Women’s Resilience to Disaster (WRD)

Assessment of Gendered impacts of climate induced hazards in Malawi

Prepared by Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN – International Consultant

Executive Summary of Cross-border Analysis:  

The Women Resilience to Disasters (WRD) the wholistic issues of addressing intricacies of gender and climate insecurities and how to improve and retrofit the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) governance with a shift from traditional DRM paradigm to tools, methodology, process, and engagement driven robust risk management system where most vulnerable group ( women, girls, youth, children, disable population, elderly ) at the frontline be able to sustain from climatic shocks and enabling them in subsistence livelihoods over the changing climatic phenomena.

Women and gender groups face daunting challenges for their livelihood sustainability e.g.,   persistent and protracted food & human insecurity, poverty, social inequalities, and limited access to basic service deliveries of women and other gender groups because of systematic masculinity dominance governance system and top-down bureaucracies. The assessment counties (Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe) are geographically positioned in most sub-tropical hydrometeorological hazard-prone regions and have landscape vulnerabilities those being induced by terrain geographical, and topographical settings, narrow and shallow river and drainage systems, floodplain agroecology, etc., made those regions multi-hazard risk-prone and socioeconomic structures, settlements and croplands are having being impacted. Over the hydrometeorological settings, again those areas falling under multiple risk factors viz., west Indian ocean cyclonic zones, sub-tropical climatology, and rainfall variabilities of both torrential rainfalls induced flash flooding and hydro-meteorological droughts. In any given circumstance of occurring heavy rainfalls could trigger tremendous flash flooding, river flooding due to terrain landscape shallow river and drainage system, and insufficient flood control mechanisms in the cross-border downstream country/region. Other recurrent hydrometrical phenomena like hydrometeorological droughts, agricultural droughts, and flash droughts of the region largely impact the crop agricultural yield loss and put the region in persistent food insecurity and famine.

Over the demographical and socioeconomic vulnerability context, roughly 60% of the agricultural workforce are climate frontline women at the last mile, and a significant portion of single mothers, widows of their livelihood security being tangled with the climate-hindered landscape ecosystem productivity and dependency on agroecology and natural resources. The socio-economic vulnerabilities are persistent and derive from protracted poverty, extremely limited access to agroecology, and agricultural value chains for subsistence livelihoods. The central and local government and other stakeholders’ service deliveries to the last mile are insufficient for making frontline livelihoods adaptive to climate-induced hazards and enhanced coping capacities to absorb the climate change shocks.

The gender empowerment governance process requires much-needed gender machinery to mandate and inform planning, decision-making, and gender-responsive intervention, but the assessment identified systemic gender inclusivity gaps for instrumentalizing the gender machinery with proportionate gender participation in legislation and governance processes,  inclusivity of gender dimension in every sphere of governance and decision-making process and gender-responsive risk reduction and development planning & budgeting and interventions. The assessment proposed several methodologies, tools, and processes for informing every sector department to identify entry points to reinforce policy, strategy, and actionable planning that must consider gender equality, empowerment, seriocomic vulnerability, and community-level disaster risk reduction measures. Recommendations are being proposed for improvements to the traditional paradigm of the disaster risk management structure and process into risk-informed, gender-responsible, robust DRM/DRR/CCA intervention planning and decision-making.

The assessment proposed several strategic methodologies, ICT tools, and processes on how to improve the climate and multi-hazard risk and vulnerability assessment capacity, participatory roadmap, and stakeholder( assessment committee, civil protection committee, local level CSOs, youth group, and frontline vulnerable community as a whole ) management methodology, process and tools for conducting multi-level risk and vulnerability assessment for essentially meeting the demands of the risk-informed and gender-responsive planning process. The assessment outlined the areas where capacity enhancement of key state actors, and non-state actor stakeholders are essential for DRM/DRR service deliveries.

The assessment identified various systemic gaps in technical, methodological, forecasting preparation, bulletin development, forecast impact analysis, and dissemination to every remote corner, etc., for making early warning available for all.  Considering the early warning for all ( EW4ALL) for system development, deployable and actionable to reaching out to the remotest corner, the country level needs an enhanced institutional capacity in early warning development, impact forecasts, dissemination in local languages, and understandability by the vulnerable community living in the hart-to-reach areas and the tools for receiving the warning ( radio/TV/Pager/Wireless Loop/Drone Radio, etc.). A comprehensive methodological approach is being proposed on how to upgrade the early warning system with service deliverability at the community level.

Assessment underpinned inadequate DRM coordination structures, stakeholder engagement, and processes at the country central to the local level to instrumentalize government effective management at the local level. The assessment recommended strategic solutions to bridge the gaps of risk capturing, risk analysis, vulnerable group-based risk communication, and dissemination to end users, triggering forecast-based anticipatory early actions particularly saving the women, girls, youth, children, and other vulnerable groups. The assessment systemically recommended how to improve the whole DRM value chain and nexus (DRM structural process, stakeholder partnership mapping, coordination structure, Tools, methodology, process, and engagement) with standing orders to undertake effective engagements and timely action for disaster emergency preparedness and response mechanism at the local level. The UN cluster system needs to be proactively engaged in country-level stakeholder capacity-building mechanisms, Loss and damage ( L & D) assessment, preparedness, and response planning. 

Gender dimension of the assessment country

Gender dimensions in the government system structures are processes of those countries being recognized as the prototype and mostly gender affirmative characteristics when it comes to mainstreaming the gender issues across all policies, and programs.  On the other hand, at the intervention level, it is less instrumentalized as the policy, program, and interventions are inadequately addressing the priorities of gender groups and also inadequately climate risk informed. The root causes appear to be the less women and gender group representation to the governance system, development planning, and decision-making system mainly because gender is not well represented in government power domains e.g., legislation, administrative bureaucracy, financial management, local governance system, and entrepreneurship development as well.   The assessment identifies the government service delivery systemic structures and processes are fundamentally centralized and bureaucratic, and the local-level development decision-making paradigm is not adequately participatory and inclusive. Therefore, the devising and the gender dimensions with regards to achieving the broader aspect of Women’s Resilience to Disasters (WRD) need to instrumentalize gender dimension in the government domains, structure, and development decision-making process. However, the assessment proposed gendered risk management framework, strategy, and approaches for improving gender machineries to deal with disaster risk management programs and interventions.

Multi-hazard Background of the study area

The Assessment country’s diverse geographical & geological settings, proximity to the Indian Ocean, terrain topography, and positioning over the Sub-tropical climatological zone made the country highly vulnerable to hydrometeorological hazards. The part of transboundary Zambezi, Limpopo, Olifants, and country-level internal river basins, catchments, and hydrologically active flood-prone zones triggers the flooding. In any given circumstance of cyclone accompanied by constant rainfall, the sudden occurrence of heavy rainfall is likely to trigger flash flooding in downstream settlements.

The climate risk and vulnerability factors of the cross-border countries.

1. Proximity of Indian west coast of Indian Ocean: Vulnerability to western Indian Ocean tropical cyclone. The Indian Ocean is spawning strong and deadly tropical cyclones.
2. Positioning of Intertropical Convergence Zones or Doldrums area:  Largely impacted by ICTZ, sub-tropical metrologies Sub-tropical climatology, El Nino -During the October-November-December (OND) season erratic rainfall alternated between below and above-average patterns in the region, etc. Several studies show that the warm Mozambique Channel becomes favorable for the development of Tropical Cyclones because of synoptic conditions. The buildup of settlements and basic utility structures and other elements in vulnerable lower flood-prone areas caused the larger loss and damage for the rapid onset cyclone accompanied by thundershowers induced heavy rainfall, other torrential heavy rainfall etc.

Contents

1.0        Introduction.

1.1 Assessment Methodology

1.2        Multi-hazard Background of the study area

1.3  Historical background the disaster impacts

2.0        Key DRR Frameworks and Approach

2.1        What are the key policies/strategies frameworks in DRR in assessment countries ? (Challenges and recommendations)

2.2        With regards to Early Warning, Prevention and preparedness information, how is this accessed at community level

2.3        What are the existing DRM coordination structures at (challenges and recommendations)

2.4        How is the UN/government supporting collection and access to SADDD  (challenges and recommendations)

2.5        How is the UN engaged at DRM levels

3.0 Engagement with Stakeholders

3.1 : The main stakeholders in the DRR sector in order of priority

3.2    UN/Government structures engaging women and women led organizations in DRR and resilience initiatives

3.4 Key gaps in gender integration within DRR and resilience building initiatives

4.0 Differential  Impacts of Climate Induced Disasters [Cyclones, Floods, Drought]

4.1    How have climate induced disaster impacted women and men differently?

4.2 What are the different coping mechanisms adopted women and men to climate induced disasters? ; (challenges and recommendations)

4.3 key ` effective women’s engagement in DRR and resilience building.

4.4 Recommendation on strengthening the resilience among vulnerable women and girls to climate induced disasters.

5. 0 Chapter: Focus Group Interview with community.

6.0        Chapter: Key findings/ Recommendations for the Women Resilience to Disaster (WRD).

6.1        Gendered DRR Frameworks and Approach.

6.2   Development and deployment of Early warning for all:

6.3        Improved Methodology, ICT tools and stakeholder coordination for Development SADD :

6.4        Improving UN , Government  and multi-stakeholder  coordination  mechanism  in DRM and DRR functionaries.

6.5        Community level risk-informed gender development approach.

6.6        SGBV tracking network and dissemination system (Proposed).

Acronym :

ADP       Annual Development Progarmme

AfDB      African Development Bank

AIP         Affordable Inputs Programme

CBFEWS               Community Based Flood Early Warning Systems

CBOs     Community Based Organization

CFSVA   Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment

CPC        Civil Protection Committee

CERF      Central  Emergency Response Fund

CRVA     Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment

CSO        Civil Society Organization

DCCMS Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services

DCPC     District Civil Protection Committee

DDPs     District Development Plans

DDRMC District Disaster Risk Management Committee

DEM      District Education Manager

DIS         District Information Systems

DNA       Designated National Authority

DNCC   District Nutrition Coordination Committee

DODMA                Department of Disaster Management Affairs

DRM      Disaster Risk Management

DRMA   Disaster Risk Management Act

DRMIS    Disaster Risk Management Information System

DRP Act.               Disaster Relief and Preparedness Act

DRR       Disaster Risk Reduction

DSWO   District Social Welfare Office

DWR      Department of Water Resources

EAD        Environmental Affairs Department

EOC        Emergency Operations Centre

EUMETCast          EUMETCast Europe

EWS       Early Warning System

FAO        Food and Agricultural Organization

FEWS   Flood Early Warning System

FEWSNET             Famine Early Warning System Network

FGD        Focus Group Discussion

FISP       Farm Input Subsidy Programme

INFORM               Index For Risk Management

GAM      Global Acute Malnutrition

GBV       Gender Based Violence

GCF        Green Climate Fund

GDP       Gross Domestic Product

GFDRR Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery

GFS        Gravity Fed Systems

GHI         Global Hunger Index

GIS         Geographical Information System

GNI        Gross National Income

GoM      Government of Malawi

GoM      Government of Malawi

GSD        Geological Survey Department

GVH       Group Village Headmen

GVH       Group Village Headmen

HCT        Humanitarian  Country Team

HIV         Human Immunodeficiency Virus

ICS          incidence command system

ICTZ       Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone

IDP         Internally Displaced Persons

IDSR       International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

IEC          Information Education and Communication

IFAD       International Fund for Agriculture

ILO         International Labor Organization

IOM       International Organization for Migration

IPCC       Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

IVR         Interactive Voice Response

KII           Key Informant Interview

LDF         Local Development Fund

MDF      Malawi Defense Force

MDG      Millennium Development Goals

MGDS   Malawi Growth and Development Strategy

MICS     Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys,

MoAIWD             Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development

MOEST Ministry of Education Science and Technology

MOGCSW            Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare

MOH     Ministry of Health

MoLGRD              Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development

MPHC    Malawi Public Health Committee

MRCS   Malawi Red Cross Society

MSMEs                 Micro Small and Medium Enterprises

MVAC   Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee

MVAC   Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee

MW2063             Malawi Vision 2063

NABOP                 National Accounts and Balance of Payment

NAP       National Adaptation Funds

NCIC      National Construction Industry Council

NDC       Nationally Determine Contribution

NDPRC National Disaster Preparedness and Relief Committee

NEOC   National Emergency Operations Centre

NEP        National Environment Policy

NER       Net Enrollment Rate

NFIs       Non-Food Items

NGOs   Non-Governmental Organizations

NHP       National Housing Policy

NNPSP National Nutrition Policy and Strategic Plan

NRS        National Resilience Strategy

NRU       Nutrition Rehabilitation Unit

NSO       National Statistical Office

NWP      Numerical Weather Prediction

ODF       Open Defecation Free

ODSS     Operation Decision Support System

OPC       Office of President and Cabinet

PDNA   Post Disaster Needs Assessment

PiN         People in Need

REOC     Regional Emergency Operations Centre

SAM      Severe Acute Malnutrition

SARCOF Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum

SDGs     Sustainable Development Goals

SEP         Social Economic Profile

SGBV     Sexual and Gender Based Violence

SME       Small and Medium Enterprise

SoD        standing orders on disaster

SoP        Standard Operating Procedures

STI          Sexually Transmitted Infection

SVADD Shire Valley Agriculture Development Division

TA or T/A              Traditional Authority

TCF         Tropical Cyclone Freddy

TWG      Technical Working Group

UBR       Unified Beneficiary Register

UN         United Nations

UN Women         United Nations Women Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women

UNDP   United Nations Development Programme

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund

UNICEF United Nation Children’s Fund

UNOPS United Nations Office for Projects Services

UNRCO United Nations Office of the Resident Coordinator’s Office.

VDC       Village Development Committee

VHF        Very High Frequency

VSLA      Village Savings and Loans Associations

WASH    Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

WLO      Women Led Organization

WMO     World Meteorological Organization

WOLREC               Women’s Legal Resources Centre

1.0      Introduction

The cross-border assessment is intended to analyze the gendered impacts of climate-induced hazards in Malawi, Mozambique, Malawi and seeks to explore how gender groups ( women, girls, children, persons with disability, men, and elderly) in Southern Africa are differently impacted by climate change in terms of  the physiological, political, economic and societal causes for the differences experienced, the current coping and adaptation strategies and capacities to climate-induced disasters and variability the group adopts, the capacity of women and men be strengthened to better adapt to climate change and climate variability,  explore the role of women and women-led organizations in disaster preparedness and response planning, and to  review key DRM policies in target countries and identify key entry points for gender integration

1.1 Assessment Methodology

The methodological approaches of assessment follow several strategic tools, e.g., semi-structured Key Informant Interview (KII) interviews with key stakeholders (sector ministries/departments, UN Agencies, INGO, CSOs) to investigate whether Key DRR Frameworks and Structures are in place, what the stakeholder engagement and coordination mechanisms are, the Impacts of Climate-Induced Disasters on the gendered group, etc. Comprehensive Desk reviews of all policy, strategy, sectoral documents, reports, studies, etc., on DRM, DRR, and CCA.

Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with semi-structure conducted with climate frontline vulnerable community in remote vulnerable areas and investigation the Impacts of Climate-Induced Disasters over the gendered group (women, girls, children, persons with disability, men and elderly), etc. Desk review of all policy strategies and review of early warning ICT and MIS systems relating to disaster risk management and informed planning.

1.2    Multi-hazard Background of the study area

The Malawian geographical & geological settings, terrain topography, and positioning over the Sub-tropical climatological zone made the country highly vulnerable to hydrometeorological hazards. The part of the transboundary Zambezi River catchment is also covered by the Malawian landscape areas and internally two basins, e.g., the Shire River catchment area and Lake Malawi catchment area hydrological active flood-prone zone. Any given circumstances of sudden occurrence of heavy rainfall are likely to trigger flash flooding in downstream settlements. The climate risk sand vulnerabilities being factored for the following reasons.

1. Proximity of Indian west coast of Indian ocean: Vulnerability to western Indian ocean tropical cyclone. Indian Ocean is spawning strong and deadly tropical cyclones.
2. Positioning of Intertropical Convergence Zones or Doldrums area:  Largely impacted by ICTZ, sub-tropical metrologies Sub-tropical climatology, El Nino -During the October-November-December (OND) season erratic rainfall alternated between below and above-average patterns in the region, etc. Several studies shows that the warm Mozambique Channel becomes the favorable for the development of Tropical Cyclone because of synoptic conditions. Buildup of settlements and basic utility structures and other elements in vulnerable lower flood prone areas causing the larger loss and damaged  for the rapid onset cyclone accompanied thundershowers induced heavy rainfall , other torrential heavy rainfall etc.

Figure : Malawi Topographical Map

River Basin Map

1.3  Historical background of the disaster impacts;

Malawi has been experiencing increased frequency, intensity, and magnitude of extreme weather events. From  1975 to 2023, over 50 disasters have been triggered by extreme hydrometeorological hazards. The aftermath of shocks triggers another onset disaster of disease/outbreaks caused by ripple effects of floods/waterlogging. The table below shows the number of disaster events over the past 48 years.

Figure: Malawi Disaster events (1975-2023) : Source EM-DAT

The above disaster distribution infographic shows that over the last 48 years, Malawi has experienced floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, and, incidentally, post-flooding and cyclone-induced cholera/diarrheal outbreaks. These outbreaks also cause the mortalities of children, women, and youth due to inadequate emergency WASH and hygiene services at the last mile.

The 2015 floods in Malawian resulted in 278 deaths, 638,000 people affected, and physical damages and economic losses of $335 million ($422 million when adjusted to 2023 dollars), while the 2019 floods resulted in 60 deaths, 975,000 people affected, and damages and losses of $220 million ($257 million in 2023 dollars) (CRED n.d.; Government of Malawi 2015, 2019). The effects of Tropical Cyclone Idai, in 2019, placed Malawi in the top five countries worldwide most affected by extreme weather events, according to the Global Climate Risk Index (Eckstein, Künzel, and Schäfer 2021). More recently, Tropical Storm Ana and Tropical Cyclone Gombe (2022) resulted in 64 fatalities and 945,934 people affected.  The Tropical Cyclone Freddy (TCF) disaster events of March 2023 affected 2,267,458 people[1], including 659,278 people who were displaced (336,252 female; 323,026 male), 679 killed, and over 530 people declared missing by mid-March 2023.

The Gender development Index 2022 ranked Malawi 172 Out of 193 which represents the poverty, inequality and inadequate stakeholders’ interventions for gender empowerment.

[1] Malawi 2023 Tropical Cyclone Freddy Post-Disaster Needs Assessment

2.0   Key DRR Frameworks and Approach

An assessment conducted with semi-structured Key Informant Interviews (KII) interviews with key with stakeholders ( sector ministries/departments, UN Agencies, INGO, CSOs  engaged with DRM/DRR service deliveries ) through the following questionnaires ;

2.1    What are the key policies/strategies frameworks in DRR in assessment countries ? (Challenges and recommendations)

The  Government of Malawi (GoM) formulated some policies and strategies framework relating to DRM and DRR, e.g, National Disaster Risk Management Policy in 2015, National Disaster Risk Framework in 2015, Disaster Risk Management Law 2023,  Disaster Risk Management Acts 2023,  Formulated National Resilience Strategy (2018 – 2030), Guidelines for the Management of Disaster Risk Management Functions Devolved to Local Authorities Jan 2017, National Climate Change Investment Plan (2013-2018). Disaster risk financing strategy and implementation plan (2019-2024) National Disaster Risk Management Communication Strategy (UNDP) 2014.

The assessment identifies key challenges and recommendations from the following respondents;

Respondent : DoDMA Central (Key DRR Frameworks and Approach )

Key Challenges

Respondent : WFP (Key DRR Frameworks and Approach )

WFP mentioned that DoDMA is the nodal agency entrusted with developing DRM plans, policies, and strategies. However, WFP leads the food security cluster and supports the Food Security and Logistic, Preparedness, and response process. WFP presents at flood-prone areas (southern districts; Balaka, Blantyre rural, Chikwawa, Machinga, Mangochi, Phalombe, Nsanje, and Zomba, etc.); WFP maintains two warehouses at Blantyre and Nsanje (Bangula) Districts for emergency floods response.  WFP has maintained statistical datasets on displacement population and some geocoordinates physical installations that could be supportive for disaster emergency mapping. Necessarily, WFP produces food security people in need (PiN)  maps  ( TA level). Around 50,000 refugees and asylum seekers are registered in the Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi.

Challenges :  Inadequate Informed tools for risk-informed DRR planning, which need improvement for disaster risk management governance at the district level, Gender-responsive DRM policy and strategy development.

Recommendations :

• Climate risk-informed DRM/DRR policy and strategy development
• Full-scale implementations of DRMIS data entry of supporting gender-inclusive humanitarian and food security interventions planning/   
• Development of all District level muti-hazard risk and vulnerability atlas (GIS maps) for risk informed contingency planning and Food Security and Logistic, Preparedness  and response mobilization.

Respondent : Department of Economic Planning and Development, Ministry of Finance, Government of Malawi ( Key DRR Frameworks and Approach)

Challenges: 

• Inadequate gender machinery and mandates to govern/advocate sector department, government planning, and finance department to develop gender-responsive budgetary segmentation for gender-responsive DRM /DRR interventions.
• The Ministry of Finance is experiencing barriers in mandating a gender responsive DRR budget because it does not have a climate and multi-hazard risk financing framework for developing multi-year and annual budgetary allocations by the local government in DRR interventions and local economic development by supporting smallholder productive asset generation activities.
• Malawi still needs to develop a national climate risk vulnerability assessment (CRVA) at the national, subnational, and local levels before informing the government planning wings to integrate climate risk and gendered vulnerability in their regular planning process.
• Inadequate climate risk financing mechanisms for financing the most urgent and prioritized projects and conducting emergency food supply programs to address the critical DRM and DRR interventions for anticipatory food security and famine.
• Developing gender-focused risk financing projects and interventions—Risk finances are mostly donor-driven in the wake of the impending onset of disaster. Interventions do not directly target women; however, the largest beneficiaries are women (70%). Programs currently targeting women, socio-cash transfer, and climate-smart TCF recovery beneficiaries are women.
• The SafetyNet Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) annual fiscal budgetary allocations are comparatively lower in size than other service sector allocations.

