Strengthening of risk policies and warning tools at national level, strengthening technical tools and improving the institutional framework.
Funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the “Strengthening Disaster Risk Resilience through Enhanced Coordination Mechanism (Malawi and SADC)” project is lead by United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and dedicated to strengthening risk policies in Malawi, focusing on Early Warning Systems.
The component lead by CIMA Research Foundation, with the collaboration of the Government of Malawi and the Southern African Development Community (SADC, an organization dedicated to political and socio-economic cooperation that brings together 15 African countries), began in November 2020 and will end in July 2021. During these months of work, CIMA Research Foundation will support UNDRR in the analysis and updating of the current system of Standard Operational Procedures of Early Warning Systems for floods, taking into account both technical aspects and legal and institutional framework. The aim is to understand what changes to implement to promote a fluid, clear and participatory risk management, as well as in line with that of other neighboring countries.
Furthermore, the integrated platform myDEWETRA.WORLD, a tool used for risk forecasting and monitoring, will be implemented at national level. The platform will thus provide support for operational procedures and for the drafting and dissemination of alert bulletins, integrating with existing tools. It will also allow the sharing of data and information with other States and with bodies and organizations such as African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development , African Union Commission and Regional Economic Communities.
The project also provides for the dissemination and sharing of knowledge and objectives achieved through both national and international workshops. In particular, the project aims at confrontation with neighbouring countries, in order to strengthen transboundary risk management.
All proposed activities will be in line with the “ Road Map for Improving Availability, Access and Use of Disaster Risk Information for Early Warning and Early Action, including the Context of Transboundary Risk Management ”, drawn up by the SADC member states with the support of UNDRR and CIMA Research Foundation and providing guidance on the path needed to improve the availability, accessibility and use of risk information for timely action.
