T3 ONE HEALTH MALAWI Research Papers Climate Change


T3 ONE HEALTH MALAWI Research Papers Climate Change

Climate Change

2018

  • TITLE - Vulnerability of HIV/AIDS orphans to floods in Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Paul Mkandawire
  • JOURNAL - Geoforum
  • ABSTRACT - Referred to as the forgotten causalities of climate change (Cutter 1995), very few studies have examined the precise nature and magnitude of climate change impacts on children, let alone on the growing number of orphans and vulnerable children in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), where climate change is already expected to exact its worst humanitarian toll. This paper examines personal, familial, and contextual circumstances that arise when children lose their parents to HIV/AIDS and how these situations mediate exposure to the impacts of climate-related disasters. Using the case of flash floods that occurred in Malawi in 2015, and drawing on perspectives from political ecology and social vulnerability theory, the findings of a qualitative study (n‚ÄØ=‚ÄØ51) suggest that orphans‚Äô vulnerability to floods was mediated by a number of specific circumstances. These include pre-existing physical health status of surviving parent or guardian, domestic roles they inherited following incapacitation or death of a parent, and social norms governing property inheritance within the traditional extended family system. In addition, the findings also show that the floods shattered livelihoods, forcing orphans into prolonged engagement in exploitative labour pursuits. Furthermore, the findings show that the rainstorm also swept away mementos left behind by parents, with profound effect on orphans‚Äô emotional wellbeing, which affected their interpretation of the meaning of the disaster. The study underscores (i) the potential of climate change to reconfigure social relations and entrench orphans‚Äô subordinate status (ii) the historical specificity of the factors that mediate the effects of climate change on children. Int. J. Mental Health Syst. 2 1 2008 
  • VOLUME - 90 
  • DOI - 10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.10.001

2019

  • TITLE - Temperature and precipitation change in Malawi: Evaluation of CORDEX-Africa climate simulations for climate change impact assessments and adaptation planning
  • AUTHOR - Erika A. Warnatzsch, David S. Reay
  • JOURNAL - Science of The Total Environment 
  • ABSTRACT - Malawi is highlighted as one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the effects of climate change. The large uncertainty around future climate change in the region remains a barrier to adaptation planning. Despite this high potential vulnerability, relatively little research has gone into determining how well available models represent this country's climate. This work therefore evaluates the ability of existing General Circulation Models (GCMs) and Regional Climate Models (RCMs) to hindcast climatic variables in Malawi at a resolution appropriate for climate change impact assessment and adaptation planning. We focus on monthly precipitation rate, and mean, maximum and minimum surface air temperature. This assessment compares available observed datasets against the outputs of six ERA-interim driven RCMs and 21 GCM-driven RCMs from the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) initiative, and the 11 GCMs which form their boundary conditions. It was found that the performance of the RCMs is highly influenced by their boundary conditions. None of the individual or ensemble RCMs or GCMs assessed in this paper correlate well with the observed datasets for any of the assessed climatic variables. While, they do simulate the trending change in temperature variables well, the simulated outputs for precipitation are highly divergent. Based on these findings we suggest that either the ensemble RCMs or ensemble GCMs would be suitable for understanding projected temperature trends, with the RCMs providing better spatial resolution. However, none of the assessed models provide certainty over future precipitation trends in Malawi. As such we suggest that impact assessments and adaptation plans in Malawi will need to be designed and tested against a range of future precipitation scenarios. To improve modelling for Malawi it is recommended that regional climate models be improved for higher spatial resolution and inclusion of the impacts from large water bodies, including Lake Malawi. 
  • VOLUME - 654 
  • DOI - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.098