Recommendations :

1. Firstly, Since gender action plans in every cluster are missing so far, gender mainstreaming guidelines, action plans, and frameworks for Gender are required in the sectoral planning and budgeting process. Developingan MIS system for tracking data on the gender progress of the cluster. Currently, the gender framework is in the Agri cluster and, to some extent with DoDMA cluster.
2. Secondly, DRM policy needs to be reviewed/revisited and gender inclusive so that all interventions are gender-responsive.
3. Thirdly:  Enhance the capacity of agriculture clusters at the district level by conducting gender analysis in Disaster risk and recovery plan in gender integration and gender segregation risk integration. also, a disaster risk and recovery plan should be developed at the district and community services, DODMA level; some officers need to be promoted to directors at the district, training for gender officers and tools for collecting gender-disaggregated data tools (in the local language) . Enhance knowledge of gender mainstreaming of other sectors,
4. Development and implementation of a climate and multi-hazard risk financing framework and local government budgetary allocations for gender-responsive local government sectoral DRR budgetary allocations.
5. Develop policy and guidelines for internal revenue mobilization (toll, tax, service) from local entrepreneurs/commercial and service sectors to contribute to the annual development scheme/project finance mobilization.
6. Development and implementation of a revenue generation and climate risk financing framework based on international revenue mobilization and supporting cooperatives/group-based and women-led DRR scheme implementation for developing the local economy.
7. Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) allocations should be more. They should go to the most vulnerable Gender groups (vulnerable women-headed households, single mother groups, widows, and children-headed households) in their disaster prevention and recovery phases (supporting different gender, women and men, recovery from disaster).
8. Develop strategy and advocacy for external (donor) fund harmonization to implement women-led SafetyNet schemes, VSLA/credit schemes/cash transfer for smallholder farming, and the Agricultural Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP), beneficiaries of which are nutrition, WASH water, and manure for agriculture. Promote farming AIP CCA /DRR green entrepreneurship development.
9. World Bank—SafetyNet after the disaster—cash transfer. Recovery means the production of environmentally degrading charcoal in poor urban areas IGA, training the community for cash transfer for some businesses, and training for finance management and cash transfer to help them grow food and businesses.

Respondent : Ministry of Gender: ( Key DRR Frameworks and Approach)

Background: National gender policy was first launched in 2000 for 2000-2005, and the implementation of the first Gender Policy (2000-2005) has resulted in increased efforts to promote gender equity and equality. A policy intended to address the major challenges and emerging issues, including HIV and AIDS, gender-based violence (GBV), human trafficking, increased environmental degradation, climate change, and high levels of poverty in the country, all of which have a gender dimension. The revised 2^nd edition of policy was launched in January 2015 and is guided by the Malawi Constitution, which has gender equality principles and related provisions, the MGDS, MDGs, and SDGs, and addresses the persistent major challenges and emerging issues, including HIV and AIDS, decision making in reproductive and other health issues, persistent gender-based violence (GBV), human trafficking, child labor, increased environmental degradation, climate change and high levels of poverty. Malawi has a strategic plan on gender, Malawi Vision 2063; under Enabler 5, Malawi develops SoP on GBV during a disaster emergency. Malawi’s action plan (3-5 years) by UNHCR aligned disaster prevention, relief, recovery, reconstruction, and SOP on GBV for women and girls—inclusion component on gender in DRR and humanitarian action in National gender policy.

Challenges:

Malawi has DRM /DRR policy strategy frameworks at the central level, some district levels, and some DRM and contingency plans, but DRM policy has no clear articulation of gender framework.  In general overview, all the policy and strategy frameworks are gender reactive, insufficiently addressing gender inclusivity in DRM/DRR planning and interventions because gender dimensions and mandates inform policies, although the large populations are female, and the marginalized poor women of the society largely drive agriculture GDP. Lack of systematic statistical data generation on age, sex, and disability disaggregated data collection from the household level.

1. Inadequate gender machinery in place at the district level, the district council and sector department (cluster) perform Disaster risk management and DRR functionaries on an ad hoc basis, e.g., during the onset of disaster emergencies and availability of humanitarian and disaster recovery finance largely being contributed by the external donors and some from government allocations. The government still needs to develop a clear internal revenue mobilization farmwork, action plan, and annual targets for internal revenue mobilization. The government agenda of strengthening decentralization, local governments, and local development is performing slowly.
2. District development plans are still not fully instrumentalized with sectoral/cluster annual targets, the number of DRR/DRM schemes, and even capacity building of rural stakeholders and vulnerable communities. There is also a lack of a district-level stakeholder coordination structure and SoPs of 4 Ws (Government, UN Agencies, National and National NGOs, CSOs), which creates overlapping interventions and fewer/no interventions in hard-to-reach areas.
3. Lack of Gender action plan in every cluster, gender mainstreaming guidelines, action plan, framework of Gender. MIS system for tracking data on the gender progress of the cluster. Currently, the gender framework is in the Agri cluster and, to some extent, with the DoDMA cluster.
4. Revising DRM policy and the inclusivity of gender components/agendas of DRM/DRR issues to ensure that interventions are gender responsive.
5. Inadequate capacity of agriculture clusters on- conducting at district level gender analysis in Disaster risk and recovery plan in gender integration and gender segregation risk integration also to disaster risk and recovery plan should be developed at district and community services, DODMA level, some officers need to be promoted as director, at District, training for gender officers and tools for collection of gender-disaggregated data tools( in local language ). Enhance knowledge of gender mainstreaming of other sectors.
6. Lack of Gender Machinery and gender dimensions at the district level for addressing Women-led DRR and Women’s Empowerment, allocation of local agroecology, water, and land resources to women-led groups at the local level (District, TA, Village) for more GDP productivity from Agriculture.
7. Inadequate coordination of district-level state and non-state actors in developing gender-responsive District DRM Plans, DRR Plans, interventions, and mandates
8. Inadequate Budgetary allocations for predictive growth sector/cluster for entrepreneurship development
9. Inadequate informed and SADD-integrated Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery plans
10. Inadequate mandates and responsibilities of District gender officer, district social protection officer, district police officer, and district judiciary officers in developing and implementing action plans for reducing SGBV, PESA, and all forms of violence against women.
    1. Operational Constraints – Inadequate funding for gender and protection response to humanitarian situations.  Increasing cases of child abuse (such as child marriages and child sexual abuse) affecting child development efforts
    1. Limited capacity of protection structures and human resources, particularly at district and community levels to mainstream gender and deliver timely humanitarian services.
    1. Inadequate stakeholder coordination at the district level

Recommendations:

• Developing an ICT/MIS-based district local governance system for oversight of local actors/stakeholders (who is doing what, where how), intervention tracking, and M&E. Anchoring the UN-Agency and INGOs ICT-based Monitoring framework with a Digital local governance system (DLGS) to avoid overlapping and identify the fewest interventions in hard-to-reach areas.
• Gender mainstreaming in the environment and natural resources and gender mainstreaming in DRR are components of strategic areas. All stakeholders engaged in DRM should be able to ensure gender segregation in disasters (pandemics and outbreaks, needs of men, women, and people with disabilities, proposed collection and utilization of SAAD data). All the stakeholders working on risk management should be able to understand gender segregation.
• Local-level implementation of National taskforce on sexual exploitation and harassment by local stakeholders (District, TA and Village level)
• Specific action plan for Women and girls in DRR at the District and Local level: Mandating stakeholder responsibilities on DRR in humanitarian action in National gender policy (component on gender risk management) and stakeholder maps ( UN Agency, Plan International, SCI other actors ),  
• Development and implementation of Climate risk financing framework at the district level, framework mechanism for gender-inclusive DRM, discussed Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP)
• Limited AIP allocations for recovery and rehabilitation, prevention –
• Supporting different groups-    cyclone and drought
• Program urban poor for livelihood income generating progarmme, training on cash transfers sustainability programme.
• Post-disaster recovery – any financing package for WLO entrepreneurship, cash transfer for business,
• Local Government finance committee participating in DDP and budgeting process :
• Malawi has a national male engagement strategy for bridging the gap of gender equality, elimination of GBV and SRSI at all levels and all sectors, promoting engagement of male(boys) participation in SRSI,   eradication of HIV, women, and girls affected by SGBV  National taskforce on sexual exploitation and harassment. Malawi developed SoP on GOV during a disaster emergency.

Respondent: Director of Environmental Affairs Department- Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change  ( Key DRR Frameworks and Approach)

The Director of the Environmental Affairs Department (Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change) discussed the National climate change policy – gender cross-cutting as climate change management, implementation monitoring, and evaluation strategy, Malawi national climate change policy, NDC country pledged, NAP, climate projection- 2070-2080. Discussed early warning system, green climate fund, GEF biodiversity portfolios, national environmental policy, SADD, etc.

The Environmental Affairs Department mentioned the National climate change policy – inclusivity of gender cross-cutting as climate change management, implementation monitoring and evaluation strategy, Malawi national climate change policy, NDC status, and NDC country pledged NAP formulation and status, climate projection- 2070-2080. Discussed early warning system, green climate fund, GEF biodiversity portfolios, national environmental policy, SADD, etc.

Challenges /Gaps in Gender dimension in DRM/DRR/NAP and NDC goals  :

• The fundamental paradigm of development of Policy, strategy, and action plans on DRM /DRR is centralized by nature and inadequately addresses the decentralization of policy actions to the local level.
• Lack of a stronger Gender dimension in National climate change policy, articulated as a cross-cutting issue.
• Lack of stronger gender-responsive NAP and NDC perspective in long-term planning, a short-term government developing planning as climate change management, implementation monitoring, and evaluation strategy, Malawi national climate change policy, NDC country pledged, NAP, climate projection- 2070-2080.
• Lack of guidelines for sector-level NAP and NDC-related intervention design, determining gender empowerment targets
• The National climate change policy inadequately integrated gender risk and vulnerability factors in climate change management, implementation monitoring, and evaluation strategy.

Recommendations:

• Developing guidelines for sector-level NAP and NDC-related intervention design, gender empowerment targets, resource allocations, Women’s smallholder farms, women-led entrepreneurs, and Group/cooperative women-led green entrepreneurs’ access to local freshwater ecosystem, local agroecological resources, natural resources for green development, and inclusive GDP contribution.
• Developing methodology, tools, and guidelines for climate-vulnerable sectors (Agriculture, water, fisheries, livestock, environment, food security, etc.) on local resource-based NAP and NDC project development guidelines for gender-responsive CCA/DRR interventions.
• Training the gender – maintaining climate change (online- policy), Malawi national policy it will come, NDC, (submit) country pledge to undertake 2015/ Revised in 2021.
• NAP – support from GCF, climate change climate projection   2070-2080 climate risk assessment based on this project. The end of the year will have NAP -=Socioeconomic scenario- NAP

Respondent: Malawi Red Cross Society – MRCS  ( Key DRR Frameworks and Approach)

Challenges:

• Inadequate methodologies, guidelines of stakeholder mapping, and indicative responsibilities of stakeholders hurdle the DRM action planning and intervention design at the local level, which inevitably mandates local government sector departments in gender-responsive risk-informed DRM/DRR/CCA planning.
• DRM Plans (Disaster Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery, prevention planning) are in few districts and not formulated for all 28 districts, four cities, and 222 Traditional Authority level Malawi, which hurdles the risk-informed contingency preparations for all levels.
• Lack of national climate risk management framework, sectoral mandates, and accountability for implementing risk-informed DRM/DRR at the local level.
• Lack of coordinated gender machinery at the local level for oversight of gender-responsive interventions at the local level.
• Lack of defined stakeholder coordinated standing orders on disaster (SoD)/ Standard Operating Procedures (SoP), guiding document on coordinated conducting disaster response at national, sub-national, and local level hurdles the mandating all stakeholders in the timely engagement of emergency search, rescue and timely mobilizing humanitarian assistance at the local level.
• MRCS independently developed guidelines on program implementation – preparedness and response, how to respond (national response team), Volunteer management guidelines, PSEA guidelines in sector manner, MRCS Strategic Plan, MRCS DRM strategy – the process of review update the strategy, DRM – guiding documents on how to response, the national response team Red Cross, policy for implementation of MRC programs etc. not aligned with District level DRM plans.

Recommendations:

• Decentralization of Disaster Risk Management Governance from central to district and local level
• Development of Local Risk informed DRM Plans (Disaster Emergency Preparedness, response, and recovery planning) for all levels at all 28 districts, four cities, 222  Traditional Authority levels, and forecast-based contingency preparations
• Defined stakeholder maps, coordination structure, clearly defined roles and responsibilities on standing orders on disaster, Standard Operating Procedures (SoP), guiding document on coordinated conducting disaster response at national, sub-national and local level hurdles the mandating all stakeholders in the timely engagement of emergency search, rescue and timely mobilizing humanitarian assistance at the local level.
• Anchoring I-NGOs, CSO-driven DRM strategy and action planning with district DRM and contingency planning process to avoid overlapping interventions and mandating interventions in hard-to-reach areas.
• Improvement of disaster response governance under the SoD and SOP guidelines, clearly defining stakeholder map, roles and responsibilities of actors for the national responses team, anchoring incidence command system (ICS) of defense department /police forces with civil-military coordinated response on 5W (Who will do what, where, when, how)   during disaster emergency operations.
• Developing IFRC/MRCS early action protocols (EAP) , Forecast based Early Action, Forecast based contingency planning and mobilization, forecast-based finance mobilization, support for the UN Clusters and Government Sectoral clusters( Early Recovery, Shelter, WASH, Food Security, Nutrition,  Education, Protection, Health, Etc)

Respondent : Women’s Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC) at Blantyre ( Key DRR Frameworks and Approach)

  Discussed the local level DRM plans, DRM response mechanism of Tropical Cyclone Freddy (TCF) , early warning effectiveness – challenges of dissemination, challenges of local partnership and engagement of local actors ( NGOs, CSO, community volunteers), village-based SMEs, support for smallholder farming etc., challenges  CSO & WLO working with local authority

Challenges :

1. District-level DRM and Development approaches are heavily influenced by the government’s central bureaucratic system and limited scope and level-playing options/coordination with state actors/district administration, sector departments, and other non-state multi-stakeholders (Private sectors, NGOs, Social Clubs, CSOs, CBOs, charities, student clubs, business community, etc.) in the participatory planning and development process.  
2. Lack of disaster risk management governance, coordination structure of developing SoD and SOP guidelines, clearly defined stakeholder map, roles and responsibilities of actors for the national responses team, anchoring incidence command system (ICS) of defense department /police forces with civil-military coordinated response on 5W (Who will do what, where, when how) during disaster emergency operations.
3. There is a Lack of a participatory, inclusive, and multi-stakeholder-coordinated District and Local DRM governance process, which hurdles emergency response management.
4. Lack of Participatory and Purpose-driven Preparedness, Response, Recovery Plan Local (District, TA, and Village level )  DRM/DRR planning and budgetary process.
5. There is a Lack of coordinated disaster emergency preparedness and response planning by the government NDMO ( DoDMA)/District council ( Government Clusters), which hurdles emergency Response ( search and rescue and humanitarian assistance) mobilization. Most district-level actors plan emergency response independently, and there is a level of overlapping interventions.
6. Lack of District/TA level detailed planning map/GIS Base of the district( showing all physical installations, location and structure of houses, schools, clinic & health care center, churches, borehole, community center, commutations network, roads, culverts, water points, waterbody, lake, river,  draining network, land cover elements, Clios, commercials, markets etc.) tailormade risk and vulnerability information, land use maps, sectoral statistical information for effective disaster preparedness/response planning.

Recommendations:

• Multi-actor, stakeholder-coordinated methodology, tools and guidelines, and process of conducting climate and multi-hazard risk assessment, district risk atlas, and planning atlas to support DRM and DRR planning at the district and local levels. All district-level state and non-state actors need to work together to develop detailed risk-informed planning tools.
• Development and dissemination of online web-based GIS maps in climate and multi-hazard risk maps, Planning GIS base maps (showing women-headed households, women-led smallholder farmhouses, location of women entrepreneurs, etc.) for women’s local level disaster preparedness and contingency planning women.
• District-level Disaster Risk Governance Framework of Standing orders on disaster (SoD), Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) with stakeholder maps and defined responsibilities can effectively support conducting  Disaster emergency preparedness and response activities. 
• District-level gender(women, girls, youth) based violence tracking,  monitoring and reporting framework ( Online) , district-level stakeholder coordination framework (Defense forces, police, village security police, district judicial magistracy, right-based organizations, district social service department, district gender officer, DoDMA, CSO, Social clubs, charities) with apps based incidence tracking and reporting, operationalizing special tribunals etc., functionaries for reducing the level of all violence against the women, girls.
• Open DRM/DRR planning and publicity discloser of the budget by the district administration and sector clusters for stakeholders.
• Design and Implementation of Collective Accountability to the Affected Population guidelines for managing gender-responsive and community-based DRR interventions. 

Respondent : Disaster Risk Management officer of DoDMA – Blantyre District ( Key DRR Frameworks and Approach)

District-level DoDMA structures and processes regarding disaster risk management governance systems are not fully decentralized and coordinated. District-level DRM/DRR interventions run ad hoc, and risk finance mobilization is mostly from external funds (donor grants). DoDMA, along with district administration, coordinates some of the District Disaster Risk Management Committee (DDRMC) structures, developing District DRM plans and contingency preparations at some flood-prone districts. Gender integration in the district-level DRM planning process faces daunting challenges for stakeholder coordination gaps, lack of clear structure and district-level revenue generation, and budgetary allocations for financing the annual development schemes from own revenues.   

Challenges :

• DRM coordination mechanism regarding disaster risk management phases, challenges of early warning dissemination, and understandability. Discussed district DRM funds mobilization, stakeholder mapping, Gender integration in DRM, etc.
• District-level sector department (cluster) cluster coordination gaps, sector-specific development plan
• Lack of district-level disaster risk management framework and action plan
• District-level DRM and Development approaches are heavily influenced by the government’s central bureaucratic system and limited scope and level of playing options/coordination with state actors/district administration, sector departments, and other non-state multi-stakeholders (Private sectors, NGOs, Social Clubs, CSO, CBOs, charities, student clubs, business community, etc. )   in participatory planning and development process. 
• Lack of disaster risk management governance, coordination structure of developing SoD and SOP guidelines, clearly defined stakeholder map, roles and responsibilities of actors for the national responses team, anchoring incidence command system (ICS) of defense department /police forces with civil-military coordinated response on 5W (Who will do what, where, when, how) during disaster emergency operations.
• There is a lack of a participatory, inclusive, and multi-stakeholder coordinated District and Local DRM governance process at the district and local levels, which hurdles emergency response management.
• Lack of Participatory and Purpose-driven Preparedness, Response, Recovery Plan Local (District, TA, and Village level) DRM/DRR planning and budgetary process.
• There is a lack of coordinated disaster emergency preparedness and response planning by the government NDMO ( DoDMA)/District Council ( Government Clusters), which hurdles emergency Response ( search and rescue and humanitarian assistance) mobilization. Most district-level actors plan emergency response independently, and there is some overlapping of interventions.
• Lack of District/TA level detailed planning map/GIS Base of the district( showing all physical installations, location and structure of houses, schools, clinic & health care center, churches, borehole, community center, commutations network, roads, culverts, water points, waterbody, lake, river,  draining network, land cover elements, CSD, Clios, commercials, markets etc.) tailormade risk and vulnerability information, land use maps, sectoral statistical information for effective disaster preparedness/response planning.

Recommendations:

• Multi-actor, stakeholder-coordinated methodology, tools and guidelines, and process of conducting climate and multi-hazard risk assessment, district risk atlas, and planning atlas to support DRM and DRR planning at the district and local levels. All district-level state and non-state actors need to work together to develop detailed risk-informed planning tools.
• Development and dissemination of online web-based GIS maps in climate and multi-hazard risk maps, Planning GIS base maps (showing women-headed households, women-led smallholder farmhouses, location of women entrepreneurs, etc.) for women’s local level disaster preparedness and contingency planning women.
• District-level Disaster Risk Governance Framework of Standing orders on disaster (SoD) , Standard  Operating Procedure (SoP) with stakeholder maps and defined responsibilities can effectively support conducting  Disaster emergency preparedness and response activities. 
• District-level gender(women, girls, youth) based violence tracking,  monitoring and reporting framework ( Online) , district-level stakeholder coordination framework (Defense forces, police, village security police, district judicial magistracy, right-based organizations, district social service department, district gender officer, DoDMA, CSO, Social clubs, charities) with apps based incidence tracking and reporting, operationalizing special tribunals etc., functionaries for reducing the level of all violence against the women, girls.
• Open DRM/DRR planning and publicity discloser of the budget by the district administration and sector clusters for stakeholders.
• Design and Implementation of Collective Accountability to Affected Population guidelines for managing gender-responsive and community-based DRR interventions. 

Respondent : District Risk Management Committee (DRMC) , Blantyre District ( Key DRR Frameworks and Approach)

District DRM coordination mechanism in terms of disaster risk management phases, challenges of early warning dissemination, and understandability. Discussed district-level emergency prerenders, response and recovery intervention, stakeholder mapping and coordination mechanism, and Gender prioritization in disaster risk management. 

Challenges  :

• District-level DRM/DRR functionalities are affected by centrally controlled policy strategies, DRR functionaries, and some allocations. The district cluster system is not fully decentralized and is governed by central sector ministries. The DRM and DRR-related cluster’s main role is apparently organizing meetings, coordination, and communication with the central level.
• District-level disaster risk governance functionaries (District executive council, sector clusters, Technical Working groups, Civil protection Committee): DRM/DRR-related service deliveries are mainly run on an ad hoc basis, e.g., during impeding disaster preparedness, disaster onset, humanities assessment and mobilization, SafetyNet cash transfer, etc., and risk finances are mostly from donor grants.   
• Insufficient government central budgetary allocations for the districts for conducting DRR interventions at the local level.
• Inadequate coordination structures of all state and non-state actors at the District level, lack of consolidated efforts of all stakeholders, and mandate of the activities of state and non-state actors at the district level.

Recommendations:

• Decentralized district-level risk-informed planning and budgeting system
• DRM/DRR-related SoD/SOP required clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and consolidated mandates of disaster emergency management. 
• More logistic instruments and tools for conducting search and rescue in remote, hard-to-reach areas.
• District-level government revenue mobilization and development allocations for conducting lifesaving DRR interventions at the local level.
• District gender development framework and gender empowerment inclusive financing mechanism for supporting women-led DRR/CCA of productive assets generation.
• District Gender Officer who will closely collaborate with district peace committees, district social Mobilization committee, and the relevant committee-related structures such as area peace committees, women’s peace forums, village peace committees, civil protection committees, village mediators, and village volunteers.

Respondent : Director of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, Blantyre  ( Key DRR Frameworks and Approach)

Discussed the national weather forecasting process, early warning dissemination structures and process, difficulties and challenges, etc.

Challenges :

• Mandating national media outlets (national radio, TV, Community radio) to instantly and recurrently broadcast and disseminate early warning to remote households and audiences.

Recommendations:

• Development multilingual special weather bulletin and broadcasting through the national radio /TV

Respondent : Youth Group, Blantyre District ( Key DRR Frameworks and Approach)

Challenges :

• Inadequate youth representation to DRM contingency plans, civil protection plan
• Lack of youth group engagement in local-level civil protection committees

Recommendations :

• DRM related policy, strategies, DRM contingency plans, civil protection plan should consider youth inclusivity and engagement.

2.1        With regards to Early Warning, Prevention and preparedness information, how is this accessed at the community level

Considering the geographical, geological, and topographical settings, the assessment of countries with terrain topography and landscape, settlement and agriculture, and lower floodplain /wetlands over the flood-prone river catchment and drainage system causes the flood disaster. The terrain landscape creates flash floods in any given torrential/heavy rainfall.

