30 January 2015 – The international community must rapidly respond to the devastating flooding affecting Malawi with critical humanitarian aid and appropriate funding, a group of United Nations human rights experts affirmed today, warning that the African country was facing “its worst flooding in living memory.”
In a press release, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Chaloka Beyani, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, and the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, Léo Heller, encouraged the international community to do “everything possible to meet the current serious shortfall in funds and provision of essential aid,” especially as only a quarter of the urgently required $81 million of a Preliminary Response Plan had been received to date.( More)
Help to flood-hit Malawi falls far short of needs - UN - TRFN
By Frank Phiri
BLANTYRE, Malawi, Jan 30 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The United Nations said on Friday humanitarian assistance to Malawi had fallen dramatically short of what was needed to help hundreds of thousands of survivors of catastrophic flooding. Severe floods across southern Malawi have killed 79 people and left 153 missing, according to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs. Read more
Malawi Floods: Urgent assistance needed to confront massive and complex chalenges, say UN experts
GENEVA (30 January 2015) –A group of United Nations human rights experts today urged the international community to rapidly provide all necessary funding and assistance to the Government of Malawi and humanitarian actors in response to some of the worst flooding in the country in living memory. Flooding has also affected Madagascar and Mozambique where international assistance is crucial to scale up responses. Read more
NORTH AMERICA MALAWI FLOOD RELIEF
Since December 2014, Malawi has been receiving torrential rainfall. During the past few weeks, this has caused devastating floods across the nation, especially in the southern Districts. As a result, at least 176 people have been killed and over 200,000 people have been displaced. The floods have also heavily impacted the ability for communities to sustain themselves. It has damaged crops, livestock, and infrastructure. This has put a strain on the public health system and accessibility to potable water. Weather induced blackouts are now more frequent causing larger effects on the country’s economy due to people being unable to conduct business. Banks and shops have closed placing a strain on the recovery efforts and the private sector’s ability to assist. To make matters worse, the country is expecting to continue to receive normal to above normal rainfall during its rainy season. More