2020

  • TITLE - Susceptibility of Water Resources and Hydropower Production to Climate Change in the Tropics: The Case of Lake Malawi and Shire River Basins, SE Africa
  • AUTHOR - Lucy Mtilatila, Axel Bronstert, Pallav Shrestha, Peter Kadewere, Klaus Vormoor
  • JOURNAL - Hydrology
  • ABSTRACT - The sensitivity of key hydrologic variables and hydropower generation to climate change in the Lake Malawi and Shire River basins is assessed. The study adapts the mesoscale Hydrological Model (mHM) which is applied separately in the Upper Lake Malawi and Shire River basins. A particular Lake Malawi model, which focuses on reservoir routing and lake water balance, has been developed and is interlinked between the two basins. Climate change projections from 20 Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) models for Africa based on two scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) for the periods 2021‚Äì2050 and 2071‚Äì2100 are used. An annual temperature increase of 1 ¬∞C decreases mean lake level and outflow by 0.3 m and 17%, respectively, signifying the importance of intensified evaporation for Lake Malawi‚Äôs water budget. Meanwhile, a +5% (‚àí5%) deviation in annual rainfall changes mean lake level by +0.7 m (‚àí0.6 m). The combined effects of temperature increase and rainfall decrease result in significantly lower flows in the Shire River. The hydrological river regime may change from perennial to seasonal with the combination of annual temperature increase and precipitation decrease beyond 1.5 ¬∞C (3.5 ¬∞C) and ‚àí20% (‚àí15%). The study further projects a reduction in annual hydropower production between 1% (RCP8.5) and 2.5% (RCP4.5) during 2021‚Äì2050 and between 5% (RCP4.5) and 24% (RCP8.5) during 2071‚Äì2100. The results show that it is of great importance that a further development of hydro energy on the Shire River should take into account the effects of climate change, e.g., longer low flow periods and/or higher discharge fluctuations, and thus uncertainty in the amount of electricity produced. 
  • ISSUE - 3 
  • VOLUME - 7 
  • DOI - 10.3390/hydrology7030054

2019

  • TITLE - Participatory agroecological research on climate change adaptation improves smallholder farmer household food security and dietary diversity in Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Rachel Bezner Kerr, Joseph Kangmennaang, Laifolo Dakishoni, Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong, Esther Lupafya, Lizzie Shumba, Rodgers Msachi, Godfred Odei Boateng, Sieglinde S. Snapp, Annita Chitaya, Esther Maona, Tinkani Gondwe, Paul Nkhonjera, Isaac Luginaah
  • JOURNAL - Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment
  • ABSTRACT - This study examines whether agroecological farming practices, when employed by highly vulnerable households in sub-Saharan Africa, can improve food security and dietary diversity. The research involved a four-year study with 425 smallholder households, selected purposively based on high levels of food insecurity and/or positive HIV status. The households carried out agroecological experiments of their own choosing over a four-year period. Baseline (n‚Äâ=‚Äâ306) and follow-up (n‚Äâ=‚Äâ352) surveys were conducted in 2011 and 2013 respectively to assess changes in farming practices, food security, crop diversity and dietary diversity. Longitudinal mixed effects models were used with 203 matched households to estimate determinants of change in food security and dietary diversity at the population level. Qualitative interviews and focus groups were also conducted to provide depth to the survey findings. The findings show that participatory agroecology experimentation increased intercropping, legume diversification and the addition of compost, manure and crop residue amendments to the soil. Intercropping was associated with food security and the use of organic soil amendments was associated with gains in dietary diversity in bivariate analysis. Household food security and dietary diversity increased significantly over a 2-year period. Importantly, multivariate models showed that spousal discussion about farming was strongly associated with increased household food security and dietary diversity. Households who discussed farming with their spouse were 2.4 times more likely to be food secure and have diverse diets. Addition of compost or manure to the soil significantly influenced dietary diversity. These findings indicate that poor, vulnerable farmers can use agroecological methods to effectively improve food and nutritional security in sub-Saharan Africa. The study also highlights how linking agroecology to participatory research approaches that promote farmer experimentation and gender equity also lead to greater health and well-being. The study sheds light on how agroecological approaches can rapidly improve food security and dietary diversity, even under conditions of acute social, health or ecological stress. It draws attention to issues of equity and farmer-led approaches in addressing food security and nutrition.
  • VOLUME - 279
  • DOI - 10.1016/j.agee.2019.04.004