Malawi has Proximity to the west coast of the Indian Ocean and vulnerability to western Indian Ocean tropical cyclones. The Indian Ocean is spawning strong and deadly tropical cyclones.  Positioning of Intertropical Convergence Zones or Doldrums area largely impacted by ICTZ, sub-tropical metrologies Sub-tropical climatology, El Nino -During the October-November-December (OND) season, erratic rainfall alternated between below and above-average patterns in the region, etc. Several studies show that the warm Mozambique Channel becomes favorable for the development of TC because of synoptic conditions. Sprawling settlements in lower flood-prone areas and downstream areas cause the highest susceptibility to multi-hazard risk and vulnerability.  

Respondent : Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (DCCMS),, Blantyre  ( Early Warning)

The met agency in Blantyre is responsible for tracking weather phenomena and providing purpose-driven weather forecasts for the appropriate audiences. The Malawi landscape, population, household, and other elements are vulnerable to flood-prone based on geographical, topographical, and landscape settings. The Met agency is still developing and mandating early warning for all. Implementing automatic flood forecasting and early warning of the rapid onset of heavy rainfall-induced flash flooding river flooding over the river channel involves some initiatives. The assessment investigated challenges and barriers to integrated weather warning, alerting, impact-based weather forecasting, and nowcasting services.   

Challenges  :

1. Challenges of developing precision-level weather forecasts: The Met Agency needs to specialize more in developing high-resolution seasonal, decadal, weekly, 3-day, and 5-day weather forecasts. It also needs to develop a dynamic and statistical downscale model of rapidly developing thunderstorms (RDT) of Meteo France for predicting heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. 
2. Challenges of Limited surface observation system: Malawi still has no Doppler RADAR system installed at the airport to track rapidly developing weather conditions. Currently, Malawi has 120 AWS, which is insufficient to acquire 5km grid data sets on surface observation. Malawi needs to install more AWS with synoptic conditions tracking sensors, drone radar, laser ceilometer, radiosonde, rain gauging instrument, uses of EUMETCast lightning sensor data for tracking thunderstorms, real-time flood level gauging from the river system, flood forecasting and modeling.
3. Challenges Developing weather impact forecasting: Malawi still needs to develop WMO tools and methodology and guidelines on how to organize forecast briefings with guidelines, how to interpret the risks by organizing discussion and analyzing weather model/outlook, multi-hazard risk analysis over the elements, analysis of weather phenomena, and interpretation of risks and vulnerabilities.  
4. The Met agency has a tools gap between developing high-resolution gridded forecasts and analyzing impending weather parameters’ damaging and beneficial impacts on lives and livelihoods(elements). Met agencies need to create a pool of Technical experts/specialists (Agrometeorologist, hydrologist, geomorphologist, water resource engineer, Plant scientist, Agri engineer, drought expert, landslide expert,  agroecologist, ecologists, meteorologist, synoptic engineer, geomorphologist, etc.) for interpreting the extreme weather phenomena being forecasted and developing methodology, tools, guidelines on transplantation and interpretation risk and vulnerabilities of predicted impending weather phenomena/parameters. Detailed analysis of Impacts and effects of ongoing onset weather events and developing bulletins and special weather bulletins for women, elderly, girls, and youth group onset of tornadoes, thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, cyclones, flash flooding, landslides, etc.
5. Challenges of developing consensus among sector departments’ technical specialists to work with the Met agency to interpret extreme/abnormal weather parameters that trigger risks over the elements (livelihood, natural, and hydrological). 
6. Challenges of developing precision level forecasts and interpretation of risks over the livelihood elements (water, Agriculture, landscape, vegetation, crop agriculture, soil conditions, damaging winds, damaging heavy rainfall /hailstorms, thunderstorms, damaging flooding/flash floods
7. Challenges of developing impact-based weather forecasts on damaging weather phenomena over agriculture (seedling, sapling and standing crops, soil moisture, soil water holding capacity, soil dryness, agriculture droughts) , water stress ( ground and surface water level), vegetation index, heatwave, dry spell, flash drawings impacts on surface water resources etc. 
8. Challenges Developing operational forecasts for the sectors, women and girls:
9. Challenges of implementing hybrid weather observation for event situation reporting, the current conditions, and the intensity of disasters on the ground  
10. Challenges of forecast broadcasting and transmission to audiences.
11. Time delay of forecast dissemination through WhatsApp group, CPC organized community discussions, megaphone, road show, school-based forecast dissemination, Awaiting evacuation decisions from the Group Village Headmen (GVH), Village chief/CPC organized meeting decisions, etc.

Recommendation:

• Developing methodology, tools, and guidelines on interpretation risk and vulnerabilities of predicted impending weather phenomena/parameters. Detailed analysis of Impacts and effects of ongoing onset weather events and developing bulletins. Developing special weather bulletins for women, elderly, girls, and youth groups for the onset of tornadoes, thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, cyclones, flash flooding, landslides, etc.
• Develop impact based weather forecasts on damaging weather phenomena over agriculture (seedling, sapling, and standing crops, soil moisture, soil water holding capacity, soil dryness, agriculture droughts ), water stress ( ground and surface water level), vegetation index, heatwave, dry spell, flash drawings impact on surface water resources, etc. 
• Develop high-resolution gridded forecasts and analysis of damaging and beneficial impacts of impending weather parameters on lives and livelihoods(elements). Met agencies need to develop a pool of technical experts/specialists (Agrometeorologist, hydrologist, geomorphologist, water resource engineer, Plant scientist, Agri engineer, drought expert, landslide expert, agroecologist, ecologists, meteorologist, synoptic engineer, geomorphologist, etc.) for interpreting the extreme weather phenomena being forecasted.
• Developing methodology, tools, and guidelines on transplantation and interpretation risk and vulnerabilities of predicted impending weather phenomena/parameters. Detailed analysis of Impacts and effects of ongoing onset weather events and developing bulletins. Developing special weather bulletins for women, elderly, girls, and youth groups for the onset of tornadoes, thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, cyclones, flash flooding, landslides, etc.
• developing consensus on technical specialists from sector departments to work with the Met agency to interpret extreme/abnormal weather parameters that trigger risks over the elements (livelihood, natural, and hydrological). 
• developing precision level forecasts and interpretation of risks over the livelihood elements (water, Agriculture, landscape, vegetation, crop agriculture, soil conditions, damaging winds, damaging heavy rainfall /hailstorms, thunderstorms, damaging flooding/flash floods
• Developing operational forecasts for the sectors, women, and girls on the damaging impacts of onset hazards on the lives and livelihoods of women, girls, and youth groups. This includes when, where, and how they will take shelter to safe ground, what evacuation route and the distance to the evacuation center, etc.
• Implementing community-based automatic flood forecasting and early warning: UNDP Supported the government in establishing 33 telemetric community-based flood early warning systems ( in 8 selected flood-prone districts of Karonga, Salima. Dedza , Nkhotakota , Nkhata Bay , Rumphi , Phalombe , Zomba .  Measuring the   River Water Level, Rainfall, River Discharge, River flow forecast (not bias-corrected), and water level with a sensor and sending data to the server and in a given flood situation through Alarm/Siren, Bulk SMS mass SMS services to send to cell phones and siren warning to community and Phone call, Email to Authorities, MRCS facilitator to Monitors. DoDMA, DCCMS, DWR, UNDP, and MRCS jointly develop bulletin and impact forecasts and dissemination protocols through the national radio, TV, SMS, IVR, cell broadcasts, etc.    
• Installation and operationalizing emergency operations center: Installations of Specialized communication instruments ( Cell Phone, UHF, VHF, HF radio links, Wireless local loops with CPC situation room at local level ) , Live communications with Radio station( AM/FM), and CPC to send datasets on how many people are trapped by flooding at the neighborhoods, communication with emergency shelter/camps for updating humanities needs and priorities, CPC to report hazard data to EOC and EOC to broadcasts information through SMS, Radio etc. Data Linkage with Meteorological Department and accessing forecasts and interpretations of what would be intensity of hazards at next level.  DoDMA, Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (DCCMS), Department of Water Resources (DWR), Department of Agricultural Extension Services (DAES), Department of Fisheries (DoF), and the National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi (NASFAM) and other technical/DRM working group /CSO need to work together to provide event situation update to vulnerable populations at the last mile. 
• Anchoring all regional early warning systems with Met-Agency and EOCs at central and district levels, e.g., anchoring The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), drought early warning system, Food Security early warning system, Anchoring Integrated Early Warning and Early Action System Initiative of  FAO,  CREW initiatives, RIMES, GloFAS, Regional weather forum of SADC region (SAFCOM ) CBEWS on flood forecasts etc., and provide supports for operational weather forecasting, impact weather forecasts for the elements etc.
• Assess the existing community-based EWS initiatives, including flood EWS needs, to inform the next stage of the CBEWS project and development, printing, and dissemination of national standard guidelines for CBEWS.
• Develop an early action protocol (EAP) for cholera outbreaks: Develop Methodology, tools, and guidelines on forecast-based EAP on what emergency anticipatory humanitarian responses need to be conducted based on what type/density/frequency of impending multi-hazards taking landfills to which locality. Technical specials/experts on comprising meteorologists, forecasters, disaster risk management professionals, Sector technical specialists, and humanitarian actors/stakeholders (Red Cross, WFP, UNICEF, WHO, UNCHR, IOM under the cluster system and I-NGOs, CSOs)  to develop digital( online) EAP for each district for conducting anticipatory humanitarian actions, forecasts based early action for the sector and sectoral elements of the locality.
• Review of the existing EOC strengthening initiative and development of an action plan for the upgrading of the National and District Emergency Operation Centers (EOC)
• Develop operational guidelines/standard operating procedures (SOPs) for EOCs at the district and national levels.
• The government needs to mandate that a national AM/FM Radio station and TV broadcast a dangerous weather bulletin every 15-30 minutes and a popup bulletin when heavy rainfall occurs at any time in a given location, allowing for rapid evacuation to safe ground.

Respondent : WFP ( Early Warning)

Challenges :   

WFP experiences some challenges at the district level with regard to Early Warning, Prevention, and preparedness information management of cluster/sector department engagement in DRMIS information management (data entry) to maintain the beneficiary numbers. WFP mentioned some gaps in the met agency. MNHS issued localized impact-based community understandability early warnings about the rapid onset hazards (heavy rainfall, flash flooding, landslide/mudslide, etc.) at the local level and dissemination of early warning through the limited extent of community radio and social networks which is not appropriate forecast dissemination methods for rapid onset thunderstorm, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, landslide, etc.

There is a lack of district-level stakeholder coordination in developing a disaggregated Disaster Risk Management Database for emergency contingency preparation and humanitarian assessment mobilization.

Recommendations:

• Development impact weather forecasts, forecast bulleting on all impeding multi-hazards are likely to be impacted over the ground level elements, and quantitative information on loss and damage (L & D) are likely.
• Developing operational weather forecasts for the livelihood sectors, women’s and girls’ livelihood elements, etc.
• Developing EAP on every impending extreme weather event, ripple/residual effects onset multi-hazards already on the ground e.g. epidemics of vector-borne/infectious diseases/outbreaks being triggered by the floods, flash floods, waterlogging, ground & surface water pollution, malaria/yellow fever, viral infection from heatwaves, dry spells etc.   
• Develop tools, methodology, guidelines, and bulletins in a forecast-based early humanitarian actions for lives and livelihood elements and being utilized by the humanitarian actors, I-NGOs are working at the District level, Danish Red Cross on Anticipatory action (AA) DRM programs of MRCS, government clusters, and vulnerable community.
• Develop and operationalize a robust emergency operations center (EOC) for the collection of multi-hazards L & D information, humanities, and food security needs and priorities (PiN)
• Development of impact-based and localized impact-based early warning and dissemination through government mass media (AM Radio and TV) for every vulnerable individual living in remote hard-to-reach areas and women, girls, and youth groups.
• Implement impact-based forecasting, stakeholder-coordinated forecast-based early action, and forecast-based contingency preparation for mobilizing emergency food and NFI to high-impact areas. 
• Sector department/cluster coordination in Disaster risk information management, risk assessment, and risk atlas preparation for emergency preparedness and response.
• Financing mechanism of Early warning improvements – Smallholder farming AIP implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, some of the programs social protection, most of the beneficiaries are women, WASH, Nutrition, Food security (agriculture) training to produce manure, used for crops for smallholder farming.
• WFP recommended multi-stakeholders/actors (district-level government sector/cluster, I-NGOs, CSO, local DRM committees etc) coordinate and operationalize EOC at the District level for conducting rapid post-disaster damage loss and needs assessment (PDNA), life savings rapid humanitarian needs and priority assessment for rapidly mobilizing lifesaving humanitarian assistance ( Food, NFI ) to high-impact areas. Anchoring WFP logistic cluster operated EOCs with District level designated EOCs and engaging all stakeholders/actors for Engagement of local DRM and CPC committees at city/ municipality, ward, TA, and Village level for collection of impacted beneficiary numbers for identification of people in need (PiN)of emergency humanitarian assistance.

Respondent : UNDP ( Early Warning)

Challenges :  Installation and operationalization of the multi-hazard early warning system for rapid onset hazards.

Recommendations :  DoDMA, DCCMS, DWR, UNDP, and MRCS jointly implemented a community-based automatic (telematics) flood early warning system. UNDP recently installed 33 telemetric community-based flood early warning systems ( in 8 selected flood-prone districts of Karonga, Salima , Dedza , Nkhotakota , Nkhata Bay , Rumphi Phalombe , Zomba .  The installed river gauges measure the   River Water Level, Rainfall, River Discharge, River flow forecast (not bias-corrected), and water level with sensor and send data to the server and in a given flood situation through Alarm/Siren, Bulk SMS mass SMS services to send to cell phones and siren warning to community and Phone call, Email to Authorities, MRCS facilitator to  Monitors

Respondent : Ministry of Environment of Forest ( Early Warning)

Challenge and barrier:

• MoEF pointed out the institutional gaps in developing impact forecasts because of a lack of national risk management framework, lack of coordination of data and information exchange of relevant technical departments, census of relevant stakeholders, lack of methodologies of tools and guidelines are still not developing the much needed impact-based forecasts and operational forecast for the sectors, sectoral elements, most vulnerable group ( women, girls, and youth, elderly and disable population). 
• MoEF identified the patriarchal, societal, and culture of domination of male family members in household-level decision-making, as it is being noticed that the women and children are the last people to take refuge in emergency evaluation to evacuation shelter (under challenging situations) , which results in the large portion of victims of the summing the total causalities by sudden onset colossal level disaster takes the landfall. Lack of knowledge and culture among women and children about the intensity and frequency of dangerous weather events in the locality.
• Challenges of broadcasting and dissemination for forecasts through government mass media to be reachable, accessible to every corner of people (multilingual), and providing feedback through cellphone CPC Wireless to live talks show organized by met agency.
• Sectoral departments cannot access adequate climate information tools and advisories for planning and implementing schemes for climate-vulnerable sectors. The ministry outlined the challenges of developing operational forecasts for the sector and sectoral elements on how impeding weather conditions are likely to impact the elements and advisories on reducing the impact level (livelihood productive assets, standing crops, seedling, sapling, livestock, poultry/birds, fishers, agroforestry, vine vegetables, homestead gardening, green shed gardening, etc.)
• The population is illiterate about the Impacts, risks, and vulnerabilities of climate change, changing climates, coping mechanisms, livelihood resilience practices, sustainable management of agroecological resources, adaptive livelihood options, climate-adaptive agriculture, climate stress-tolerant agriculture, livestock, poultry farming, and fisheries, etc.
• The District Development plan does not reflect community-based DRM/DRR needs, priorities, and budgetary allocations.  
• Vulnerability group-based classified early warning – Women-centric early warning.
• District-level plans are inadequately gender-responsive.
• Institutional arrangement, technical coordination, data and information exchange and coordination, methodological, tools, and procedural gaps in the development and dissemination of multi-hazard early warning systems. Coordination gaps between Met Agency, NHMS, DoDMA, and sectoral technical experts/specialists on the development and dissemination of accurate early warning to remote ends.
• Lack of gender framework and machinery at District level for anchoring gender development, needs and priorities in every planning and decision-making process.
• EWS is led by DoDMA, but the Ministry of Finance and Department of Public Works, National Government Finance Committee, are leading the intervention. There is a coordination mechanism based on forecast-based allocations for financial safety nets, which is being facilitated by the FEEWS but needs to be scaled up.

Recommendations:

• Sector departments/government clusters (district level) need to track climate change impacts on lives and livelihoods and develop databases.
• More upgrades are needed for the Malawi Weather Chasers support community.
• Promoting climate change education at the secondary, post-secondary, and undergraduate levels, promoting climate change impact information through mass media (Radio, TV, social networks)
• Develop Early warning/operational weather forecasts and bulletins on early actions for vulnerable groups, such as women, girls, youth, students, the elderly, and the disabled.
• District-level contingency plans and decisions are not following through the participatory  process from a bottom-up approach( households > village level CPC > TA CPC>Area CPC etc> District CPC) are  not being  considered the risk and vulnerability indicators of the locality, e.g., SADD datasets, household census survey, Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), sector department MIS database, Food Security database, poverty, and inequality database, government basic utility service delivery status, poverty, literacy, climate risk, and vulnerability risk ranking, not reflect vulnerable group needs and priorities, planning are not participatory and reflects all vulnerable groups( Women, girls, youth, children, elderly and disabled population etc.)
• Bottom-up and participatory gender inclusivity to district-level planning and decision-making process.
• Bottom-up and participatory approach in gender mainstreaming in district-level DRR planning process.
• Technical coordination of Met Agency, NMHS, DoDMA, DCCMS, DWR, UNDP, MRCS, Agriculture, fisheries, land management, and other sector departments to develop multi-hazard early warning, impact forecasts, and operational forecasts for the sectors; development of bulletins and early warning messages; EAP, early warning early action; dissemination of warning, etc.
• The Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) needs to conduct district, TA, Group village, and village-level elements specific climate risk and vulnerability assessment, multi-hazard risk and vulnerability assessment, post-disaster damage, loss, and needs assessment, and development of repository, database, and risk atlas for supporting impact-based weather forecasts.
• The Ministry of Agriculture Challenges: Impact weather forecast for sectors.
• The Ministry of Education needs climate information and IEC materials for climate awareness.  

Respondent : Project Coordinator -MRCS  ( Early Warning)

Challenges:

• Capacity of the National Met Agency to develop accurate level medium and short-range integrated weather forecasts, weather warnings, weather alerting, impact-based weather forecasting and operational forecasts for the vulnerable age group, livelihood, sector, and sectoral elements (Agriculture, water stress, crop agriculture, agrometeorology, livestock, fisheries, hydrology and other climate-vulnerable sectors).
• There are no coordinated efforts by the Met Agency, DoDMA, NMHS, Sector technical department, UN Agencies, INGOs, and other stakeholders in developing and interpreting hydrometeorological, meteorological, and climatological risk and vulnerability, etc.  
• Lack of coordination of met agency in multi-stakeholder engagement in forecast briefing, forecast interpretation with GIS technology, developing Early Action Protocol (EAP) and forecast-based early action, forecast-based contingency mobilization, forecast-based financing (FBF) mechanism, etc. for DRM and DRR governance improvement.
• There are some external early warning system relating to food security (FSEWS), Famine early warning system, and Drought early warning systems that need to be anchored with MVAC
• Lack of community understanding about the impending nature of heavy rainfall trigged flash flooding, flash drought, and agriculture draught, community uses the Indigenous knowledge for  flood risk interpretation

Recommendations :

Development of multi-stakeholders coordinated (met agency, UN Agency , I-NGOs, Sector department)  in multi-stakeholder)  engagement in forecast briefing, forecast interpretations with GIS technology, developing Early Action Protocol (EAP) and forecast-based early action, forecast-based contingency mobilization, forecast-based financing (FBF) mechanism, etc. for DRM and DRR governance improvement.

Respondent : Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), Malawi ( Early Warning)

• Challenges of time spans of translating the weather forecasts to multi-hazard early warning following the traditional system as forecasts being interpreted by the CPC at the District, Area, and Village level , e.g. District team informs TA / Area Committee members meeting at GVH Group Village Headmen organize CPC meeting  Group level which is participated by the village level committee members and discuss the early warning and aware the community about the preparedness and evacuations. This traditional method works for long-range weather forecasts and a longer lead time for impending cyclones. Malawi Red Cross interprets the forecast and supports CPC for translating into early warning and dissemination by partner agencies and organizes traditional awareness tools, which take time to make vulnerable people. This traditional method is less applicable for rapid onset multi-hazard events, e.g., heavy rainfall, convective weather conditions, rapidly developing thunderstorms, tornadoes, etc.
• Malawi is still to develop a national risk management framework; Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is being coordinated by the multi-stakeholders e.g. Met Agency, regional early warning network( FSEWS, FE-EWS, Drought early warning system, GLoFAS, Regional weather forum,   NMHS, DoDMA, UN-Agencies, I-NGOs, Humanitarian agency, Local governance actors(DRM/DRR), CSO and vulnerable community etc., and upgrading integrated multi-hazard early warning system, weather warning, awaiting, developing impact based forecasts for the sector, sectoral elements, lives, and livelihood elements.
• Lack of enhanced capacity of the National Met Agency in developing accurate level medium and short-range integrated weather forecasts, weather warnings, weather alerting, impact based weather forecasting and operational forecasts for the vulnerable age group, livelihood, sector, and sectoral elements ( Agriculture, water stress, crop agriculture, agrometeorology, livestock, fisheries,  hydrology, and other climate-vulnerable sectors)
• There are no coordinated efforts by the Met Agency, DoDMA, NMHS, Sector technical department, UN Agencies, INGOs, and other stakeholders in developing and interpreting hydrometeorological, meteorological, and climatological risk and vulnerability, etc. 
• Lack of coordination of met agency in multi-stakeholder engagement in forecast briefing, forecast interpretation with GIS technology, developing Early Action Protocol (EAP) and forecast-based early action, forecast-based contingency mobilization, forecast-based financing (FBF) mechanism, etc. for DRM and DRR governance improvement.
• There are some external early warning systems relating to food security (FSEWS), Famine early warning systems, and Drought early warning systems that need to be anchored with national EOCs for forecast-based early action planning. 
• The lack of community understanding about the impending nature of heavy rainfall triggers flash flooding, flash drought, and agriculture draught. The community uses indigenous knowledge for flood risk interpretation.
• Precision level forecasting capacity of the met agency.
• Essentially, the Civil Protection Committee needs to depend on precision-level early warning briefings for awareness about the magnitude of impending multi-hazards.
• Long/medium/short-range Forecasts from Met Agency and DWR analyze the hydrometeorological flooding situation, and the civil protection committee interprets and disseminates at the community level.

