By Memory Kutengule Chatonda
Blantyre, March 9, Mana: Head of Public Health and Disaster Resilience in the office of the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Allison Raw has commended Malawians for being resilient to the impacts of climate induced disasters.
Raw said this on Friday in Blantyre at the conclusion of her trip to the country where she visited different districts that were heavily affected by Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
Raw had come to Malawi to appreciate the impact of the devastation and also give hope to the affected families.
She said: “I have heard for myself the touching stories of Malawians who have been directly affected by cyclones. However, I must say that I am completely overwhelmed with how resilient Malawians are, everyone seemed so happy.”
Raw said her office will come up with a comprehensive plan to support Malawians and the results will also be a point of reference during the 27th meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations to take place later in the year.
“Certainly, one of such plan to be incorporated, is to increase their resilience to the potential future climate impacts. In this way, we will work with the government of Malawi to solicit funds from international organizations and other banks to support Malawians and give them skills that would help them generate income to support their livelihoods. In that way we can make them more resilient,” she said.
In his remarks, Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, Michael Usi described the visit by Raw to Malawi as crucial in providing solutions to Malawians’ needs.
“In our deliberations with the commonwealth team, they have demonstrated a strong commitment to support Malawians with among others, skills to venture into small scale businesses to alleviate poverty,” he said