2020

  • TITLE - Leveraging big data for public health: Mapping malaria vector suitability in Malawi with Google Earth Engine
  • AUTHOR - April N. Frake, Brad G. Peter, Edward D. Walker, Joseph P. Messina
  • JOURNAL - PLoS ONE
  • ABSTRACT - In an era of big data, the availability of satellite-derived global climate, terrain, and land cover imagery presents an opportunity for modeling the suitability of malaria disease vectors at fine spatial resolutions, across temporal scales, and over vast geographic extents. Leveraging cloud-based geospatial analytical tools, we present an environmental suitability model that considers water resources, flow accumulation areas, precipitation, temperature, vegetation, and land cover. In contrast to predictive models generated using spatially and temporally discontinuous mosquito presence information, this model provides continuous fine-spatial resolution information on the biophysical drivers of suitability. For the purposes of this study the model is parameterized for Anopheles gambiae s.s. in Malawi for the rainy (December‚ÄìMarch) and dry seasons (April‚ÄìNovember) in 2017; however, the model may be repurposed to accommodate different mosquito species, temporal periods, or geographical boundaries. Final products elucidate the drivers and potential habitat of Anopheles gambiae s.s. Rainy season results are presented by quartile of precipitation; Quartile four (Q4) identifies areas most likely to become inundated and shows 7.25% of Malawi exhibits suitable water conditions (water only) for Anopheles gambiae s.s., approximately 16% for water plus another factor, and 8.60% is maximally suitable, meeting suitability thresholds for water presence, terrain characteristics, and climatic conditions. Nearly 21% of Malawi is suitable for breeding based on land characteristics alone and 28.24% is suitable according to climate and land characteristics. Only 6.14% of the total land area is suboptimal. Dry season results show 25.07% of the total land area is suboptimal or unsuitable. Approximately 42% of Malawi is suitable based on land characteristics alone during the dry season, and 13.11% is suitable based on land plus another factor. Less than 2% meets suitability criteria for climate, water, and land criteria. Findings illustrate environmental drivers of suitability for malaria vectors, providing an opportunity for a more comprehensive approach to malaria control that includes not only modeled species distributions, but also the underlying drivers of suitability for a more effective approach to environmental management.
  • ISSUE - 8
  • VOLUME - 15
  • DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0235697

2018

  • TITLE - Knowledge politics in participatory climate change adaptation research on agroecology in Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Rachel Bezner Kerr, Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong, Laifolo Dakishoni, Esther Lupafya, Lizzie Shumba, Isaac Luginaah, Sieglinde S. Snapp
  • JOURNAL - Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems
  • ABSTRACT - Climate change is projected to have severe implications for smallholder agriculture in Africa, with increased temperatures, increased drought and flooding occurrence, and increased rainfall variability. Given these projections, there is a need to identify effective strategies to help rural communities adapt to climatic risks. Yet, relatively little research has examined the politics and social dynamics around knowledge and sources of information about climate-change adaptation with smallholder farming communities. This paper uses a political ecology approach to historically situate rural people's experiences with a changing climate. Using the concept of the co-production of knowledge, we examine how Malawian smallholder farmers learn, perceive, share and apply knowledge about a changing climate, and what sources they draw on for agroecological methods in this context. As well, we pay particular attention to agricultural knowledge flows within and between households. We ask two main questions: Whose knowledge counts in relation to climate-change adaptation? What are the political, social and environmental implications of these knowledge dynamics? We draw upon a long-term action research project on climate-change adaptation that involved focus groups, interviews, observations, surveys, and participatory agroecology experiments with 425 farmers. Our findings are consistent with other studies, which found that agricultural knowledge sources were shaped by gender and other social inequalities, with women more reliant on informal networks than men. Farmers initially ranked extension services as important sources of knowledge about farming and climate change. After farmers carried out participatory agroecological research, they ranked their own observation and informal farmer networks as more important sources of knowledge. Contradictory ideas about climate-change adaptation, linked to various positions of power, gaps of knowledge and social inequalities make it challenging for farmers to know how to act despite observing changes in rainfall. Participatory agroecological approaches influenced adaptation strategies used by smallholder farmers in Malawi, but most still maintained the dominant narrative about climate-change causes, which focused on local deforestation by rural communities. Smallholder farmers in Malawi are responsible for <1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet our results show that the farmers often blame their own rural communities for changes in deforestation and rainfall patterns. Researchers need to consider differences knowledge and power between scientists and farmers and the contradictory narratives at work in communities to foster long-term change.
  • ISSUE - 3
  • VOLUME - 33
  • DOI - 10.1017/s1742170518000017

2021

  • TITLE - Investigating Gender Aspects of the Health Impacts of Climate Change in the Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Nilanjana Ganguli