Recommendations:

• Provide free radio sets (solar-powered, wind-up) to every house to access radio broadcasts of early warning bulletins.
• Conducting Climate risk and vulnerability assessment, multi-hazard risk and vulnerability assessment, and multi-hazard risk atlas at the district level to interpret risk and vulnerabilities of impending weather conditions on
• Develop household and smallholder women farmer-based IGA DRR schemes for productive livelihood assets (homestead agriculture, livestock, poultry farming, fish culture, small business, etc.) for Gender empowerment.
• DRM – national level TC – PDNA /Gender inclusion on PDNA
• Initiate forecast-based women-headed household-based National – Rainy Season response program.   
• Local Authority level (District) – AfDB – DRM – gender (DRM plans developed -5 years) guide DRM intervention at the local level and align with District Development Plan (DDP).
• Strengthening people-centered early warning systems at national and local levels.
• Develop methodology, tools, and guidelines for CPC and DRM committees to conduct the SOP on preparedness and response. Develop guidelines and tools for enhancing functional capacity to understand impending hazards and disaster risk and vulnerability at the local level. Capacity in SADD data collection.
• Need to provide risk communication instruments (wireless UHF, VHF) system.
• Apps-based SADD data collection and updates (Tab)
• Functional National Emergency Operations Centre – NEOC, or Local Authority Emergency Operations Centre – LAEOC)
• Development of multi-stakeholders coordinated (met agency, UN Agency, I-NGOs, Sector department) in multi-stakeholder) engagement in forecast briefing, forecast interpretations with GIS technology, developing Early Action Protocol (EAP) and forecast-based early action, forecast-based contingency mobilization, forecast-based financing (FBF) mechanism, etc., for DRM and DRR governance improvement.
• Developing Early action protocol for every hazard
• Dissemination of multilingual early warnings through national Radio, TV
• Improvement of coordination at the district level.
• Through the WhatsApp group, network local committees and provide all updates about SGBV incidences and PiN emergency humanitarian assistance.
• Improvement of DRMIS

Respondent : District DoDMA office at Blantyre  ( Early Warning)( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

Challenges :

The early warning transmission and dissemination through the WhatsApp group of CPC committees, and after receiving the warning from the met office, they organize emergency meetings and discussions (VCPC) through the public loudspeakers area level committee (TA). This manual process spares time to warn the community about the exact impending conditions of the hazard. More than 50 % of rural communities do not even have cell phones to get text messages, and remoteness hurdles them to access early warning and CPC groups.

Recommendations :

• Setup ICT enabled Emergency Operations Center(EoC) at District Level
• The government needs to provide a free radio set to every household and broadcast early warning messages such as special weather bulletins to get remote households and women-headed households warned about the message.

Figure : Proposed  ICT enabled Emergency  Operations Center(EoC) at District Level ( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

Respondent : Women’s Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC) at Blantyre ( Early Warning)

Challenges:

• WhatsApp’s ground-based early warning is adequate for urban areas and people with Android cell phones. However, the majority of remote households do not have cell phones or Android phones to receive messages.
• Text message services are useful, but they should be easily understandable and well narrated in all local languages so that people understand the message clearly.
• Community radio has frequency limitations and is not accessible to remote rural households.

Recommendations :

• The government needs to provide free radio sets to every household and broadcast early warning messages, such as a special weather bulletin, recently to get remote households and women-headed households warned about the message.
• Operational forecast for women-headed households and detailed bulletin on what to do in every changing hazardous condition to be broadcast via national radio/TV.
• Impact-based weather forecasts for each target group, sectors
• Community leaders and CPC members need to be updated about weather patterns and warnings and be aware of them in a timely manner.
• Women’s early warning group with tools for warning women-headed households  
• Community radio will broadcast the special weather bulletin.
• Tool-free cell phone communication for the CPC member
• Free IVR, Cell broadcasts

2.1  What are the existing DRM coordination structures (challenges and recommendations)

Malawi’s DRM strategy, stakeholder coordination structure, and processes inadequately define stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities for dealing with DRM. The coordination structures of the CPCs at the district, TA, and village levels function well compared with those at the city and town levels.

Respondent: WFP ( DRM coordination structures)

WFP Operates OEC at the Central level; WFP presents in 8 Districts (flood vulnerable) and operates in food security, logistic cluster and support, anticipatory action (AA), WFP adaptation funds for agriculture, engagement of WFP national level food security and logistic, local level in preparedness and response, improving rapid assessment tools cross-sectoral and logistic cluster, WFP having presence at disaster-prone districts, setup EOC in DC offices of affected districts. WFP coordination support for DoDMA in the DRMIS system. WFP develops maps and situation reports on people displacement, logistic mapping routes, etc. At the district level, WFP supports district DoDMA in operating EOC (mobilizing the food supply).  The main stakeholders of the NGO forum are the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) , the Ministry of Gender on social protection, flood response food insecurity, cash on financial services, NGOs, INGOs Red Cross. The main stakeholders besides DoDMA are national NGOs.

Challenges :

• Inadequate stakeholder coordination and stakeholder engagement in Community-based contingency planning for emergency preparedness, development of resilience projects, rehabilitation projects, resilience cash for work, IGA, climate information on seasonal forecasting, access to market (package ), host emergency assessment , tree plantation along the river bank, IGA
• Digitizing SLS, VSLS – Ministry of Agriculture (WFP), access
• Access to financing, capital, key barriers to women’s resilience to disaster

• Improving income, strengthening market access, IGA, key value chain, Women in agriculture, and children’s medication.
• Building consensus of stakeholder coordination in implementing DRM/DRR interventions at the local level to strengthen resilience 
• Inadequate Women-led Organizations (WLO) working at the local level, having Capacity gaps of WLO and recommendations on WLO capacity building.

Recommendation:

• Enhancing the capacity of WLO to strengthen resilience:
• Community-based contingency plans for emergencies, resilience projects, rehabilitation projects, resilience cash for work, IGA, climate information on seasonal forecasting, access to market (package), host emergency assessment, tree plantation along the riverbank, IGA
• Apps-based maintenance of SLS and VSLS for accessing support from the Ministry of Agriculture. 
• Women having limited Access to financing capital key barriers to women’s resilience to disaster for Improving income, strengthening market access, IGA, key value chain, Women on agriculture, children medication,
• Lack of efforts to build consensus on risk financing.
• Developing forecast-based early action Capacity of EOC at the district level and strengthening the district-level sectoral capacity in DRR interventions planning and implementation.
• Inadequate coordination Capacity of District level state and non-state actors in the implementation of Anticipatory action (AA) DRM programs, Food security and logistics, preparedness and response
• More policy liberalization and gender-friendly acts of the Ministry of Land and local government to reform the land management acts, allocation of agricultural land to women in local level women empowerment,
• Inclusive financing Policy of financial institutes in providing easy access to fiancé for Coping mechanisms, Access to the agricultural value chain, development of entrepreneurship for productive growth, promotion of smallholder farming, empowerment of women-headed households, etc.
• Coordination Capacity of District level state and non-state actors in the implementation of Anticipatory action (AA) DRM programs, Food security and logistics, preparedness and response,
• More policy liberalization and gender-friendly acts of the Ministry of Land and local government to reform the land management acts, allocation of agricultural land to women in local level women empowerment,
• Inclusive financing Policy of financial institutes in providing easy access to fiancé for Coping mechanisms, Access to the agricultural value chain, development of entrepreneurship for productive growth, promotion of smallholder farming, empowerment of women-headed households, etc.

Respondent :  DoDMA Central    ( DRM coordination structures)

Conducting KII with DoDMA central and desk reviews of secondary documents, there are some strategic coordination gaps at national and subnational levels being identified and subsequent recommendations being proposed to close the gaps;   

Recommendations:

• Operational Guidelines on Multi-Stakeholders DRM coordination structure need to be developed.
• Improved timeliness and effectiveness in disaster response and recovery by having full-time DRM staff at the district level.
• Multi-hazard contingency plans and budgets were developed, and funds were allocated for implementing DRR interventions at the local level.
• Disaster preparedness capacity enhanced at all levels.
• Institutional mechanism must be implemented to utilize available logistical capability.
• Improved information flow for better coordination and assessment

National Level :

• Inadequate national climate risk management framework, defined stakeholder, Coordination gap with DNA (designated National Authority) for risk-informed development at the local level 
• Inadequate gender coordination gap in sector-level DRR/CCA intervention planning decision-making and project implementation.
• Lack of national climate fiscal mobilization framework, disaster risk financing framework for determining budgetary allocations for DRR Financing
• Inadequate gender dimension, informed tools coordination gaps, inadequate development of evidence-based advocacy gender tools, gender marker/indicator, gendered risk-informed datasets for inclusive DRR planning and budgeting process by the sector department.
• Inadequate methodology tools, guidelines, and mandates of MVAC, sector department, and other organizations in conducting Participatory Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (PVCA) process collection and sectoral disaggregated multi-hazard risk information for DRR intervention prioritization.

 District  Level :

• Inadequate local government decentralization process, inadequate coordination gap of local government sector department/clusters, the inadequate leadership role of Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) in coherent DRR intervention planning and implementation. 
• Inadequate structure and process of local government sector department climate and disaster risk management for supporting informed and prioritized local government.
• Stakeholder capacity map, functional responsibilities of sectors (Agri, WASH, Water, Gender, Livestock, Forestry, Emergency, Protection, food security)

TA Level :

• Inadequate risk assessment tools, web-based data collection apps, methodology tools, guidelines, mandates, and capacity of local level committees in rapid assessment PDNA, L & D, climate risk and vulnerabilities, socioeconomic risk, and vulnerability, DRR intervention needs, and priorities at the household level.
• Improving coordination structure of TA and GVH level CPC/DRM committees, developing participatory process guidelines for the group, more representative members of the group, student bridge, youth group, Local level Extension officers, professional group, fishermen, Headmaster, and other working class.
• Development of DRR/CCA representatives by Local NGOs, CSO, Clubs, youth groups, women’s group 
• The district council needs more functional capacity to implement community-based and local agroecological context-based DRR schemes/interventions.
• Improve MVAC risk information collection and data repository capacity. 
• Collect risk data from local-level DRM/CPC committees.
• Conduct PDNA, ERNA, CRVA.
• The councils should periodically hold meetings with CPC /DRM committees.

Figure : Existing DRM coordination Structures at the Local authority level( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

Respondent : Department of Economic Planning and Development, Ministry of Finance, Government of Malawi. ( DRM coordination structures)

It may be mentioned that Malawi’s long-term perspective development planning, DRM policy /strategies, etc., are gender reactive and affirmative. At the outset, the disaster laws inadequately mandate the coordination /engagement of stakeholders in a whole programmatic cycle of disaster risk management at the local level. Malawi is still to develop a climate risk management framework for mechanizing the disaster risk management governance system and mandates for stakeholders who will do what, where, and how. However, the Disaster Risk Financing Strategy and Implementation Plan (2019-2024)[1] The Local Government Act (1998) mandates some fiscal allocation for ex-ante and ex-post finance for disaster risk mitigation. It authorizes local authorities to mobilize resources for discharging any function of the local authorities. It mandates the MoFEPD to disburse at least 5 %  of the national budget to local authorities with the approval of the National Local Government Financing Committee. 

There is a lack of structured gender machinery and gender dimension for making the local government sector/cluster accountable for gender-responsive and climate risk-informed development planning, DRR periodized scheme design, and implementation. There is also an inadequate gender action plan and stakeholder coordination structure and a DRR road map for systematically prioritizing gender-responsive DRR interventions.

Recommendations:

• Sectoral coordination structure and Gender dimension and sector-specific action plan at the district level
• Local government revenue mobilization, annual development planning, and budgetary allocation for gender development.
• Gender inclusivity in disaster preparedness and response coordination structures, contingency preparation, conducting emergency search and rescue, women policing, camp management, and humanitarian assistance mobilization. 

Respondent : Ministry of Social Affairs ( DRM coordination structures):

• Inadequate level of coordination, stakeholder map, sector-specific risk financing guidelines, local revenue mobilization guidelines, disaster risk management phase-wise finance prioritization, early action protocol, etc., for mandating sector department and district level cluster more actionable and demand drive DRR interventions for the community.  
• Lack of gendered DRR/DRM framework, consensus of sector ministry and local authority in gendered DRR and local development, Lack of gender machinery, gender development framework, gendered DRR framework relevant stakeholder mandates and guidelines for gendered DRR interventions and local development
• National, local level disaster risk management programming (CRMP) needs to accentuate the legal framework of gender, DRM laws, mandating state and non-state actors in addressing the Gender risk and vulnerabilities (SADD) at 5 years development approach and annual development programming ( ADP) and interventions from the government DDP and budgeting allocations
• Inadequate coordination structure of District Execution Committee (DEC), Sector, or Cluster census and commitment to enhancing resilience, preparedness, and response capacities of women and vulnerable communities to Disasters.
• Inadequate and disproportionate gendered DRR prioritization of Development of District Development Plan ( DDP), Disaster DRM, DRR, contingency plans,  humanitarian assistance, and DRR interventions at the local level for the women.
• The District Disaster Risk Management Plan (DRMP) was formulated in 2022 and does not have an M&E framework for governing DRR interventions at the local level.
• Inadequate coordination, stakeholder engagement with MVAC for conducting the Participatory Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (PVCA) supported by the DMRC, CPC committee, Clusters local Extension officers, volunteers etc.
• Inadequate AIP recovery and rehabilitation, prevention schemes for supporting livelihood income generating programs, cash transfers for implementing DRR interventions at the household level.
• Inadequate Post disaster recovery financing package for WLO entrepreneurship, cash transfer for business.
• National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) (was established by the constitution of the republic of Malawi (Section 149 of 1994)) to ensure transparency, accountability, reporting and good governance of public funds in Local Authorities (LAs).
• Inadequate level DRR design of Public Works Sub Programme, Social Cash Transfer Livelihoods and Skills Development Local Authority Capacity Enhancement (LACE)

Recommendations:

• Strengthening coordination structure of the District Execute Committee (DEC) , Local Government finance committee in participating DDP and budgeting process :
• Revisiting and revising the DRM plan and incorporating the clearer structure of the stakeholder map,
• Revisiting the sector specific risk financing guidelines, local revenue mobilization guidelines, disaster risk management phase wise finance prioritization, early action protocol etc., for mandating sector department and district level cluster more actionable and demand drive DRR interventions for the community. 
• National, local level disaster risk management programming (CRMP) need to accentuate the legal framework of gender, DRM laws, mandating state and non-state actors in addressing the Gender risk and vulnerabilities (SADD) at 5 years development approach and annual development programming (ADP) and interventions from the government DDP and budgeting allocations.
• Develop gendered DRR/DRM framework, consensus of sector ministry and local authority in gendered DRR and local development, Lack of gender machinery, gender development framework, gendered DRR framework relevant stakeholder mandates and guidelines for gendered DRR interventions and local development.
• Develop standard coordination structure of District Execute Committee (DEC), Sector or/Cluster census and commitment for enhancing resilience, preparedness, and response capacities of the women and vulnerable community to Disasters.
• M&E framework for governing the DRR interventions at the local level.
• Clear coordination structure and process of Development of District Development Plan (DDP), Disaster DRM, DRR, contingency plans, humanitarian   assistance and DRR interventions, at local level for the women.
• Standard coordination and stakeholder engagement structured and actionable MVAC for conducting the Participatory Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (PVCA) supported by the DMRC, CPC committee, Clusters, local Extension officers, volunteers, etc.
• More clear mandates at climate fiscal framework, climate risk financing framework for annual targets from local revenue mobilization, budgetary allocations for gender responsive local government sector department in DRM/DRR planning, women led entrepreneurship development etc.
• Sector or/Cluster census and commitment for enhancing resilience, preparedness, and response capacities of the women and vulnerable community to Disasters.
• National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) was established by the constitution of the republic of Malawi (Section 149 of 1994) to ensure transparency, accountability, reporting and good governance of public funds in Local Authorities (LAs).
• Inadequate level  DRR design of  Public Works sub-program,  Social Cash Transfer Livelihoods and Skills Development Local Authority Capacity Enhancement (LACE)

Respondent : -DRMC  District Council Office, Blantyre ( DRM coordination structures)

• Capacity gaps of WLO- recommendations on strengthening resilience.
• Community-based contingency plans for emergencies, resilience projects, rehabilitation projects, resilience cash for work, IGA, climate information on seasonal forecasting, access to market (package), host emergency assessment, tree plantation along the riverbank, IGA
• Digitizing SLS, VSLS – Ministry of Agriculture (WFP), access
• Access to financing, capital, critical barriers to women’s resilience to disaster
• Improving income, strengthening market access, IGA, key value chain, Women in agriculture, and children’s medication.
• Building consensus:
• Improvement of coherence coordination mechanism of government sector ministry and department in DRM, DRR, CCA, NAP, and NDC-related policy and strategy development
• Developing coherent coordination structure of District Executive Council (DEC) , sector department ( clusters), Partner organizations, CSOs, Disaster Risk management, Civil Protection Committee(CPC) district-level policy planning, intervention design, and   The institutional structure and process is  harmonized to deploy all sector department

TA/Village level:

• District development plan, village development plan, and budgeting issues; Women empowerment district allocation for women
• Allocation of 19000 cash / monthly ( cash transfer)
• Through DoDMA warehouse preposition food grain in the southern region 
• Social protection, 

Recommendation:

• Strengthening the coordination structure of the District Execute Committee (DEC) and Local Government Finance Committee in participating in the DDP and budgeting process :
• Revisiting and revising the DRM plan and incorporating a clearer structure of stakeholder map, coordination structure, sectoral engagement roadmap, and defined responsibilities on DRM/DRR at the local level.
• Revisiting the sector-specific risk financing guidelines, local revenue mobilization guidelines, disaster risk management phase-wise finance prioritization, early action protocol, etc., to mandate more actionable and demand-driven DRR interventions for the community at the sector department and district level cluster levels. 
• National and local-level disaster risk management programming (CRMP) needs to accentuate the legal framework of gender and DRM laws, mandating state and non-state actors in addressing Gender risks and vulnerabilities (SADD) at the 5-year development approach and annual development programming (ADP) and interventions from the government DDP and budgeting allocations.
• Develop a gendered DRR/DRM framework, consensus among sector ministries and local authorities on gendered DRR and local development, Lack of gender machinery, gender development framework, gendered DRR framework relevant stakeholder mandates, and guidelines for gendered DRR interventions and local development.
• Develop a standard coordination structure for the District Execution Committee (DEC), Sector, or Cluster census and commitment to enhancing the resilience, preparedness, and response capacities of women and vulnerable communities to Disasters.
• M&E framework for governing the DRR interventions at the local level.
• A clear coordination structure and process for Developing a District Development Plan ( DDP), Disaster DRM, DRR, contingency plans, humanitarian assistance, and DRR interventions at the local level for women.
• Standard coordination and stakeholder engagement structured and actionable MVAC for conducting the Participatory Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (PVCA) supported by the DMRC, CPC committee, Clusters, local Extension officers, volunteers, etc.
• A clearer mandate for a climate fiscal framework, a climate risk financing framework for annual targets from local revenue mobilization, budgetary allocations for gender-responsive local government sector departments in DRM/DRR planning, women-led entrepreneurship development, etc.
• Sector or/Cluster census and commitment to enhancing resilience, preparedness, and response capacities of the women and vulnerable communities to Disasters.

Respondent :  Ministry of Gender ( DRM coordination structures)

Ministry of gender mentioned about inadequate stakeholder coordination and engagement promoting gender dimension in conducting multi-hazard risk assessment, socioeconomical risk assessment, conducting SADD survey etc. for identifying the needs and priorities or women, girls in contingency planning ,  disaster preparedness, response and recovery planning.

Recommendations :

• Firstly, develop a gender action plan in every cluster, gender-responsive DRR mainstreaming guidelines, an action plan, and an M&E system to track data on the clusters’ gender progress, etc.
• Secondly, DRM policy, District DRM /DRR Planning, and budgeting should be gender responsive.
• Thirdly, conduct gender analysis and gender risk integration to reduce disaster risk, and a relevant recovery plan should be developed at district and community services, DODMAC level. Some gender officers need to be promoted to directors at the district level, and some need to be employed at the local authority level. Impart capacity development training on DRM and CCA for programmatic, project development, and implementation. Capacity development in gender risk assessment, providing tools, information management system for gendered climate and multi-hazard risk and vulnerability analysis, and tailormade informed tools development for gender integration in DRM, DRR, and CCA interventions at the local level.
• Capacity development of WLO in policy, advocacy, and improving coordination with donors, INGOs, and UN Agencies for gender response DRR/CCA implementation.

Respondent : Ministry of Environment of Forest   ( DRM coordination structures)

• Inadequate coordination role of sector ministry, lack of gender action plan (Paris agreement )
• Lack of NDC partnership on gender concept, inadequate coordination structure at stakeholder national  level, district level,
• Inadequate GCF gender action plan, youth network on climate change,

Recommendations:

• Strengthening the Women network on climate change and ministry of gender as coordinator play role in climate resilience.
• Strengthening Gender action plan under NDC partnership gender concept, GCF – Gender action pan
• Upgradation of   tools of Ministry of gender for systematically integrate the gender consideration for beneficiary selection – participation.
• DoDMA CPC committees need to collect data 

Respondent : MRCS    ( DRM coordination structures)

Challenges :

• Lack of precision level early warning, impact weather forecasts, operational forecasts, forecast base early action, Early action protocol (EAP ) for the district level humanitarian
• No APP Framework and coordination structures
• Inadequate GiHA structure and process.
• Lack of Gender responsive multi-stakeholder/actors coordinated search and rescue plan, humanitarian response plan, emergency response, recovery plan
• Inadequate multi-stakeholder coordination structure at district level for emergency preparedness, evacuation, rescue
• No stakeholder/actors coordination structures standing orders, 5W stakeholder intervention map, and defined responsibilities
• Lack of SADD and women, girls, youth risk and vulnerability information at district level
• No SoP and network for SGBV, PSEA, SEA incidence report

Recommendation :

• Improve planning and service delivery at District level:
• Contingency Plan, District Disaster Management Plan, Community level contingency plan, at TA, District level, lack of resources, lack of funding, enhance coordination, contingency plan at community level women are included, elderly included, it uses of women and vulnerable group, district level plan is still not inclusive,
• Capacity building still not sufficient
• District-level plans need to address gender and mainstream the district.
• EAP: Early action protocol Not yet developed but in process,
• Gender issues, search, and rescue – District service, preparedness, and response, how we can ensure more coordination mechanisms.
• Improve planning and service delivery at the district level:
• Contingency Plan, District Disaster Management Plan, Community level contingency plan, at TA, District level, lack of resources, lack of funding, enhance coordination, contingency plan at community level women are included, elderly included, it uses of women and vulnerable group, district level plan is still not inclusive,

Respondent : Youth Group  ( DRM coordination structures)

Challenges :

• No youth coordination network at district level for let youth voice be heard at district level decision making process.
• Inadequate level /no Youth participation in district level DRM planning and DRR intervention process

Recommendations:

• Youth coordination network at district level for let youth voice be heard at district level decision making process.
• Youth participation in district level DRM planning and DRR intervention process

Respondent : Women Led Organization – Blantyre: ( DRM coordination structures)

Gap  :

• Inadequate District Local Government coordination mechanism and stakeholder engagement plan, stakeholder map , standard operating procedure (5W ) for conducting coordinated humanitarian  assistance. There are some level of overlapping of humanitarian   assistance and non-intervention in huge geographical areas and hard to reach areas
• There are reported cases of delayed government humanitarian assistance delivery, and interventions are being implemented in urban areas.

