and WASH, supported by social behaviour change communication and community engagement activities.
Source: UN Children’s Fund