2019

  • TITLE - Farming for change: developing a participatory curriculum on agroecology, nutrition, climate change and social equity in Malawi and Tanzania
  • AUTHOR - Rachel Bezner Kerr, Sera L. Young, Carrie Young, Marianne V. Santoso, Mufunanji Magalasi, Martin Entz, Esther Lupafya, Laifolo Dakishoni, Vicki Morrone, David Wolfe, Sieglinde S. Snapp
  • JOURNAL - Agriculture and Human Values
  • ABSTRACT - How to engage farmers that have limited formal education is at the foundation of environmentally-sound and equitable agricultural development. Yet there are few examples of curricula that support the co-development of knowledge with farmers. While transdisciplinary and participatory techniques are considered key components of agroecology, how to do so is rarely specified and few materials are available, especially those relevant to smallholder farmers with limited formal education in Sub-Saharan Africa. The few training materials that exist provide appropriate methods, such as compost making, but do not explain relationships and synergies between nutrition, social inequalities, climate change and agroecology. Some food sovereignty and agroecology courses aim at popular political education for those with more formal education. Here we describe the process of development of an innovative curriculum, which integrates agroecology, nutrition, climate change, gender and other dimensions of social equity across 2 weeks of training explicitly for smallholders in southern Africa with limited formal education. The curriculum is highly participatory; we use concepts in popular education, transformative and experiential-based learning, and theatre. It is also integrative; we link agroecology with climate change, human and soil nutrition, gender, and related components of social equity. Developed in partnership with Malawian farmers, community development experts and academics from five countries, the curriculum was piloted with 520 smallholder farming households in Malawi and Tanzania, and evaluated using qualitative techniques. Clashes of language, cultural norms, and terminology were as great of a challenge as agreeing on and conveying technical information, to weave into a coherent whole. However, farmers who participated in the curriculum training demonstrated high interest, comprehension of material and interest in immediate application to their lives.
  • ISSUE - 3
  • VOLUME - 36
  • DOI - 10.1007/s10460-018-09906-x

2020

  • TITLE - Ex-ante and ex-post coping strategies for climatic shocks and adaptation determinants in rural Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Muhammad Abid, Akhter Ali, Dil Bahadur Rahut, Mohsin Raza, Mubashir Mehdi
  • JOURNAL - Climate Risk Management
  • ABSTRACT - This paper assesses farmers‚Äô experiences with different climatic shocks as well as their ex-ante and ex-post coping strategies for climatic risks and shocks in rural Malawi. The paper is based on a comprehensive data set collected in 2013 from 1582 farm households located in three regions of Malawi (northern, central, and eastern). The study uses a bivariate probit model to examine the role of farm characteristics‚Äîincluding physical, human, social, and financial capital‚Äîin the household‚Äôs decision to adapt to climatic shocks. The results revealed that farmers in the study area experienced droughts, floods, and crop pests and diseases as key climatic shocks. Additionally, some indirect climatic shocks reported by farmers include crop damages, increases in input and output prices, and reductions in farm profit. Farmers adopted more on-farm work, drought-tolerant varieties, early planting, and intercropping as key ex-ante adaptation strategies to reduce the adverse impacts of extreme climate events. Farmers adopted drought and disease-tolerant crops, diversified their crops, planted earlier, did more on-farm work, and changed their eating habits as key ex-post climatic shock coping strategies. Furthermore, social networks and capital were found to be important factors influencing farmers‚Äô adaptation decisions. The study suggests improving access to community resources, infrastructure, and information in order to improve household capacity to cope with climatic shocks.
  • ISSUE - 27
  • DOI - 10.1016/j.crm.2019.100200