Recommendations :

Although CSOs and WLOs have good institutional capacity in DRM fund management and project implementation, the Local government has some credibility issues with those organizations, which need to be eliminated and coordinated with CSOs and WLOs.

Respondent : DoDMA – Blantyre Office : ( DRM coordination structures)

• Inadequate Disaster management Structure at district level 
• District Disaster Risk Management Committee (DDRMC) need to coordination structure with other cluster for well coordinating district level DRM functionalities. 
• MIS system of DRMIS – having few districts (2/3, Salima, Sanjae, Blantire),
• District level sector department organize Few stakeholders coordination meeting on DRM Mobilization of Humanitarian assistances – 

Recommendations

• Improving DRMIS at District level
• Strengthening District level Preparedness and response planning process.
• District level inevitable Decision making for Contingency Planning ( Pre-positioning) :
• Capacity development training, motivation for the all CPCs(DODMAC ACPC, VCPC)
• Stakeholder coordination Developing contingency Plan; Each area develop contingency  plan, Village develop contingency plan, well structure houses,
• Stronger Disaster Management Structure at district level
• SOP to clearly define roles and responsibilities – Services are centralized to district level

[1] https://drmims.sadc.int/sites/default/files/document/2020-03/DRF%20Strategy%2003.12.18%20Final%20Document.pdf

Table : Malawi District Executive Committee (DEC)/Sector Clusters  closely works with UN Cluster system 

Figure : Proposed  DRM coordination structures at District level( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

Figure : Proposed  Emergency operations Center (EOCs) at local level( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

2.1  How is the UN/government supporting collection and access to SADDD  (challenges and recommendations)

Respondent : DoDMA – Central ( SADD )  :

• Inadequate coordination structure of National Statistical Office (NSO) for SADD data collection form local level
• Inadequate coordination structure Stakeholder map, and enhanced capacity of Malawi Vulnerable Assessment Committee (MVAC) and other stakeholders in development methodology, tools and guidelines of conducting climate risk and vulnerability (CRVA) and multi-hazard risk at the local level.
• Lack of Standard methodology tools and guidelines of national stakeholders in conducting census survey, Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), cluster level survey for SADD.
• Poor coordination mechanism at district level (DEC, Sector/clusters, nonstate stakeholders and capacity in developing risk-informed district development plan and budgeting, development of risk-informed DRM plan.
• Limited capacity, mandate, methodology tools and guidelines, management of Stakeholder in SADD data collections, conducting post-disaster rapid emergency needs assessment ( RENA), PDNA etc.
• Development of improved coordination structure and management of stakeholder at Area/TA and Group village level to conduct CRVA, DRVA, PDNA and RENA at local level.

Recommendations :

• National Statistical Office (NSO) of Malawi need to conduct census and SADD data collection on regular interval in socioeconomic data , poverty , HIES data for informing disaster emergency planning process 
• DoDMA started disaster risk information digital part from 2021 and gradually improving the DRMIS system. Other sector department need to anchor DRMIS with their MIS system and update sectoral disagreed dataset, multi-hazard risk information , L & D information. 
• MCVAC and DRMIS need able to track the house and household level livelihood status (
• DoDMA need apps-based data collection from the More automated data collection and analysis
• MVAC need to be instrumentalize and physical verification of household to get the resilience status
• DRM/CPC committees need to be instrumentalized with risk communication instruments (wireless UHF,VHF ) system , tab, android handsets for Apps based SADD data collection and updates 
• Enhancing technical and functional National Emergency Operations Centre – NEOC, or Local Authority Emergency Operations Centre – LAEOC)

Respondent :  WFP   ( SADD ):

• CPC and DRM communities are well functional but still need functional capacity in SADD data collections and rapid needs assessment of the forecasted impending hazards and disaster risk and vulnerability at the  local level
• Capacity gap of sector and stakeholder in system design and development for  SADD data collection

Recommendations:

• Humanitarian actors and volunteers need to provide risk communication instruments ( wireless UHF,VHF ) system for rapid assessment and disaggregated data collection , Apps based SADD data collection and updates
• More functional  National Emergency Operations Centre – NEOC, or Local Authority Emergency Operations Centre – LAEOC)
• Anchoring logistic cluster and emergency telecommunication system, WFP running EoC at DC office with central EOC for getting situation updates from the WFP 8 Districts field offices
• WFP need to incorporate the food security, poverty, PiN information with DoDMA DRMIS

Respondent :  Ministry of gender ( SADD )

• Inadequate structure of  EOC, coordination structure and, tools and methodology gaps in conducting SADD at the household level
• Lack of district-level, TA, and group village-level coordination structure and, tools and methodology gaps for conducting SADD at the household level
• The CPC and DRMC committees have inadequate volunteers, knowledge, capacity, tools, coordination structure, and tools for conducting SADD at the household level.
• Lack of gender machinery at the district level, lack of gender framework at the district level to support stakeholder collection and update gender disaggregated datasets on SADD
• District-level multi-stakeholder coordination gaps ( DEC, Clusters, Sectors, UN Agencies, Humanitarian agencies, Red Cross, CSO ) to SADD data collection
• DRM has no gender framework.

Recommendation :

• CPC and DRMC committees need to conduct strong volunteering for SADD data collection, conducting CRVA, RENA, and PDNA data collection from village level 
• Web-based apps Methodology tools guidelines, Stakeholders coordination, Engagement of CSO, local volunteers, student bridge, social clubs, churches, representative social groups on data collection, collation, and updates
• Disaster-affected, displaced, SADD, and camp population data are required for disaster response and recovery interventions.
• Without having SADD datasets, the post-disaster recovery needs  and priorities can not be determined
• Classified datasets in HIES, Literacy, Poverty, and other statistical information required for intervention planning

Respondent : Department of Economic Planning and Development, Ministry of Finance, Government of Malawi( SAAD)

Challenges :

• Lack of multistakeholder(MVAC, NSO, DoDMA, DEC, Sector/cluster, non-state actors) coordinated structure and process to track People are constantly displaced place to place,
• District level, there is limited capacity to track recovery activities, especially when implemented through organizations that fail to register or communicate operations with DoDMA and DC.
• Without an updated database of recovery activities, including interventions implemented by NGOs, MDAs are unable to clearly identify recovery needs and direct recovery support.
• Malawi still needs to conduct a national climate risk vulnerability assessment (CRVA) at the national, subnational, and local levels prior to informing the planning desk to prioritize climate adaptation and resilient development at the local level and contemporary mapping the climate risk finance framework for financing the most urgent and prioritized critical DRM and DRR interventions on the ground.
•  

Recommendations :

• Anchoring – DTM(IOM ) with DoDMA DRMIS to track the climate refugees, Disaster IDPs, and driven IDPs, which is a prerequisite for developing disaster contingency, response, and recovery planning 
• MoF needs to update the data collecting through the poverty reduction and social protection department and conduct Malawi’s Unified Beneficiary Registry (UBR)   for tracking the classified datasets on income poverty, Disaster-impacted Poverty, extreme poverty, Climate Refugee, Disaster IDPs, etc. An updated URB will be substantially updated to identify the affected by the disaster and include them in the Registry / registered as ultra-poor in the recovery plan.  
• To support a participatory and informed District Development Plan, the DEC essentially needs a roadmap, methodology, tools, ICT system, and mandates and procedures for state actors ( MDAs, districts) and nonstate actors (e.g. DPs, CSOs, and NGOs) for collecting SADD at the sector level and administrative layer( District, TA, village, and community level ).
• District offices should also improve regular communication on recovery interventions to MDAs and DoDMA and enhance oversight to ensure that recovery agencies are registered and report on recovery activities and financing.
• The data needs to be improved, updated, and validated; most data collection is changed, and the required resources are for data collection.
• DEC will mandate sector/cluster at the district level to track the project/intervention implementation and oversight.
• DoDMA should oversee the implementation of the NDRF vertically and horizontally, ensuring coordination with all stakeholders while working with DPs, CSOs, NGOs, and the private sector to guide the prioritization of recovery resources.
• Update and maintain a centralized financing tracking mechanism for all development aid and institute systems for collecting information from donors, DPs, CSOs, and NGOs
• Monitoring and Evaluation DoDMA should lead the development of an M&E strategy and results framework and establish a database management system to track both flood and drought implementation progress.
• recovery interventions. The M&E systems should be based on existing monitoring mechanisms, and inputs will be collected from MDAs and districts.
• Reporting lines for data collection and reporting should be formalized between DoDMA, MDAs, and districts.

Respondent : Ministry of Social Affairs (SAAD)

• Unified beneficiary registration for undertaking recovery plans, update and validate data,
• Data collection changes, required resources

Local level engagement at TA/Village level:

• District development plan, village development plan, and budgeting issues; Women empowerment district allocation for women
• Allocation 19000 cash / monthly
• Through DoDMA warehouse preposition food grain in the southern region 
• Social protection, 

Respondent : Environmental Affairs Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change – Government of Malawi

• Collect data – improving coordination, disaster management structures at the local level. They collect the data, at district council level
• Coordination gaps on women’s networks in climate change, 

Respondent : MRCS (SAAD)

Challenges :

• Inevitable efforts of the Sector department in the management of climate risk information
• Inevitable capacity, tools, methodology, and process and stakeholder coordination with MVAC for conducting sector-level detailed risk assessment process.
• Sector departments need to partner with MVAC & Red Cross-driven Disaster, PDNA, CRVA, the assessment process

Recommendations :

• National MVAC need to be fully instrumentalized, and all relevant stakeholders need to be  coordinated for institutionalize the SADD, CRVA, and multi-hazard risk information data collection, updates
• Develop an interface of apps and web-based SADD data collections to make assessments more inclusive and participatory. 
• Anchor sector Some conducted assessments and disaggregated data with MVAC repository and DoDMA-driven DRMIS system. Develop clear web app-based software ( Kobo Toolbox ) for easy data collection with geolocation.
• Anchor all regional early warning systems and information management system with MVAC and DRMIS
• Sector and MVAC need to conduct the assessment and conduct the monitoring mechanism _ impact assessment of Post distribution

Respondent :  Foundation for Civic Education and Social Empowerment (FOCESE) Youth-Led Organization (YLO), Blantyre

Challenges  :

• The 2018 Population and Housing census shows that 51% of the population[1]  is below 18 years are adolescents and youth are vulnerable to unemployment and economic exclusion, unwanted pregnancies (SGBV), high maternal deaths, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and victim of gender-based violence. 
• Inadequate efforts of engagement of youth organization n and youth volunteers for coordination and engagement stakeholders/actors in SADD data collection and update which hurdles to evidence-based advocacy for comprehensive policy and programme development, investment and implementation.

Recommendations :

• Youth engagement in coordination and volunteering the SADD data collection and update
• Anchoring SIDA – Youth network in climate change – UN Women

Respondent : Climate Change and Meteorological Services, Blantyre (SAAD)

• Lack of stakeholder coordination, roadmap, methodology tools, and guidelines on the collection of SADD datasets on direction climate change impacts, multi-hazard impacts on individual age & sex groups, the structure of households, inbuilt physical infrastructure, and basic infrastructure and services, sectoral elements. Impact-based weather forecasts and operational forecasts essentially need geospatial and statistical information of the elements being captured by the  climate risk and  vulnerability (CRVA) datasets, climate risk atlas, GIS base maps on all aspects of the landscape, multi-hazard and disaster incidents, hotspots  datasets and atlas, etc. for developing impact forecasts and operational forecasts for the sectors, sectoral elements, human settlements, and livelihood assets are likely to be impacted and anticipatory L & D calculations and developing EAP and forecast based early action
• From the TCF experience, it was found that Women and children contributed more considerable casualties than women, and people with disabilities are the last people to leave the house while men are away from home. The current mode of early warning is translating through the local actors with less accuracy, efficacy, and effectiveness and not coming in a timely manner, so there are casualties at the local level.

Recommendations:

• Instrumentalized central EOC, setup of District level EOCs, data and information sharing coordination, and exchange mechanism with stakeholders
• Development of roadmap, methodology, tools and guidelines, ICT System, Web-based database and coordinated actions of all relevant stakeholders at Center, Region, District, TA, Group Village, Village, and Community level to collect /conduct an assessment of  CRVA, Multi-hazard risk assessment, and development atlas, social risk atlas, SADD database, GIS base map of showing all elements on the landscape
• Mandating  relevant stakeholders in the collection of SADD and regular updates (  DoDMA, MVAC, MRCS,  District sector department, INGOs, UN Agencies, CSO, DRM/CPC Committees)

Respondent : Women Led Organization –Blantyre (SAAD)

Gaps :

• Lack of stakeholder coordination, roadmap, methodology tools, and guidelines for collecting SADD datasets on the direction of climate change impacts, multi-hazard impacts on individual age and sex groups, household structure, inbuilt physical infrastructures, lifeline basic infrastructures and services, and sectoral elements.
• District level does not have any climate risk and vulnerability (CRVA) database, climate risk atlas, GIS base maps on all elements of the landscape, multi-hazard and disaster incidence, hotspots datasets, and atlas, etc., for developing EAP, forecast-based localized early action, risk-informed and anticipatory contingency plans, risk-informed multi-hazard preparedness plans, disaster response, and recovery plans etc.

[1] https://malawi.unfpa.org/en/topics/young-people-3

• District-level DoDMAs essentially need CRVA and a multi-hazard risk repository/ database, a tailormade climate risk information/atlas/database on the sector and sectoral elements, socioeconomic vulnerability, and a database and GIS atlas for developing need-based EAP, EWEA, forecast-based anticipatory actions, and L&D calculations.
• After TCF, the actors/stakeholders experienced daunting challenges in designing and delivering need-based humanitarian  assistance for the differential  age groups with their ,needs and priorities e.g., women and children are more affected, gender-sensitive utility services delivery hurdles at the campsite (menstrual hygiene was a big problem)  support for neonatal and  antenatal healthcare, medication, accessing  mobile Medicare facilities for women( pregnant women, hygiene for adolescents, elderly people and disabilities) 

Recommendations :

• District-level DoDMA essentially needs CRVA and multi-hazard risk repository/ database tailormade climate risk information/atlas/database on the sector and sectoral elements, socioeconomic vulnerabilities, database and GIS atlas for developing need-based EAP, EWEA, forecast-based anticipatory actions,  L & D calculations
• SADD for developing and contingency and delivering humanitarian assistance of all ages, sexes, and disability groups with proper space, proper support, private space, psychosocial support, safer evacuation, and a conducive environment at the camp level.

• District-level DoDMAs essentially need CRVA and a multi-hazard risk repository/ database, a tailormade climate risk information/atlas/database on the sector and sectoral elements, socioeconomic vulnerability, and a database and GIS atlas for developing need-based EAP, EWEA, forecast-based anticipatory actions, and L&D calculations.
• After TCF, the actors/stakeholders experienced daunting challenges in designing and delivering need-based humanitarian  assistance for the differential  age groups with their ,needs and priorities e.g., women and children are more affected, gender-sensitive utility services delivery hurdles at the campsite (menstrual hygiene was a big problem)  support for neonatal and  antenatal healthcare, medication, accessing  mobile Medicare facilities for women( pregnant women, hygiene for adolescents, elderly people and disabilities) 

Recommendations :

• District-level DoDMA essentially needs CRVA and multi-hazard risk repository/ database tailormade climate risk information/atlas/database on the sector and sectoral elements, socioeconomic vulnerabilities, database and GIS atlas for developing need-based EAP, EWEA, forecast-based anticipatory actions,  L & D calculations
• SADD for developing and contingency and delivering humanitarian assistance of all ages, sexes, and disability groups with proper space, proper support, private space, psychosocial support, safer evacuation, and a conducive environment at the camp level.

Respondent : DoDMA Office   Blantyre (SAAD)

District Disaster Risk Management Committee ( DDRMC) works as a cluster in the district’s local government system.

Gaps and challenges :

• Lack of stakeholder coordination, roadmap, methodology tools, and guidelines for collecting SADD datasets on direction climate change impacts, multi-hazard impacts on individual age and sex groups, household structure, inbuilt physical infrastructures, lifeline basic infrastructure and services, and sectoral elements.
• District level does not have any climate risk and vulnerability (CRVA) datasets, climate risk atlas, GIS base maps on all elements of the landscape, multi-hazard and disaster incidence, hotspots datasets and atlas etc., for developing EAP, forecast-based localized early action, risk-informed and anticipatory contingency plans, risk-informed multi-hazard preparedness plans, disaster response and recovery plans etc.
• District-level DoDMAs essentially need CRVA and a multi-hazard risk repository/ database, a tailormade climate risk information/atlas/database on the sector and sectoral elements, socioeconomic vulnerability, and a database and GIS atlas for developing need-based EAP, EWEA, forecast-based anticipatory actions, and L&D calculations.
• After TCF the actors/stakeholders  experiences daunting challenges in designing and delivering  need-based humanitarian  assistance for the differential  age groups with their needs and priorities, e.g., women and children are more affected, gender-sensitive utility services delivery hurdles at the camp site(menstrual hygiene was a big problem)  support for neonatal and  antenatal healthcare, medication, accessing  mobile Medicare facilities for women( pregnant women, hygiene for adolescents, , elderly people and disabilities) 

Figure : Proposed EOC at district level to facilitate SADD data collections ( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

Recommendations :

• District-level DoDMA essentially needs CRVA and multi-hazard risk repository/ database tailormade climate risk information/atlas/database on the sector and sectoral elements, socioeconomic vulnerabilities, database, and GIS atlas for developing need-based EAP, EWEA, forecast-based anticipatory actions,  L & D calculations
• SADD for developing contingency plans and delivering humanitarian assistance to groups of all ages, sexes, and disabilities with proper space, proper support, private space, psychosocial support, safer evacuation, and a conducive environment at the camp level.
• District Executive committee needs to mandate district-level actors/stakeholders to collect SAAD. Developing roadmap and guidelines for the local level CPCs for SADD data collection e.g.,  TA level area disaster Risk management committee/ACPC, village risk management committee /VCPC  , 
• Engagement of extension workers e.g., Forestry, agriculture, health 15-18 members at district level engage in data collection 15 members at village level and area level (TA) for SADD data collection.
• Developing DRMIS for all 28 Districts and local government units, which being developed for few districts( Salima, Sanjae, Blantyre)

Respondent : DRMC  District Council Office, Blantyre (SAAD)

Challenges:

• No structured SADD data on (demographic profile, poverty, literacy, HIES, socioeconomic data, sex, age disability disaggregated data) collection system supporting informed DRM planning (Preparedness, response, recovery).
• The district executive committee (DEC), sector department ( clusters), Partner organizations, CSOs, Disaster Risk management, and Civil Protection Committee(CPC) do not have a cohesive coordination structure for SADD data collections. 

• No structured coordination mechanism governed by the UN Agencies, MVAC, Red Cross, INGOs, district level government clusters, CSOs Coordination mechanism to initiative SADD data collection.

Recommendation :

• MVAC,  NSO, DoDMA , DEC multi-stakeholders coordinated efforts coordinated structure, ICT tools,  methodology, guidelines and process for conducting  SADD at local level DoDMA, CARE, Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (CEPA) , Concern Worldwide, , IPC Global Partnership – Action Against Hunger, CARE, CILSS, EC-JRC , FAO, FEWSNET, Global Food Security Cluster, Global Nutrition Cluster, IGAD, Oxfam, PROGRESAN-SICA, SADC, Save the Children, UNICEF and WFP. United Purpose, USAID etc. to work together.

• District Administration, MVAC, Stakeholders to govern, monitor and  SADD collection and updates on regular basis

2.1             How is the UN engaged at DRM levels

Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) of United Nations Country Team (UNCT) led by UN-OCHA  is responsible for coordinating UN emergency preparedness and response in support of the Government plan. Under the guidance of the HC, the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) is responsible for effective and efficient implementation of Inter-Agency disaster risk management activities. The UNCT allows for all UN entities with activities in Malawi  to work as a team in formulating common positions on strategic issues, ensuring coherence in action and advocacy. During disaster onset the RC office , OCHA  and the Humanitarian  Country Team (HCT)  acts as the secretariat of the HCT and supports the Humanitarian  Coordinator (HC) in all aspects related to HCT issues. HCT operates the UN cluster system, mobilize Emergency Response Fund (ERF) or the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and support government in PDNA process and humanitarian response mobilization to high impact areas.

Malawi’s population is estimated at 18.2 million[1] in 2017, Women head about 30 per cent of all households, and 57 % of female headed households live in income poverty compared to 40 % of male-headed households. Multi-dimensional child poverty estimates show that 63 % of children are deprived in two or more domains. The gender gap in agricultural productivity is estimated at 7.3 %. The current set of UN coordination (through UNDAF 2019-2023 priorities ) and technical service delivery  supports for  comprehensive post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) and  technical support for improvement of the DRM system under the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF),  World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery(GFDRR) and needs assessment and DRR. UN Contribution for some agricultural value chain development of innovative demand-based, climate-smart, and gender-sensitive agricultural technologies and irrigation.

UN Malawi HCT Coordination Challenges:

• Multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms, stakeholder partnerships map, DRM-sectoral development strategies and issues are not clearly defined in country’s perspective DRM plans (National DRM plans, NDRF, National Disaster Risk Management Communication Strategy, National Resilience Strategy of 018 – 2030, Guidelines for the Management of Disaster Risk Management Functions, National Climate Change Investment Plan of 2013-2018. Disaster risk financing strategy and implementation plan of 2019-2024 National Disaster Risk Management Communication Strategy) , which results inadequately government strides in donor resource mobilization over the risk-informed development at local level.
• The current set of UN coordination (through UNDAF 2019-2023 priorities) and technical service delivery supports for comprehensive post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) and technical support from the United Nations, for National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) over the and World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and needs assessment and DRR.
• Malawi’s UN coordinating mechanism largely works on an ad hoc basis during disaster crisis response, supporting conducting PDNA and mobilizing some humanitarian support through the UN cluster system at the local level. 

• Malawi is slowly progressing in developing sectoral NAP and NDC strategies for harmonizing the GCF and other adaptation funding and women-led green entrepreneurship development.

Following are the coordination support from UN Agencies

WFP:

• Coordinate post disaster rapid need assessment
• Supporting DoDMA for upgrading DRMIS
• WFP conducts emergency food security progarmme in 8 flood vulnerable Districts
• Supporting Food security cluster
• Support slow onset forecast based  anticipation action on  DRR
• Leading food security and logistics and Flood cyclone response
• Support EoC at DC office 
• Response to crisis – national level food security /logistic / preparedness and response flood, cyclone,
• Improving the rapid assessment and evaluation tools and system leading, disaster prone district, Wearhouse – districts level
• Supporting government in emergency food programme

MRCS (IFRC) :

• MRCS supporting MVAC for multi-hazard risk and vulnerability assessment
• Coordinate and support local government civil protection committee in dissemination of EWS

UNDP :

• Supporting DoDMA in improving Community-Based Flood Early Warning Systems
• Support DoDMA in conducting   PDNA, Rapid Impact and Needs Assessment (RINA), and development of disaster risk management information system (DRMIS).
• Risk Management Functions Devolved to Local Authorities

UN -OCHA :

• Coordinate the national DRM platform and operationalize the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) by providing emergency humanitarian assistance through the UN Cluster system.