2018

  • TITLE - Evaluation of Small-Scale Fishers‚Äô Perceptions on Climate Change and Their Coping Strategies: Insights from Lake Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Moses Majid Limuwa, Bishal Kumar Sitaula, Friday Njaya, Trond Storebakken
  • JOURNAL - Climate
  • ABSTRACT - The effects of climate change have negatively affected Malawi‚Äôs agricultural production. In this context, fisheries have been providing alternative livelihoods. However, there is a knowledge gap around the responses of small-scale fishers to climate-related changes. Therefore, a study was conducted on the Western shores of Lake Malawi between August 2015 and April 2016. The study evaluated the perceived effects of climate change on small-scale fishers and their coping strategies by employing a wide range of methods for data collection and analysis. The study used explorative surveys, household surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews to collect data. The study randomly sampled 112 household heads who owned either fishing gear or a fishing vessel or both. Content analysis for themes was used to analyse the qualitative data. The Mann‚ÄìKendal Test was used to analyse trends in meteorological data, and binary logistic regression was used to determine factors that influence coping with low fish catches. Despite the respondents noticing an increased incidence of extreme weather events and low fish catches, their perceptions could not be validated using time series meteorological data. However, such perceptions were influenced by experience from long-time exposure to extreme weather events and to low fish catches. The majority of the fishers had adjusted to these changes by increasing their fishing time, using highly efficient illegal fishing nets, expanding farming land, operating small businesses and undertaking casual labour in agriculture and fishing activities. The fishers‚Äô propensity to adjust to these changes increased due to the presence of the following factors: older age of household head, higher education level, being married and having an annual income. In contrast, being a member of fish conservation club decreased the probability of adjusting. This study emphasizes the need to be cautious when defining and framing perceptions of local communities on extreme weather events as data obtained could be misleading. Furthermore, a multi-sectoral approach to balance sustainable livelihoods and management of fisheries is needed. These findings provide theoretical and practical lessons that can inform design, planning and implementation of policies that enhance adaptive capacity in fisheries and promote sustainable livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • ISSUE - 2
  • VOLUME - 6
  • DOI - 10.3390/cli6020034

2021

  • TITLE - EBSCOhost | 139187166 | Participatory Agroecological Assessment of Farmers' Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change in Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Darren Bardati

2019

  • TITLE - Distinct climate influences on the risk of typhoid compared to invasive non-typhoid Salmonella disease in Blantyre, Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Deus Thindwa, Michael G. Chipeta, Marc Y. R. Henrion, Melita A. Gordon
  • JOURNAL - Scientific Reports
  • ABSTRACT - Invasive Salmonella diseases, both typhoid and invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS), are seasonal bloodstream infections causing important morbidity and mortality globally in Africa. The reservoirs and transmission of both are not fully understood. We hypothesised that differences in the time-lagged relationships of rainfall or temperature with typhoid and iNTS incidence might infer differences in epidemiology. We assessed the dynamics of invasive Salmonella incidence over a 16-year period of surveillance, quantifying incidence peaks, seasonal variations, and nonlinear effects of rainfall and temperature exposures on the relative risks of typhoid and iNTS, using monthly lags. An increased relative risk of iNTS incidence was short-lasting but immediate after the onset of the rains, whereas that of typhoid was long-lasting but with a two months delayed start, implying a possible difference in transmission. The relative-risk function of temperature for typhoid was bimodal, with higher risk at both lower (with a 1 month lag) and higher (with a ‚â•4 months lag) temperatures, possibly reflecting the known patterns of short and long cycle typhoid transmission. In contrast, the relative-risk of iNTS was only increased at lower temperatures, suggesting distinct transmission mechanisms. Environmental and sanitation control strategies may be different for iNTS compared to typhoid disease.
  • ISSUE - 1
  • VOLUME - 9
  • DOI - 10.1038/s41598-019-56688-1

2020

  • TITLE - Climate Change Impact on Aflatoxin Contamination Risk in Malawi's Maize Crops
  • AUTHOR - Erika A. Warnatzsch, David S. Reay, Marco Camardo Leggieri, Paola Battilani
  • JOURNAL - Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
  • ABSTRACT - Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with high levels of malnutrition and little domestic mycotoxin regulation. Domestically grown maize is the largest single source of calories in the country and a large contributor to the economy. This research uses Regional Climate Models (RCMs) to determine the climatic conditions in the three regions of Malawi (Northern, Central and Southern) in 2035 (2020‚Äì2049) and 2055 (2040‚Äì2069) as compared to the baseline climate of 1971‚Äì2000. This climatic data is then used as inputs to the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) AquaCrop model to assess the impact on the growth cycle of two maize varieties grown in each region and sown at three different times during the planting season. Finally, AFLA-maize, a mechanistic model, is applied to determine the impact of these projected changes on the aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contamination risk. We find that Malawi's climate is projected to get warmer (by 1‚Äì2.5¬∞C) and drier (reduction of 0‚Äì4% in annual rainfall levels) in all regions, although some uncertainty remains around the changes in precipitation levels. These climatic changes are expected to shorten the growing season for maize, bringing the harvest date forward by between 10 and 25 days for the short-development variety and between 25 and 65 days for the long-development variety. These changes are also projected to make the pre-harvest conditions for Malawian maize more favorable for AFB1 contamination and risk maps for the studied conditions were drawn. Exceedances of EU safety thresholds are expected to be possible in all regions, with the risk of contamination moving northwards in a warming climate.
  • VOLUME - 4
  • DOI - 10.3389/fsufs.2020.591792