UNCEF

• Coordinate Education cluster for school based DRM ( early warning dissemination)
• Coordinate WASH Cluster for supporting WASH facilities at school and nearby community level.

UN Protection cluster :

Coordinate in combating the Camp based PSEA, ESA, SGBV during disaster emergency

UN  Health Cluster :

Coordinate Camp based health care support during disaster emergency

[1]  Population by age and sex, 2010, National Statistical Office, Government of Malawi.

3.0 Engagement with Stakeholders

3.1 : The main stakeholders in the DRR sector in order of priority

From the desk review and discussion with stakeholders, it has been identified that the DoDMA is the nodal agency for leading the DRR process. The main challenges are inadequate Risk finance allocation and full-scale and longer-term DRR projects for marginalized rural households. The government’s constitutional provision states that only 5% of national net revenue (NNR) should be transferred to local authorities for development (including DRR).

The disaster risk management paradigm functions on an ad hoc basis and is mostly used for post-disaster emergency response-driven humanitarian actions. The government receives some CERF and UN Tack funds for post-disaster emergency response ( TCF), which the DoDMA delivers for social cash transfer.

Other stakeholders, including the CSO (International and national NGOs), directly finance and implement DRR schemes with local NGOs at the community level.

( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

The above diagram shows the stakeholder structure at the central and district levels. DoDMA coordinates government sector/clusters and CSOs ( INGOs, National NGOs ). UN Clusters and INGOs mostly work independently and, to some extent, update DEC ( district executive committee) about the humanitarian response.

Long-term community-based DRR schemes for productive asset intensification are being undertaken while external organs (donors) are mobilized for DDR recovery. INGOs and UN Agencies implement some community-based DRR schemes from their own DRR funds. 

From the KII discussion, the respondent mentioned the following stakeholders engaged at the local level for conducting the DRR.

1. WFP :
2. DoDMA on Early Warning /EOC
3. WFP on emergency food programme , AVC development on DRR
4. National NGOS for DRR
5. Danish Red Cross on Antifactory action on DRR programs
6. MRCS on early warning dissemination, emergency preparedness

• MRCS:
• DoDMA on social cash transfer
• CSO on community level DRR

• Ministry of Social Affairs
• DoDMA on DRR social cash transfer
• World Bank finance for social SafetyNet on social cash transfer

• Ministry of Gender
• DoDMA on DRR social cash transfer
• CSO on community based DRR program

• MoFEPD
• DoDMA on DRR social cash transfer

• Ministry of Environment of Forest
• DoDMA committees are district-level

Observations & Recommendations

• More policy and advocacy for annual fiscal DRR budgetary allocation for creating more GDP growth from the rural growth sector (Agriculture, fisheries, livestock and poultry, agroforestry & fruit gardening, small business, and value chain development )
• A government sector-specific NAP localization strategy, DRR/CCA project design, mobilization of external and internal funding, stakeholder engagement, and scheme implementation for DRR resilience building.  
• Development Women inclusive DRR from Green Climate Finance (GCF)

3.2    UN/Government structures engaging women and women led organizations in DRR and resilience initiatives

Figure : Proposed UN functional coordination mechanism for strengthening  DRM ( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

From the above discussions, it can be outlined that there are root causes and challenges that persist in top-down policy, strategy, and actional planning of Gendered DRR and resilience building. Following root causes, challenges, and gaps can be outlined along with the DRM/DRR Policy/Strategy, and programmatic structure:

• All those above perspective policy planning not sufficiently mandate stakeholders to consider gender as a prioritized issue in institutionalizing gendered DRM/DRR approaches.
• Inadequate UN-Government coordination structures for instrumentalizing gender machinery as priority issues in long-term Policy and Strategies
• Systematic gaps in policy planning structures and strategies that do not clearly define the mandates of state and non-state actors to engage women-led organizations (WLO)and women in DRR and resilience initiatives.

• The DRM strategy does not adequately define stakeholder coordination structures, a coordination map, and stakeholder roles and responsibilities to devise the Gendered DRR and resilience building planning, programming, interventions designing, resource mobilization strategy, fiscal facility, and DRR-related annual development program (ADP) for undertaking comprehensive DRR at the local level.
• The current DRM/DRR process is mostly used for responding to post-disaster emergency humanitarian assistance mobilization only, and there are no strategies for long-term DRR interventions.
• There is a lower level of fiscal mobilization in the current government’s annual fiscal budgetary process financing gendered DRR at the local level to earn more GDP from rural DRR and development projects.
• District Development Planning (DDP)and budget do not sufficiently address gender-inclusive DRR at the local authority level. DDP stakeholder coordination map should clearly define stakeholder coordination map, roles, and responsibilities, and mandate state and nonstate actors at the local level in who will do what, where, etc.
• Lack of gendered climate risk information management system, gendered DRM framework at national and district level for supporting state and non-state stakeholders, Women-Led Organizations in determining Gendered DRR and Resilience building priorities at the local level and indicate resource mobilizations strategies for undertaking pilot women-headed DRR projects (Agriculture, Livestock, fisheries, agroforestry, IFM etc.) for modeling the WRD as rural GDP contributor.
• Low extent of integration of gender considerations in DRR policies laws, and mandates
• Limited collection and utilization of disaggregated data
• Limited funding for gender mainstreaming interventions in DRR
• Limited participation and leadership of women in DRM systems and processes
• Systematic gender barriers in disaster risk insurance affecting uptake by women and other vulnerable groups
• There is a lack of government strategy and forwarding of DRR project concepts for the Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP), CERFs, and pooled funds to implement multipurpose DRR schemes for marginalized rural women farmers and smallholder farmers.

Engaging women and women-led organizations in DRR and resilience initiatives, respondents mentioned the following issues;

1. WFP:
2. Capacity gaps of WLO- recommendations on the capacity of development of  WLO in risk-informed DRM, DRR planning, scheme implementation, and women-headed entrepreneurship development and strengthening the resilience of frontline women-headed households:

• Red Cross
• Having a Gender Focal point for implementing community-based DRR projects

• Department of Disaster Management Affairs [DoDMA]
• Inclusivity and supporting more WLO in DRR interventions and more budgetary allocations at the district level for DRR and resilience building
• Ministry of Social Affairs :
• Inclusivity and support more WLO in DRR interventions and more budgetary allocations to AIP projects for recovery, rehabilitation, and prevention.

• Ministry of Gender :
• A stronger National taskforce (inclusivity of Women and WLO )  on  sexual exploitation and harassment

• Women and WLO-related organizations/CSO engagement on the gender segregation risk management in the DRR process.

3.4 Key gaps in gender integration within DRR and resilience building initiatives

Respondent  : DoDMA Central ( gender integration in DRR) :

• Inadequate sectoral coherence and coordination gaps in developing climate and multi-hazard risk-informed DRM and DRM policy, strategy, and interventions relating to gendered resilience and empowerment.
• Inadequate gendered disaggregated data and tailor-made informed tools for developing gendered (women, girls, and youth) needs and priority inclusive disaster emergency preparedness, contingency plan, and humanitarian assistance mobilization.
• Inadequate gendered disaggregated data (women, girls, and youth), localized climate, and multi-hazard risk and vulnerability information for quantifying climate risk and vulnerability across gender groups, women-headed households, and livelihood assets.
• Inadequate climate risk information for gender groups and lack of operational forecasts for women, girls, and youth. children, elderly, and disabled age groups to prepare them for the impending multi-hazards. 
• Lack of AAP Framework for monitoring and creating actors /stakeholders accountability in sectoral DRR interventions. 
• Insufficient gendered climate risk and vulnerating information, informed tools to define gender entry point in risk-informed DRR /LDP planning because of sector department inadequately being informed by the gender disagreed and gender-differentiated climate and multi-hazard risk and vulnerability information.
• Inadequate tailor-made informed tools on multi-hazard risk and vulnerability information on differential gendered impacts and developing risk-informed GiHA in EAP, EWEA, and forecast-based early schemes and interventions.
• Activation of Forecast SGBV, PSEA, and SEA incidence reporting.
• WRD (Gender DRR and Resilience Farmwork) framework, stakeholder coordination, and action plan for improving Gender Machinery addressing the DRM, DRR, NAP, and NDC-related interventions.
• Inadequate methodology, tools, guidelines, and stakeholder engagement (MVAC and other relevant stakeholders) in Assessing the socioeconomic vulnerability of women-headed households.
• Implementation of DRR projects for 5 years to harmonize the impacts of interventions.
• People’s mindsets, Cultures, mindsets, religions, and patriarchal paradigms discourage women from speaking and letting their voices be heard. Women are discouraged from participating in local-level decision-making processes, and Women are less influential.
• Promoting Women’s education, developing legal framework mandating women’s education, cash for female-headed households
• Access to Assets, women should own the land, economic decision of use of land by women, 

Respondent – WLO Blantyre ( gender integration in DRR)

• The national fiscal budget system focuses on the social cash transfer program for food security.
• Lack of base case scenarios, Gender action plan in every cluster,
• Lack of gendered recovery plan, gender information, informed tools (with local languages), gender integration, DODMAC officers promoted to director, training.
• The national budget does not have a systematic national risk financing mechanism over the national budgetary system for prioritizing DRR interventions at the local level.
• Lack of Risk informed gender development plan at the District level

• The inadequate institutional structure limited the decentralized governance (climate) mechanism, the inadequate participatory scope of women, girls, and youth access to local DRM/CPC, and the local authority-level decision-making process.
• Lack of gender machinery and gendered network /Gendered climate risk information network to support local government cluster (department) for gender risk consideration in gender-responsive DRM/DRR-related scheme implementation process.
• Inadequate tools, methodology and process for conducting post disaster gendered rapid needs assessment, identify the loss and damage. Needs and priorities of women-headed households, girls, and youth groups.
• National policy and strategy highly focus on the Common Programme Framework (CPF) and less emphasis is given on gendered unprivileged groups (women, Girls, Youth, elderly and disabled population 

WFP:

• Inadequate gendered (women, Girls, Youth, elderly. disabled population) inclusive, participatory local governance system at the TA/Area/Group Village and village level for local development.

• Centralization of DRM/DRR interventions and inadequate local-level value chain support for women-led green entrepreneurship development (Improving income, strengthening market access, IGA, key value chain, women on agriculture, and children’s medication).
• Extreme Poverty, inequality, education, knowledge, and understanding gaps about the frequency and intensity of multi-hazards, and inevitable understanding about rapid-onset multi-hazards and disaster.
• Lack of women resilience framework Inevitable legislation, laws, mandates for Women and girls having access to government power structures, governance system, gendered inclusive participation to local level DRR and development planning and financing decision making,

• There is a lack of multilingual Improved early warning systems being disseminated through national Radio broadcasts, development of forecast-based early action for women, and operational forecasts for women.
• Lack of women DRM network at the district level to inform local level DRM/DRR planning and interventions.

Recommendations:

• Multilingual Improved early warning system being disseminated through national Radio broadcasts; development of forecast-based early action for women; operational forecast for women.
• Women’s DRM network at the district level to inform local level DRM/DRR planning and interventions.
• Gender responsive/inclusive local DRM/DRR/CCA/climate resilient plans (GiHA, Emergency preparedness, Response, recovery, CCA)
• Gender action plan in every cluster, Risks and recovery plan, gender information, gender integration, DODMAC officers promoted to director,
• Capacity building and training for stakeholders in awareness at district, gender-segregated gender tools (English and need to be local languages)

Respondent: Ministry of Social Affairs (gender integration in DRR):

• Inadequate sectoral coherence, coordination gaps in developing climate and multi-hazard risk-informed DRM and DRM policy, strategy, and interventions relating to gendered resilience and empowerment, as 100% of DRR interventions for the disaster calamities made through the Department of Disaster Management (Do DMA)[1]
• Inclusive financing mechanism for Women’s smallholder farming—Agricultural Innovation Project (AIP); training for beneficiaries—nutrition, WASH water, manure for agriculture; promotion of farming AIP.
• District development plan, village development plan, and budgeting issues should consider allocation for women and girls.
• A special DRR package (incentives, agri-inputs, social cash transfer, VSLA) for women-headed households, based on organic farming, poultry, and livestock farming support.
• Post-disaster recovery – any financing package for WLO entrepreneurship, cash transfer for business.
• Women headed household access to receive grants.
• Women empowerment district allocation for women
• Women participate in the local government finance committee to oversee the DDP and budgeting process.
• Program urban poor for livelihood income generating program, training on cash transfers sustainability program.
• Post-disaster recovery – any financing package for WLO entrepreneurship, cash transfer for business.

Respondent : Department of Economic Planning and Development, Ministry of Finance, Government of Malawi ( gender integration in DRR):

• Transforming disaster preparedness cash transfer to incentives-driven resilience building schemes.
• Socio cash transfer and cash transfer for climate-smart livelihood schemes.
• A structured fiscal framework for the affected community from the ministry is required. The (SafetyNet) Local Government Finance Committee is the structured system for district-level allocation.
• The target beneficiary – women, designing the program – each district 15% of the poor (funds) only
• Cash transfer for disaster – recovery TCF.
• Price of charcoal, targeting the poor in urban areas,
• Inclusive women in representation in the local decision-making process. Women have access to the decision-making process.

Respondent : Environmental Affairs Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change ( gender integration in DRR):

• Environmental Affairs Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change – Government of Malawi
• No gender action plan, gender DRM framework, or Gender Climate Risk Framework
• Inadequate Women network on climate change and Ministry of Gender as coordinator play a role in climate resilience.
• Systematically integrate the gender consideration for beneficiary selection process /access and DoDMA committees at are district level to collect data 

Respondent : Malawi Red Cross Society – MRCS ( gender integration in DRR):

• Less community awareness   on the forecast
• Recommendations: Landscape vulnerability, landslide vulnerability – Technical parts need to be improved.
• Missing links of so many casualties – mindset change –
• Inadequate engagement of the community with DRM cycles

Respondent : Youth Group: ( gender integration in DRR):

• Youth group recommended conducting multi-hazard and climate change education awareness campaigns through electronic media
• Developing the Youth gender-focused risk financing projects and interventions
• Financing mechanism of Early warning improvements for youth groups
• Youth engagement in gender-responsive local planning  

Respondent : Disaster Civil protection committee of Blantyre District ( gender integration in DRR):

Key gaps :

• Inadequate gendered disaggregated data and tailor-made informed tools for developing gendered ( women, girls, and youth  ) needs and priority inclusive disaster emergency preparedness, contingency plan, and humanitarian assistance mobilization.
• Inadequate gendered disaggregated data ( women, girls, and youth  ), localized climate, and multi-hazard risk and vulnerability information are needed to quantify climate risk and vulnerability across gender groups, women-headed households, and productive livelihood assets.
• Inadequate institutional structure, limited, decentralized governance mechanism, the inadequate participatory scope of women, girls, and youth access to local DRM/CPC and local authority level decision-making process.
• There is a lack of gender machinery and a gendered network  /Gendered climate risk information network to support the local government cluster( department ) in considering gender risk in the gender-responsive DRM/DRR-related scheme implementation process.
• Inadequate tools, methodology, and process for conducting a post-disaster gendered rapid needs assessment to identify the loss, damage, needs, and priorities of women-headed households, girls, and youth groups.
• National policy and strategy highly focuses on the Common Programme Framework (CPF) and less emphasis given to  gender/ unprivileged groups ( women, Girls, Youth, elderly, and disabled population  )
• Inadequate climate risk information for gender groups and lack of operational forecasts for women, girls, and youth. Children, elderly, and disabled age groups for get them prepared for the impending multi-hazards 

Respondent : Director of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, Blayntyre ( gender integration in DRR):

• Development of information, education, and communication (IEC) materials on multi-hazard and climate change for enhancing knowledge and understanding about climate change impacts and disaster
• The youth group recommended the development of a special weather bulletin and operational forecasts for the youth group on impending extreme weather events.

[1] National Budget 2022/2023

4.0 Differential  Impacts of Climate-Induced Disasters [Cyclones, Floods, Drought]

4.1    How have climate-induced disasters impacted women and men differently?

4.2 What are the different coping mechanisms adopted by women and men to climate-induced disasters? ; (challenges and recommendations)

Respondent : WFP Offices Lilongwe ( coping mechanisms )

A coping mechanism in Climate-induced disaster:

• Peace work, business.
• Selling productive assets
• TCF social cash
• Transactional sex
• Charcoal making and selling firewood.
• Post-disaster recovery Social Cash transfer Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA)

The positive coping mechanism:

• Piecework – Day labor, causal job, south Africa to feed the households.
• Small business
• 50KG /yearly Govt/CSO food assistance is not enough
• Small business, peace works, begging for food,
• Support from relatives

Negative coping mechanism:

• Cutting trees and making charcoal, selling firewood etc.
• Selling productive assets, belongings, etc.
• Transactional sex
• Adolescent girls are being forced to early marriage.
• Trafficking of girls and children
• Migration
• Selling of humanitarian  assistance, hygiene kits/food bag, selling stuffs,

Respondent: Ministry of Gender (coping mechanisms )

The positive coping mechanism:

• Piecework
• Day labor
• Small business
•  

Negative coping mechanism:

• Cutting trees and making charcoal, selling firewood etc.
• Selling productive assets , belongings etc.
• Transactional sex
• Adolescent girls are being forced to early marriage.
• Trafficking of girls and children
• Migration

Respondent : Department of Economic Planning and Development, Ministry of Finance ( coping mechanisms )

The positive coping mechanism :

• Piecework
• Day labor
• Small business

Negative coping mechanism:

• Cutting trees and making charcoal, selling firewood etc.
• Selling productive assets , belongings etc.
• Transactional sex
• Adolescent girls are being forced to early marriage
• Trafficking of girls and children
• Migration

Respondent: Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change ( coping mechanisms )

Differential impact of women girls:

• Collect water from long distance, struggling for livelihoods m men are traveling distanced for labor.
• Cultural values and patriarchal society to men to take all leads
• Extreme poverty, device, single young mother,  women headed households, child headed households, girls headed households, acute food insecurity, malnutrition  due to climate change and recurrent disaster events.
• Women households household are more affected.
• Access of female headed household to resources too low then men headed household
• Climate smart agriculture – MoA encouraging organic farming

Respondent : Malawi Red Cross Society – MRCS, ( coping mechanisms )

• Women- running small business , some of them selling cloths, migration, trafficking of girls, children

Respondent : Women’s Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC) at Blantyre ( coping mechanisms )

• Women- Govt/CSO are not enough, 50KG /yearly, small business, peace works, begging for foods, men – on criminal offences for Selling of humanitarian  assistance(  hygiene kits/food bag etc) 

Recommendations:

• Economic empowerment of women
• Assessment required ( needs) based on local context, at TA level few households, identify the family, different assessment not coming clear, local administrative wise detailed datasets, spending time, gaps are there,

Respondent :        Disaster Risk Management officer of DoDMA – Blantyre District ( coping mechanisms )

• Social cash transfer
• Casual work
• Transactional sex
• Selling productive assets
• Winter cropping

Respondent :Disaster Civil protection committee of Blantyre District ( coping mechanisms )

The positive coping mechanism :

• Piecework – Day labor, causal job, south Africa to feed the households
• Small business
• Women- Govt/CSO are not enough, 50KG /yearly, small business, peace works, begging for foods, men – on criminal offenses,
• Support from relatives
• Selling of humanitarian  assistance – hygiene kits/food bag

Negative coping mechanism:

• Cutting trees and making charcoal, selling firewood etc.
• Selling productive assets, belongings etc.
• Transactional sex
• Adolescent girls are being forced to early marriage
• Trafficking of girls and children
• Migration

Respondent : Climate Change and Meteorological Services, Blantyre  ( coping mechanisms )

The positive coping mechanism :

• Piecework – Day labor, causal job, south Africa to feed the households
• Small business
• Support from relatives
• Selling of humanitarian assistance –  hygiene kits/food bag  other needs- sale stuff,

Negative coping mechanism:

• Cutting trees and making charcoal, selling firewood etc.
• Selling productive assets, belongings, etc.
• Transactional sex
• Adolescent girls are being forced into early marriage
• Trafficking of girls and children
• Migration

4.3 key ` effective women’s engagement in DRR and resilience building

Respondent : DoDMA Central  ( barriers DRR and resilience building) :

• Inadequate gendered disaggregated data and tailor-made informed tools for developing gendered ( women, girls, and youth  ) needs and priority inclusive disaster emergency preparedness, contingency plan, and humanitarian assistance mobilization.
• Inadequate gendered disaggregated data ( women, girls, and youth  ), localized climate, and multi-hazard risk and vulnerability information for quantifying climate risk and vulnerability across gender groups, women-headed households, and livelihood assets.
• Lack of AAP Framework for monitoring  and creating actors /stakeholders accountability in sectoral DRR interventions 
• Inadequate climate risk information for gender groups and lack of operational forecasts for women, girls, and youth. Children, elderly, and disabled age groups to get them prepared for the impending multi-hazards 
• Insufficient gendered climate risk and vulnerating information, informed tools to define  gender entry point in risk-informed DRR /LDP planning because of sector department inadequately being informed by the gender disagreed and gender-differentiated climate and multi-hazard risk and vulnerability information
• Inadequate tailor-made informed tools on multi-hazard risk and vulnerability information on differential gendered impacts and developing risk-informed GiHA in EAP, Early Warning Early Action (EWEA), Forecast early schemes, and interventions
• Activation of Forecast- based SGBV, PSEA, and SEA incidence reporting
• WRD (Gender DRR and Resilience Farmwork ) framework, stakeholder coordination, and action plan for improving Gender Machinery addressing the DRM, DRR, NAP, and NDC
• Inadequate methodology, tools and guidelines and stakeholder engagement(MVAC and other relevant stakeholders )  in Assessment of socioeconomic vulnerability of women headed household
• Implementation of DRR projects for 5 years to harmonize the impacts of interventions.
• People’s mindsets, Culture, mindsets, religion, and patriarchal paradigms discourage women from speaking and letting their voices be heard Women’s participation in the local level decision-making process, Women is discouraged, and Women are less influential
• Promoting Women’s education, developing legal framework  mandating women’s education, cash for female-headed households
• Access to Assets, women should own the land, economic decision of use of land by women, 
• Key gaps in Gender integration in DRR /resilience-building initiatives:
• Gender action plan in every cluster
• Based on case scenarios,
• Thirdly: Risks and recovery plan, gender information, gender integration, DODMAC officers promoted to director, training
• Raise awareness at district, gender-segregated gender tools ( English and needs to be local language)

Respondent : Women’s Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC) at Blantyre ( barriers DRR and resilience building) :

Challenges  & Recommendations :

• The national fiscal budget system focuses on a social cash transfer program for food security.
• Lack of base case scenarios,  Gender action plan in every cluster,
• Lack of gendered recovery plan, gender information, informed tools ( with local languages), gender integration, DoDMA officers promoted to director, training
• National budget Not having a systematic national risk financing mechanism over to the national budgetary system for prioritizing the DRR interventions  at the local level
• Lack of Risk informed gender development plan at the District level
• Inadequate institutional structure, limited decentralized governance (climate) mechanism, and inadequate participatory scope of women, girls, and youth access to local DRM/CPC and local authority level decision-making process.
• Lack of gender machinery and gendered network  /Gendered climate risk information network to support local government cluster( department ) for gender risk consideration in gender-responsive DRM/DRR-related scheme implementation process.
• Inadequate tools, methodology, and process for conducting a post-disaster gendered rapid needs assessment to identify the loss and damage, needs, and priorities of women-headed households, girls, and youth groups.
• National policy and strategy highly focuses on the Common Programme Framework (CPF), and less emphasis is given on gendered unprivileged groups ( women, Girls, Youth, elderly, and disabled population 

Respondent : WFP  ( barriers DRR and resilience building) :

• Inadequate gendered (women, Girls, Youth, elderly. Disable population) inclusive participatory local governance system at the TA/Area/Group Village and village level for local development.
• Centralization of DRM/DRR interventions and Inadequate local level value chain support for women led green entrepreneurship development (Improving income, strengthening market access, IGA, key value chain, Women on agriculture, children medication).
• Extreme Poverty, inequality, education, knowledge and understanding gap about the frequency and intensity of multi-hazards, inevitable understanding about rapid onset multi-hazards and disaster.
• Lack of women resilience framework Inevitable legislation, laws, mandates for Women and girls having access to government power structures, governance system, gendered inclusive participation to local level DRR and development planning and financing decision making, l
• Inadequate and multilingual Improved early warning system being disseminated through national Radio broadcasts, development of forecast based early action for women, operational forecast for women.
• Lack of women DRM network at district level to inform local level DRM/DRR planning and interventions.
• Gender responsive/inclusive local DRM/DRR/CCA/climate resilient plans ( GiHA, Emergency preparedness, Response, recovery, CCA ) 

Recommendations:

• Multilingual Improved early warning system being disseminated through national Radio broadcasts, development of forecast based early action for women, operational forecast for women.
• Women /Gendered DRM risk management network at the district level to inform local level DRM/DRR planning and interventions.
• Gender responsive/inclusive local DRM/DRR/CCA/climate resilient plans ( GiHA, Emergency preparedness, Response, recovery, CCA

Respondent : Ministry of Social Affairs ( barriers DRR and resilience building) :

• Inadequate sectoral coherence, coordination gaps in developing climate and multi-hazard risk-informed  DRM and DRM  policy, strategy, and interventions relating to gendered resilience and empowerment, as 100% of DRR interventions  for the disaster  calamities made through the Department of Disaster Management (DODMA)[1]
• Inclusive financing mechanism for Women’s smallholder farming—Agricultural Innovation Project (AIP); training for beneficiaries—nutrition, WASH water, manure for agriculture; promotion of farming AIP.
• District development plan, village development plan, and budgeting issues should consider allocation for women and girls.
• A special DRR package (incentives, agri-inputs, social cash transfer, VSLA) for women-headed households, based on organic farming, poultry, and livestock farming support.
• Post-disaster recovery – any financing package for WLO entrepreneurship, cash transfer for business
• Women headed household access to receive grants.
• Women empowerment district allocation for women
• Women’s participation in Local Government finance committee to oversight the DDP and budgeting process
• Program urban poor for livelihood income generating program, training on cash transfers sustainability program.
• Post-disaster recovery – any financing package for WLO entrepreneurship, cash transfer for business

Respondent : Department of Economic Planning and Development, Ministry of Finance ( barriers DRR and resilience building) :

• Transforming disaster preparedness cash transfer to incentives-driven resilience building schemes.
• Socio cash transfer and cash transfer for climate-smart livelihood schemes.
• Structured fiscal framework for the affected community from ministry, required – ( SafetyNet) Local Government Finance Committee is the structured system for district-level allocation
• The target beneficiary – women, designing the programme – each district 15% of the poor ( funds) only
• Cash transfer for disaster –  recovery TCF.
• Transforming livelihood options from deforestation, contributing charcoal making to homestead agriculture, livestock farming, and other IGAs.
• Inclusive women in representation in the local decision-making process. Women have limited access to the decision-making process.

Respondent :  Environmental Affairs Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change ( barriers DRR and resilience building) :

• No gender action plan, gender DRM framework, or Gender Climate Risk Framework
• Inadequate Women network on climate change and Ministry of gender as coordinator play role in climate resilience
• Systematically integrate the gender consideration for beneficiary selection  process /access and  DoDMA committees the district level to collect data 

Respondent :  Malawi Red Cross Society – MRCS ( barriers DRR and resilience building) :

• Less community awareness  on the forecast
• Recommendations: Landscape vulnerability, landslide vulnerability – Technical parts need to be improved.
• Missing links of so many casualties – mindset change –
• Inadequate engagement of the community with DRM cycles

Respondent :  Youth Group– Blantyre  ( barriers DRR and resilience building) :

• Youth group recommended conducting multi-hazard and climate change education awareness campaigns through electronic media
• Developing and implementation of the Youth gender-focused risk  financing projects and interventions
• Financing mechanism of Early warning improvements for youth group
• Youth engagement in gender-responsive local planning 
• Disaster Civil Protection Committee of Blantyre District

Key gaps :

• Inadequate gendered disaggregated data and tailor-made informed tools for developing gendered ( women, girls, and youth  ) need and priority inclusive disaster emergency preparedness, contingency plan, and humanitarian assistance mobilization.
• Inadequate gendered disaggregated data ( women, girls, and youth  ) , localized climate, and multi-hazard risk and vulnerability information for quantifying the climate risk and vulnerability over the gender group, women-headed households, and productive livelihood assets.
• Inadequate institutional structure, limited, decentralized governance mechanism, and inadequate participatory scope of women, girls, and youth access to local DRM/CPC and local authority level decision-making process.
• Lack of gender machinery and gendered network  /Gendered climate risk information network to support local government cluster( department ) for gender risk consideration in gender-responsive DRM/DRR-related scheme implementation process.
• Inadequate tools, methodology, and process for conducting a post-disaster gendered rapid needs assessment to identify the loss and damage, needs, and priorities of women-headed households, girls, and youth groups.
• National policy and strategy highly focuses on the Common Programme Framework (CPF) and less emphasis given on gendered unprivileged groups ( women, Girls, Youth, elderly, and disable populations)
• Inadequate climate risk information for gender groups and lack of operational forecasts for women, girls, and youth. Children, elderly, and disabled age groups for getting them prepared for the impending multi-hazards 

Respondent : Director of Climate Change and Meteorological Services,– Blantyre  ( barriers DRR and resilience building) :

• Development of information, education, and communication(IEC) materials on multi-hazard and climate change for enhancing knowledge and understanding about climate change impacts and disaster
• The youth group recommended developing a special weather bulletin and operational forecasts for youth group on 1, as impending extreme weather events are likely.

[1] National Budget 2022/2023

4.4 Recommendation on strengthening the resilience among vulnerable women and girls to climate induced disasters.

Respondent :  WFP Offices Lilongwe ( strengthen resilience of women and girls) :

• Technical and financial support for enhancing women’s capacity in agricultural value chain management.
• Marginalized women’s access to more Adaptation funds for agriculture and livelihood productive asset development.
• Sectoral department technical support for climate-tolerant cropping, adaptive and conservative agricultural techniques, and technical knowledge on integrated farm management (IFM).
• DoDMA and the sector department need to develop a district-level early action protocol (EAP), forecast-based early action, and forecast-based preposition of humanitarian assistance for the sector/cluster for better preparedness.
• Improving and transitioning from traditional weather forecasting and alerting systems to impact-based forecasts for livelihoods, sectors, and operational forecasts for women-headed households, small-holder farming, and entrepreneurs.
• Sector department driven more SafetyNet program for ensuring food security.
• Community-based contingency plans for emergencies, resilience projects, rehabilitation projects, resilience cash for work, IGA, climate information on seasonal forecasting, access to market(package ), host emergency assessment , tree plantation along the river bank, IGA
• Digitizing SLS, VSLS – Ministry of Agriculture 
• Access to financing, capital, key barriers to women’s resilience to disaster
• Improving income, strengthening market access, IGA, key value chain, Women in agriculture, and children’s medication.

Respondent :  Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) , Government of Malawi ( strengthen resilience of women and girls) :

• Comprehensively conducting Climate and multi-hazard risk assessment at the community level, conducting an assessment on current coping strategies, best DRR practices, and adaptive and resilient practices at the community level.
• Develop a district climate risk framework with tailored climate risk and vulnerability information on gender groups (women, girls) to support district-level disaster preparedness, response, and recovery planning.
• Community-level DRR scheme design and inclusive financing support for women-headed households.
• Conduct mass education distance learning campaign for knowledge and awareness raising for gender groups (women, girls) in raising their voice at local level planning and decision making. Removing cultural norms, mindsets, and prejudice and respecting women’s/girl’s right to speak and let their voice be heard. Access to public assets, women should own the land, economic decision of use of land by women, 

Making economic decision-making.

• Design and implementation of Climate-resilient Productive growth. 
• Green shed for homestead gardening & IFM
• Fenced land for cooperative livestock farming and IFM
• Mini pond-based fish culture
• Agroforestry development ( along the hill slope/roadside)
• Less watering crop farming

Respondent :        Ministry of Gender, Malawi ( strengthen the resilience of women and girls) :

• The committee recommended a Gender action plan in every cluster, gender mainstreaming guidelines, an action plan to track Gender DRF data on the cluster’s gender progress, and a gender-responsive DRM policy.
• Risk informed Gender integrated humanitarian action plan.
• The sector department will Conduct a gender risk assessment (climate and socioeconomic vulnerabilities) and integrate gender risk into the disaster response and recovery plan at the district and community services, DoDMA level( in the local language ). The department will also develop a multi-hazard and climate-proof household economic package for marginalized women farmers.
• Develop methodology tools and guidelines on gender-disaggregated data collection for gender-informed planning and prioritizing the needs of community-level basic service deliveries (Agriculture, WASH, water supply, healthcare, and other productive livelihood sectors).

Respondent :  Department of Economic Planning and Development, Ministry of Finance ( strengthen resilience of women and girls) :

• Package design and conduct training for skill development, household income generating, climate tolerant agriculture, agroforestry development, fruit gardening, rainwater harvesting, poultry and livestock farming.
• Weather forecast base early mobilization of humanitarian assistance for Women, girls and children at remote and hard-to reach areas.  
• Group based Livelihood income generating programme / Cash transfer, savings, loan
• Capacity development and awareness raising of women, and girls in forecast-based early action
• Disaster risk financing mechanisms for marginalized women (microcredit, loan, VSLA, socio cash transfer, and climate crisis-based cash transfer) to run household-based income-generating activities.
• More local government sector/cluster support (extension workers) for remote marginalized women-headed households to promote climate-tolerant sustainable farming.
• A government sector department (agriculture, water resources, livestock, fisheries, forestry ) will undertake a project on a climate-smart village and a climate-smart livelihood development program.
• Social cash transfers should be through a secured channel so that only female account holders can be authenticated to withdraw money from mobile banking outlets. The currently allocated  K19000 cash/household for three months is not enough, whereas maize per bag costs K40,000 (per bag). Social cash transfer ceiling should be at least K50000 per beneficiary to meet their monthly food demand.

Respondent :  Environmental Affairs Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change ( strengthen resilience of women and girls) :

• Impact weather forecast for sectors.
• Impact-based weather forecasts, operational forecasts for Women, girls, youth group
• Adult education, distance learning on climate change, multi-hazards, and natural disasters for masa awareness
• Adult education, distant learning on disaster preparedness, response and recovery, climate change adaptation, DRR, and adaptive livelihoods, adaptive DRR/CCA practices in the locality
• Gender response DRM /DRR planning and budgeting system.

Respondent :  Malawi Red Cross Society – MRCS, ( strengthen resilience of women and girls) :

• Very few Designated disaster shelters in disaster-prone districts( flood/cyclone), churches, schools, and community centers used as disaster shelters
• Improve planning and service delivery at the District level :
• Capacity building is still not sufficient.
• District-level plans need to address gender and mainstream the district.
• Community-level risk assessment is an urgent

Respondent : Women’s Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC) at Blantyre, ( strengthen resilience of women and girls) :

• People are not aware of the government support.  People do not know what are coming to their doorsteps until interventions are coming to their doorstep like AIP, the capacity of women to know whole things, 
• Challenges for government always show that resource constraints and local government cannot support WLO
• Government support mostly well communication areas; NGOs cannot work outside of the mandated areas, and Council guides to work in hard-to-reach areas.
• Working in working in the hard-to-reach areas depends on CSO allocation and willingness
• Women- Govt/CSO are not enough, 50KG /yearly, small business, peace works, begging for food, men sales humanitarian assistance.
• Designing community-based DRR packages by mobilizing Women resilience funds (WRF), Community resilience funds(CRF), International-based GCF, NAP, NDC inclusive financial packages for cooperative group IGA functions, private financial packages/credit facilities, Cooperative mannered revolving financial assets( by group based ).
• Sectoral DRR initiatives need to target productive and accessible local resources (e.g., agroecology, water resources, fertile floodplains, wetlands, irrigation and draining facilities, water access). 
• Women empowerment, villages V-SMEs association, the procedure of, training them in business management, the component of V-SMEs (members are mostly women), seed with training, the skill needed for IGA otherwise they will not do anything- women building houses – business management, capital injection with motivation and guidelines,
• Bigger picture- government, irrigation, blue economy, helps, TCF perspective, targeting the flood impending condition tree plantation along the erosion prone areas need to be early considering the flood adaptation-
• Agriculture extension support for smallholder farmers, needs the full set of disaggregated datasets for prioritization of beneficiaries and input supply,
• Working with Government and CSO with WLO depends on trust, norms, and culture. Normally, people feel that WLO does not have the capacity (wrong idea). Also, managing the funds needs to be improved.
• Recommendation that the voice of women be better heard at all levels so that resilience is enhanced.

• CSO—different women in different areas, other duty bearers—document them. Gaps are there; we should ask them. Project/resources, male domination, man making decisions, needs of women neglected, villagers don’t know their rights, information discloser.

Respondent : Disaster Risk Management officer of DoDMA – Blantyre District ( strengthen the resilience of women and girls) :

DoDMA at the district level operates some DRR activities through social cash transfers. After TCF, the government allocated 5 million funds for post-disaster social SafetyNet programs. People are illiterate, and they do casual work; their husbands do bicycle taxis.

Respondent : Disaster Civil Protection Committee (CPC)of Blantyre District ( strengthen the resilience of women and girls) :

The district civil protection committee mentioned social cash transfer being entitled as short-term recovery and building back better options for starting some household-based IGA (poultry, cropping), but challenges remain while male member misuses the money and put women in loan defaulters. However, for sustainable resilience building, the respondent indicated the following schemes for marginalized farmers.

• Credit schemes through VSLA/micro-credit support for marginalized farmers.
• Agriculture crop diversification
• Drought tolerant crop variety and less watering cropping (based on the soil conditions)
• Borehole /water access for Women households and women farmers for drinking water and some minor drip irrigations
• Small business
• Winter cropping
• Input supply for agriculture.

Respondent :  Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services ( strengthen resilience of women and girls):

• Establish consensus, coordination, and capacity development for the climate-vulnerable sector/cluster in development, translating traditional forecasts into impact forecasts for the sector.
• Develop operational forecasts for women and girls for the impending cyclone; flood multi-hazard events are highly likely.
• Working with government mass media to start a radio/TV-based distance learning, education, and awareness-raising training program on disaster risk and coping strategies.
• Forecast-based early action protocol (EAP) development and forecast-based household-level anticipatory action advisories for women and girls to improve their preparedness before disaster starts.

Respondent :  Youth Group , Blantyre ( strengthen the resilience of women and girls):

• Enhancing resilience of girls and youth by knowledge and awareness raising  on Climate change, multi-hazards and disaster risk and vulnerabilities
• Climate risk information for girls/youth
• Access to local DRM/DRR level local participatory decision-making process
• Gender and youth inclusive local level contingency planning and humanitarian support
• Impact weather forecasts and operational forecasts, bulletin, and advisories for gender groups ( women, girls. Youth, children)
• SGBV awareness and alerting system and information network for the girls, women
• DRR action plan, household-based DRR schemes for youth groups to homestead gendering in their extracurricular hours to support family.

5. 0 Chapter: Focus Group Interview with community

Organized field visit to Chigonawire and Meeting with Camp management (at Nankuyu Primary School) second FGD with the  Camp management committee (at T/A Kuntaja GVH Bwanasompho) and  Civil Protection Committee and discussed how they receive a multi-hazard early warning, what is their understandability of warning message (by differential gender age group) what the indicative challenges and community recommendations for are improving the service deliveries. With the FGD session, try to explore the differential impacts being experienced individually by the women, children, youth, and disabled population, what are the urgent needs and priorities, and coping mechanisms for surviving the disaster shocks. In the Recovery phase, what is the priority that the community understands for building back better from the last cyclone and flood disaster.

Figure  : Community Focus Group Discussion at Nankuyu Primary School , Blantyre

Figure  :  Community Focus Group Discussion at   Chikwawa, Blantyre

Figure  : Community Meeting with CBO’s and women’s groups and  VCPC  at Makata ( T/A & GVH) of Southern Blantyre

Figure  :  Meeting with VCPC  at Makata ( T/A & GVH) , Southern Blantyre

VCPC Committee Constitutes by 30 members of the community.

Committee:

• Village Headman (Chieftaincy /Chair)
• Group Village Headman (Co-chair)
• CDO Leader

Representative:

• Home Group
• Mother
• Village Development Committee (VDC)
• Child Protector
• Health (HSA)
• Education
• Religious leader
• Disable Population
• Businessman
• Agriculture
• Livestock (proposed)
• Youth( Girl/Boys) ( proposed)

1. How do community receive early warning of cyclone, flood and drought and is the information understandable?

One of the most important barriers being identified is the early warning dissemination process, which is cascading, push messing style, and the warning sensitization process coming across the domino effect over the group-based interaction process (Civil Protection committee), which results in delay, inefficient, and ineffective awareness. The traditional and cascading human channel-driven multi-hazard and disaster warning system creates confusion about the warning.

With the organized meeting with committee members (VCPC, Camp Management, with the Camp management committee (at T/A Kuntaja GVH Bwanasompho) and Civil Protection Committee (at Blantyre T/A Kuntaja GVH Bwanasompho ) deliberately mentioned about the delay receiving the multi-hazard early warning because of its coming through WhatsApp group based system and not time and accurately comes to individual level. The national media outlets (Radio, TV) ideality played a role in swift and sufficient mass awareness over the impending multi-hazards and extreme weather events for not broadcasting cyclones, heavy rain, tornados, and thunderstorms quite frequently. The critical complaints from the community that the national media outlets broadcast cyclone early warning after the news, which led to mass mortality of vulnerable communities not aware of the intensity of the cyclone and accompanied thundershower trigged immediate flash flooding and immediate consequences for households and settlements being located along the water runoff drainage channel and downstream. The community demanded understandable impact-based multi-hazard early warnings being broadcast through national electronic media (Radio/TV/SMS/ Cell Broadcast/IVR, etc.). 

Recommendations of VCPC/DRMC at village level:

 The committee demanded a free radio set, a precision level, and timely early warning. It also demanded household-based inclusive finances for disaster recovery, household income-generating activities, food and livelihood security, etc. 

Figure: Early warning transmission and dissemination process( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

• Designated multi-purpose disaster shelter.
• The community needs a multi-purpose, gender-friendly, utility services-enabled disaster shelter with secured storage facilities for its belongings.
• Providing transport facilities, emergency lifesaving food-NFI items, and other facilities for the gender group (women, children, girls, elderly, disabled population) emergency forecast /early warning based early preparation training and mock drill before the hazard takes the landfall/disasters are highly likely to take place.
• CPC will constantly provide feedback to EOC with their UHF/VHF radio about community-level preparedness measures, emergency evacuation status, emergency humanitarian needs and priorities of relief, and other NFIs, etc.
• Feedback mechanism of community preparedness.
• Village headwomen, women members of the CPC, and other social council women members to report to the District CPC/EOC/DEC/DoDMA about the needs and priorities of women-headed households.
• Disaster event situations update of women-headed households.
• Emergency prepares drill.
• Emergency Evacuation support
• Community impact-based forecasts, weather warnings, altering on rapid-onset multi-hazards, e.g., heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, cyclones, flash flooding, landslides, mudslides, etc.
• Government to mandate national Radio/TV and relevant agencies/actors frequently broadcasting special weather bulletins on cyclones, heavy rainfall, thunderstorms about intensity, anticipatory impacts, loss and damage, and advisories for the high-impact areas.
• Instant Messing with Local Language 
• Interactive Voice Response, Cell Broadcast, SMS, etc., so that the community can understand the intensity of hazards. 

( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

Developing on real-time radio broadcasts, weather bulletin and advisories:

The traditional participatory consultation process (Chieftainship) being practiced for forecasted weather risk interpretation and early warning dissemination decisions remains pending until the CPC meeting is called by the Group village headman & Village headman and decides for evacuations to safe ground/evacuation center which is taking times for emergency and time-critical evacuation decisions in traditional participatory decision way. In a traditional warning dissemination system, DoDMA and the Water Resources Department (WRD) jointly analyze the multi-hazard risks and vulnerabilities of met agency issue bad weather forecasts and, accordingly, deliver the early warning message via social networks (WhatsApp, Facebook).

Over the next step – the local CPC, DRM, and volunteer group organize the VCPC level meeting and disseminate early warning, creating understandability of risk perception about the impending multi-hazards. As a result, there are mortalities of women, children, girls, and youth. Ironically another social stigma of patriarchal domination over the household level critical decision-making in which the women entirely need to depend on male members and remain the last person (women, children, girls, disabled population) to take shelter at safe ground along with belongings/assets in normal circumstances that the male member are away from home.

The most indicative early warning dissemination and evacuation barrier that The VCPC in group meetings decides and advises for sheltering to reduce the higher mortality.

• Vulnerable communities need precision-level cyclone early warning. This shortcoming is that the community deliberately ignored and was not aware of the TCF early warning, which contributed to high mortality. 
• The VCPC member mentioned getting messages in delay because messages are being transmitted through the nested loop.
• Vulnerable communities have less understanding of the intensity, frequency, and anticipatory loss and damage level of the warnings they are receiving.
• National AM/FM Radio/TV needs to broadcast the special weather bulletin in 10-15 minutes during the cyclone’s first landfall on the Mozambican coast and its approach to the locality. The bulletin needs to be broadcast in all local languages.
• The government needs to mandate that the national cell phone transmit SMS very frequently in most of the local languages.
• The early warning for heavy rainfall-triggered flash flooding has recently been activated in only riverine flood-prone districts of Malawi.