2020

  • TITLE - Childhood malaria case incidence in Malawi between 2004 and 2017: spatio-temporal modelling of climate and non-climate factors
  • AUTHOR - James Chirombo, Pietro Ceccato, Rachel Lowe, Dianne J Terlouw, Madeleine C Thomson, Austin Gumbo, Peter J Diggle, Jonathan M Read
  • JOURNAL - Malaria Journal
  • ABSTRACT - Malaria transmission is influenced by a complex interplay of factors including climate, socio-economic, environmental factors and interventions. Malaria control efforts across Africa have shown a mixed impact. Climate driven factors may play an increasing role with climate change. Efforts to strengthen routine facility-based monthly malaria data collection across Africa create an increasingly valuable data source to interpret burden trends and monitor control programme progress. A better understanding of the association with other climatic and non-climatic drivers of malaria incidence over time and space may help guide and interpret the impact of interventions. Routine monthly paediatric outpatient clinical malaria case data were compiled from 27 districts in Malawi between 2004 and 2017, and analysed in combination with data on climatic, environmental, socio-economic and interventional factors and district level population estimates. A spatio-temporal generalized linear mixed model was fitted using Bayesian inference, in order to quantify the strength of association of the various risk factors with district-level variation in clinical malaria rates in Malawi, and visualized using maps. Between 2004 and 2017 reported childhood clinical malaria case rates showed a slight increase, from 50 to 53 cases per 1000 population, with considerable variation across the country between climatic zones. Climatic and environmental factors, including average monthly air temperature and rainfall anomalies, normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) and RDT use for diagnosis showed a significant relationship with malaria incidence. Temperature in the current month and in each of the 3 months prior showed a significant relationship with the disease incidence unlike rainfall anomaly which was associated with malaria incidence at only three months prior. Estimated risk maps show relatively high risk along the lake and Shire valley regions of Malawi. The modelling approach can identify locations likely to have unusually high or low risk of malaria incidence across Malawi, and distinguishes between contributions to risk that can be explained by measured risk-factors and unexplained residual spatial variation. Also, spatial statistical methods applied to readily available routine data provides an alternative information source that can supplement survey data in policy development and implementation to direct surveillance and intervention efforts.
  • ISSUE - 1
  • VOLUME - 19
  • DOI - 10.1186/s12936-019-3097-z

2021

  • TITLE - Assessing Capacity and Implementation Status of the Disaster Risk Management Strategy for Health and Community Disaster Resilience in Malawi
  • AUTHOR - Ozius Dewa, Donald Makoka, Olalekan A. Ayo-Yusuf
  • JOURNAL - International Journal of Disaster Risk Science
  • ABSTRACT - Floods are among the most frequently occurring natural hazards in Malawi, often with public health implications. This mixed methods study assessed the capacity for and implementation status of the disaster risk management (DRM) strategy for the health sector in Malawi, using flooding in the Nsanje District as a case. Data were collected using desk review and a workshop methodology involving key officials from government ministries, national and international development partners, and the academia. The results show that Malawi had recently strengthened its DRM institutional frameworks, with a pronounced policy shift from reactive to proactive management of disasters. Health sector personnel and structures were key contributors in the design and implementation of DRM activities at all levels. Development partners played a significant role in strengthening DRM coordination and implementation capacity. Lack of funding and the limited availability, and often fragmented nature, of vulnerability and risk assessment data were identified as key challenges. Limited human resource capacity and inadequate planning processes at district level impeded full implementation of DRM policies. These findings call for community-level interventions for improved coordination, planning, and human resource capacity to strengthen community disaster resilience and improve public health. The approach used in this study can serve as a model framework for other districts in Malawi, as well as in other low- and middle-income countries in the context of Sendai Framework implementation.
  • ISSUE - 5
  • VOLUME - 12
  • DOI - 10.1007/s13753-021-00369-z



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