Flood Forecasts: Community-based flood forecasts and early warnings are in place in most flood-vulnerable districts, but impact-based flood forecasts, forecast-based anticipatory action, and preparedness are still required.

Figure : Recently UNDP installed automatic community-based flood forecasting and early warning

Recommendations:

• Operational flood forecast and advisories for the livelihood, sectors, and sectoral elements for a timely warning.
• Households and Community demanded free radio sets (solar PV power, winding) for accessing radio broadcasts based on early warning.
• Community radio/national radio will broadcast early warnings about multi-hazards in all local languages in a timely manner.
• Demanded Tool free cell phone communication/messages by CPC members.
• Toll-free IVR/ cell broadcasts
• Livestock and Fisheries disaggregated climate impact data.
• The community will listen to radio/TV broadcasts for emergency preparedness until VCPC’s group meeting advises them on sheltering.
• Technical capacity to understand the warning

Community recommendations from FGDs with the VCPC :

• Enhance awareness of Women, girls, and understandably about the early warning
• Women need to decide when, where, and how to take shelter on safe ground.

• Community radio, National radio, Tool-free cell phone communication, IVR, Cell broadcasts on humanitarian situations, awareness about SGBV, etc.

1. What suggestions would you propose to the government about (improving) early warnings for cyclone, floods, flash floods, heavy rainfall and drought?

Preparedness:

• Emergency forecast /early warning-based early preparedness training and mock drill on how to act to prepare before the hazard makes landfall/disasters are highly likely to occur.
• Provide training and a mock drill on emergency evacuation for sudden-onset multi-hazards and disasters (heavy rainfall, flash flooding, landslides, thunderstorms, tornadoes, etc.) that may be impeding.
• CPC will constantly provide feedback to EOC with their UHF/VHF wireless radio about community-level preparedness measures, emergency evacuation status, emergency humanitarian needs and priorities of relief, and other NFIs, etc.
• Village headwomen, women members of the CPC, and other social council women members to report to the District CPC/EOC/DEC/DoDMA about the needs and priorities of women-headed households.
• The community needs a multi-purpose, gender-friendly, utility services-enabled disaster shelter with secured storage facilities for its belongings.  
• Installation of gender friendly multi-purpose evacuation center
• Transport facility for emergency evacuation.
• Emergency prepositioning of Food during difficult situations (emergency biscuits, dry foods, etc.)
• Emergency water treatment tablets, WASH kits, and rainwater harvesting systems in every household.

Early Earning:

• Community impact-based forecasts, weather warnings, altering on rapid-onset multi-hazards, e.g., heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, cyclones, flash flooding, landslides, mudslides, etc.
• Interactive Voice Response, Cell Broadcast, SMS, etc., so that the community can understand the intensity of hazards.  
• The government must mandate national radio/TV and relevant agencies/actors frequently broadcasting special weather bulletins on cyclones, heavy rainfall, thunderstorms about intensity, anticipatory impacts, loss and damage, and advisories for high-impact areas.

( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

• Mobile network operators Telecom Networks Malawi (TNM), Airtel Malawi, and Movitel will provide the community with free SMS messages in the local language. 
• Households and Communities demanded free radio sets (solar PV power, wind up) for accessing radio broadcast-based early warning.
• Developing multi-hazard early warning bulletin in local language
• Mandating national and Community radio stations to broadcast cyclone early warnings and multi-hazard early warnings timely with all local languages recurrently. The government should mandate the media outlets to broadcast special weather bulletins on heavy rainfall and anticipatory flash flooding.
• CMC committees (FGD discussion) demanded tool-free cell phone communication/message—toll-free IVR/ cell broadcasts.
• Community needs to access emergency weather bulletins recurrently coming from national radio/TV media outlets about extreme weather events (heavy rainfall and induced flash flooding and landslides) for swift and preemptive evacuation and preparedness (individual and group-based).  Forecast-based early actions should exclusively follow emergency decisions; they should be delegated by the Chieftaincy chaired decisions being agreed upon by the emergency community meetings.

Emergency Excavation drill

• Emergency evacuation drills must be conducted at every village and TA community’ level. Given the circumstances that flash floods are likely to trigger the aftermath of accumulation of heavy rainfall and triggering the flash flooding through slope and lower drainage changes, adjacent settlements are likely to be damaged. 

Transportation support:

• Providing transport facilities, emergency lifesaving food-NFI items, and other facilities for the gender group (women, children, girls, elderly, disabled population)

Prepositioning of lifesaving emergency food and NFI :

UN agencies, INGOs, NGSs, and CSOs supply the most urgent lifesaving kits considering the physical road/waterways communication disruption.

1. In what ways climate-induced disasters impact?

• Direct impacts of climate shocks: Most of the respondents mentioned human, food, and livelihood insecurity due to persistent poverty, the recurrent incidence of extreme weather events, hydrometeorological hazards, and impacts over the terrain of Malawian topography and geographical settings.
• Direct impacts of climate shocks: Malawian terrain topography, riverine floodplains, geographical settings, and recurrent incidence of extreme weather events, as well as already persisted extreme poverty, factored in the hydrometrical hazards and impacts.  Most of the respondents mentioned human, food, and livelihood insecurity. The anomaly of weather patterns (droughts, flash-droughts, agricultural droughts, hydrometeorological drought, flooding, heatwave, thunderstorm, etc.)  impacts agriculture and recurrent incidence of crop failure, yield loss, drought, sometimes flash floods, thunderstorms continuing to hamper the agriculture cropping and leaving household with food insecurity.
• Protracted/vicious cycle of Poverty factors: The anomaly of weather patterns (draught, flash-droughts, agricultural drought, hydrometeorological drought, flooding, heatwave, thunderstorms, etc.) impacts agriculture, and the recurrent incidence of crop failure, yield loss, drought, sometimes flash floods, and thunderstorms continues to impact agriculture cropping and leave households with food insecurity.
• Ripple/domino/residual effects of cyclone, flood, drought-induced hazards /disaster: Aftermath of flooding, flash flooding, cyclones, heatwaves, etc., there are other levels of hazard’s trigger drinking water crisis-induced outbreaks of cholera, diarrheal, and other waterborne diseases,, vector-borne infectious diseases, viral infections. Malaria, infectious fever, etc., cause significant mortalities, and incidentally, a large number of victims are women, children, and girls.
• Drought causes agriculture yield loss, food insecurity, and famine
• Chronic Food insecurity: Multiple levels of multi-hazard events, such as floods, flash floods, droughts, and heatwaves, damage crops, delay cropping season, yield loss, crop loss, stress over surface and groundwater bodies, etc., tangling this vulnerable group into Prolonged Poverty, Hunger, and Famine throughout the year.
• Water in scarcity for homestand gardening, subsistence farming 
• Internal displacement (IDP) and climate refugee status entitles less access to state and non-state running basic service deliveries.

A] Impact over Women ______________________________:

• Longer time living Tent/shelter (until rebuilding/repair of houses): The community demanded longer time livable camp/shelter for the vulnerable groups because the government intended to reopen the school in the aftermath of disaster events where most of the isolated community shelter and disrupt schooling and education.
• Social insecurity, the victim of SGBV and psychosocial trauma:
• Being forced to negative coping mechanisms:
• Vulnerable to human trafficking

• Female-headed household (Living as a single mother due to husbands left away)
• Highest level of divorces

• Highest level of child marriage

• Highest level of adolescent motherhood (after cyclone Freddy)
• Highest level of child trafficking

• Highest level of SGBV, PSEA, SEA, transactional sex for survival
• Highest level of women loan defaulters because husband take all their wallets (mobile money) money  and away from home and systematically put them in peril
• highest level of public health disaster due to poor and no access to WASH facilities and drinking water access (during flooding), which leads to higher levels of female and child mortality.
• Highest level of social, political, and economic discrimination against women, as they are being systematically exploited by the social power structure group, social elite, and socially constricted norms and inequalities.
• All those persistent and recurrent climates induced crisis, protected poverty, social inequalities, social injustice, patriarchal dominion led deprivation, socially constructed inequality paradigm putting women in peril and tangled then unequivocally. 
• Women have limited accessibility to agricultural, livestock, and fisheries value chain input supplies; government-provided subsidies and supports are inadequate and inbuilt patriarchal-masculinity muscle, sociocultural norms, and discriminatory approaches largely hurdling /depriving women and single mothers to access services. 
• Ripple/domino/residual effects of cyclone, flood, drought-induced hazards /disaster: Aftermath of flooding, flash flooding, cyclones, heatwaves, etc., there is another wave of ripple effects of hazard’s impact drinking water crisis induced spreads of outbreaks e.g., cholera, diarrheal and other waterborne diseases, vector-borne infectious diseases, viral infections, Malaria, infectious fever etc., those causes of significant mortalities and incidentally the large victims are women, children, and girls.
• Pregnant women face difficult situations during disaster-induced forced displacement and living in evacuation centers without having neonatal services, healthcare services, nutrition, food assistance, other gender compliance services, etc.
• Drought causes of agriculture yield loss, food insecurity, and famine
• Chronic Food insecurity: Multiple levels of multi-hazard events, such as floods, flash floods, droughts, and heat waves, damage crops, delay cropping season, cause yield loss, and stress surface and groundwater bodies.
• Water in scarcity for homestand gardening 
• Protracted Poverty, Hunger, and Famine due to climate change-induced crop loss:

SGBV triggers aftermath of disaster

• The persistent poverty, hunger, famine, inbuilt social inequality, cultural factors already (single mother, widow, single adolescent mother)  in tangles of all discrimination and additionally the climate change impacts further worsening them over the fragile livelihood cycle contribute to the incidence of SGBV events.
• After the disaster, the most vulnerable groups become completely hopeless because of losing every asset by disaster to take care of several dependents and then systematically being pushed to transactional sex and being systematically harassed by the social elites and economically enabled groups.
• Due to the disturbance of the natural ecosystem and polluted surface water bodies/water sources then, women-headed families need to travel longer to fetch drinking water and other necessities and become victims of SGBV and the highest level of unwanted adolescent pregnancies.

B] Impact over adolescent girls ______________________________:

• Highest level of unwanted adolescent pregnancies due to the above reasons.
• Pregnant women face difficult situations during disaster-induced forced displacement and living in evacuation centers without having neonatal services, healthcare services, nutrition, food, etc.
• Early marriage, divorces, birth-related complicates, maternal mortality, malnutrition, single motherhood
• Mortality due to health disasters due to poor and no access to WASH facilities and drinking water access (during flooding), which leads to higher levels of female and child mortality.
• Drop of Education: Highest level of educational dropouts of secondary and postsecondary and element level of students because of climate crises, supporting families for food and water security, famine, poverty & inequality, SGBV, human trafficking, etc.
• Persistent dependency on lifesaving humanitarian assistance and IDP shelters/tents
• Lack of Adolescent girls-friendly emergency Shelter: Gender-friendly emergency safe shelter for the most vulnerable groups ( Women, children, girls, youth, elderly, person with disability).
• Protracted food insecurity and hunger 
• The multiple factors tangled and trapped into   the Protracted and vicious cycle of food insecurity and hunger  in round the year
• The anomaly of the rainy season seriously impacts cropping and yield losses and puts households in famine, hunger, and uncertainties of food security.
• Emergency food supplies are inadequate and followed by external assistance for disaster recovery and have not come as regular interventions; so far, the frontline community needs to depend on the growing season.

C] The Men  __________________________________________________

• Pushed  to migrate as laborers for a long time to feed their family as migrant workers/casual laborers – less time for taking care of family,
• Climate refuge, IDP status, and for longer period

• Longer term dependency on humanitarian support: In most cases, the cases community will not be able to, weeks after building a livelihood, better the poverty, Loss, and damaged houses and belongings to returning back to their houses. Extreme poverty-stricken women-headed households, particularly single mothers, widows, and divorces do not have any means of livelihood assets and productive livelihood asserts to feed their family and another dependable member of the family in the given situation of colossal level damaging disaster ( cyclone, flooding) the community demanded humanitarian support and startup capital for building back their houses and starting IGA.

D] Persons with disability __________________________

• Lack of disability-friendly shelter, lack of transport for evacuations, inadequate government  support for disability IGA

E] The Elderly __________________________________________________

• Lack of elderly-friendly shelter, lack of transport for evacuations, lack of inadequate government support for IGA.   Lack of startup capital for home-based IGA activities  ( crafting, small business )

• In what ways can the protection of women after disasters be enhanced ?

• Access to inclusive finance for startup livelihood activities
• Training on productive assets development farming
• Technical and vocational training (animal husbandry, poultry rearing, fruit gendering)
• Technical Training in SMES development (food processing, small business, marketing, input value chain supplies for livestock, agriculture, poultry, vegetables, fruits etc.)
• Technical and vocational training for lean period works.
• Startup capital for running small business.
• Engaging women in agriculture value chain development
• Inclusive financial support for group/cooperative women-led green entrepreneurship development (Integrated Farm Management, Fenced area development for livestock farming, Poultry farming, mini-pond-based fish farming, Fruit gardening, agroforestry development, high-value cropping, etc.)
• Technical training on climate adaptive farming, rainwater harvesting, soil health improvements, IFM, FYM, INM, etc., for round-the-year cropping.
• Vocational training on agroforestry development
• Green financing for group/cooperatives-based green entrepreneurship development.
• Support for Women rebuilding their destroyed houses within weeks/months and having no other place to live.
• Longer term recovery support for Women in food security, social security, startup capital for starting IGA:
• Protection from SGBV, social security, psychosocial support for IDPs
• Inclusive financial support for the startup of IGA (bank account for women, social cash transfer, cash grant, VLSA, microcredits, mobile money for development, etc.), agriculture inputs supply, support for livestock and poultry, fish culture, etc.) for livelihood restoration, starting household-based IGA for generating productive assets, 
• Capacity building training for Income Generating activities (IGA) activities, group/cooperative-based smallholder farming, , green shed for round the year homestead based gardening,
• Access to agricultural land, surface irrigation, drip irrigation, rainwater harvesting facilities, veterinary services for poultry/livestock, and seedling/sapling support (horticulture development by agriculture Extension).
• Department of Agriculture, livestock and Fisheries and other NGOs/CSOs to set up Farmer’s Field schools for the climate-vulnerable community, women lead farmers, and women smallholder farmers to access all agricultural input supplies ( seeds, seedling, saplings, drip irrigation, organic fertilization, IFM, etc.) , plot demonstrations of climate tolerant varieties, early harvesting varieties, high-value cropping, livestock farming, poultry farming, fish culture, etc.
• Set up a climate kiosk for women smallholder farmers.

• What coping mechanisms were adopted by the gender group ?

Positive coping mechanism:

• Peace work: Casual laborers hardly earn K 2000/daily, which is not enough to purchase maize for every meal.
• Causal labor, seasonal labor, construction workers, and technician jobs in other countries
• Staring livelihood income-generating activities (maize cropping, fruit trees, poultry, livestock to some extent, etc.
• It depends on the government running the food supply (Mazie of the bag) after cyclones and floods.
• Depend on Social Cash Transfer (K19000 for 3 months to repay)
• Depends on Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs)

Negative coping mechanism:

• Sales of productive assets (poultry, livestock, belongings)
• Transactional sex in exchange of money, support
• Cutting trees, making charcoal, selling charcoal, and selling firewood contribute to deforestation.

Recommendations:

• Need technical and vocational training for income-generating support: Welding, electrician, plumbing, mechanical technician training,
• Agriculture support – Seasonal cropping, seedling, and sapling of winter vegetables
• Support for small business.
• Support for Growing season (Winter season) cropping – Input supply (irrigation, fertilizer, seedling, sapling  )
• Financial/seedling/sapling Support for livelihood productive assets
• AIP support , Dimba farming(winter)

Table : Seasonal  hazard calendar

• Agriculture support – Seasonal cropping, seedling, sapling of winter vegetables
• Support for small business.
• Support for Dimba farming (Winter season) cropping – Input supply (irrigation, fertilizer )
• Financial/seedling/sapling Support for livelihood productive assets
• AIP support for productive farming

a] Women ______________________________

Positive coping mechanism:

1. Peace work—casual laborers hardly earn K 2000/daily, which is not enough to purchase maize for an everyday meal.

Negative coping mechanism:

• Sales of productive assets (poultry, livestock, belongings )
• Transactional sex in exchange of money, support
• Cutting trees and making charcoal, selling charcoal, and Selling of firewood are  contributing to deforestation and environmental degradation

b] Men _________________________________

Positive coping mechanism:

• Peace work: Casual laborers hardly earn K 2000/daily, which is not enough to purchase maize for every meal.

Negative coping mechanism:

• Sales of productive assets (poultry, livestock, belongings)
• Cutting trees and making charcoal, selling charcoal, and Selling firewood are  contributing to deforestation

Recommendations :

• Need technical and vocational training for income-generating support: Welding, electrician, plumbing, mechanical technician training,
• Extra care for children
• Pregnant women – water cholera, diarrheal, the emotional distress of losing everything
• A person with a disability needs support
• Normally, over 200 people shelter in a makeshift shelter; houses collapse and

1. How were the needy families and individuals identified after a disaster such as TCF?

UNESCO and INGOs are conducting several PDNAs, and Joint PDNA will be jointly conducted by the UN, EU, and World Bank in April 2023.  The assessment shows that the TCF affected 882,989 people and 363,856 households and  659,278 people ( 323,026male &  336,252 female) took refuge to  776 camps[1].

The local government executive committees of sector development, government sector clusters, and local civil protection committees also collected loss and damage information.

• To enable affected communities, recover faster, what would your priority needs be?

1. Capacity development for Human capital in DRR-related rural development funding.
2. Access Financial capital
3. Access to Natural Capital
4. Access to inclusive finance for startup livelihood activities
5. Training on productive assets development farming
6. Technical and vocational training (animal husbandry, poultry rearing, fruit gendering)
7. Technical Training in SMES development (food processing, small business, marketing, input value chain supplies for livestock, agriculture, poultry, vegetables, fruits etc.)
8. Technical and vocational training for lean period works.
9. Startup capital for running a small business.
10. Engaging women in agriculture value chain development
11. Inclusive financial support for group/cooperative women-led green entrepreneurship development (Integrated Farm Management, Fenced area development for livestock farming, Poultry farming, mini-pond-based fish farming, Fruit gardening, agroforestry development, high-value cropping, etc.)
12. For round-the-year cropping, Technical training on climate adaptive farming, rainwater harvesting, soil health improvements, IFM, FYM, INM, etc..
13. Vocational training on agroforestry development

• What are the key barriers in recovery here at the community level?

1. Government regulatory restrictions over the community accessing the government-owned land and water management:
2. Inadequate institutional decentralized technical supports for the remote rural community to boost growth from the productive rural sector, e.g., Water supply and irrigation for Agriculture and drinking, Livestock farming, Poultry farming and fish culture, agroforestry development, homestead gardening, value chain development, etc.
3. Government-controlled land management, ownership, and control policies are the most institutional barriers to getting rural communities access to agricultural land for cropping, companion land for agroforestry development, fruit gardening, and other productive farming.
4. Again, the most indicative barrier is the inadequate irrigation infrastructure, integrated water resource management infrastructure and services, and drainage network for producing surface irrigation access to rural farming.
5. Malawi has many fresh water bodies (rivers, channels, lakes, wetlands) but inadequate rainwater harvesting structures, rural water control structures, drainage networks, and services for rural communities to access surface irrigation and boost rural agriculture.
6. Access to finance:
7. Inclusive financial support for group/cooperative women-led green entrepreneurship development (Integrated Farm Management, Fenced area development for livestock farming, Poultry farming, mini-pond-based fish farming, Fruit gardening, agroforestry development, high-value cropping, etc.)
8. Startup capital for running small business.
9. Engaging women in agriculture value chain development
10. Access to inclusive finance for startup livelihood activities
11. Access Financial capital
12. Access to Natural Capital
13. Inadequate disaster recovery framework for the rural productive sector :
14. Inadequate intervention package for individual farmers, smallholder farmers
15. Inadequate sectoral climate risk and vulnerability assessment, local agroecology, soil health, ecology based DRR/CCA scheme design, plot demonstration, and commercial farming
16. Inadequate/insufficient DAE/Agriculture/water sector initiative for essential irrigation support
17. Inadequate farmer’s field school (FFS) and horticulture development  in every village and supporting individual and stallholder framers for round-the-year subsistence and conservational farming
18. Inadequate disaster risk finance, incentives, subsidies, financial packages, green shed/greenhouse structure support for marginalized farmers for round-the-year cropping, etc. 
19. Inadequate Sectoral support for the productive farming:
20. There is a lack of farmers’ field schools, horticulture, and agriculture input supply trigger points for supplying seeding and saplings to remote rural communities for subsistence and conservative farming.
21. IGA Capacity building:
22. Technical Training in SMES development (food processing, small business, marketing, input value chain supplies for livestock, agriculture, poultry, vegetables, fruits etc.)
23. Training on productive assets development farming
24. Technical and vocational training (animal husbandry, poultry rearing, fruit gendering)
25. Technical and vocational training for lean period works.
26. Technical training on climate adaptive farming, rainwater harvesting, soil health improvements, IFM, FYM, INM, etc., for round-the-year cropping.
27. Vocational training on agroforestry development
28. Technical training for the development of Human capital

• Inadequate knowledge and understanding about changing climate and impending multi-hazards.
• There is a lack of government mass education campaigns (media outlets—radio/TV based) to raise knowledge and awareness among marginalized rural communities about DRR/CCA and resilience building.
• Inadequate Gender Resilient Framework:
• Lack of organizational interventions for marginalized women in scheme design, scheme financing, value chain development, and cooperatives framing for more GDP contribution from productive rural growth sector (Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Poultry farming, small business, and entrepreneurship development)

• What is climate-induced disasters impact women, men, girls, and boys differently? Justification

TCF mortality was reported as 438, injured 918, and missing 282, and primarily contributed by Women, children,  girls and boys, and persons with disabilities in comparison with men.  The respondents mentioned the following root causes for differential impacts.

• Lessons from TCF release that the patriarchal domination over the critical evacuation also contributed to women and children’s larger casualties because they were the last people to leave.
• Women and vulnerable members lack awareness and understanding of the intensity and destructive nature of impending cyclones and flash floods in their locality because they do not have access to Radio/TV broadcasts-driven mass education campaigns about climate change, multi-hazards, and disaster-related awareness campaigns.
• Inadequate warning messages and untimely dissemination factored in the high impacts, loss, and damages of livelihood assets, properties, and mortality.

• What are your key recommendations for enhancing resilience opportunities for women and girls?

• Strengthening and implementing of  GiHA  ( gender inclusive humanitarian  action) at full scale until women headed households, single mothers, and girls are building a livelihood better and more sustainable 
• Access to climate and multi-hazard risk information system
• Access to DRR/CCA planning and decision-making process.
• Access to inclusive finance
• Access to Agroecology, agricultural land and farming
• Access to Farming value chain and inputs 
• Access to Disaster and Climate Risk management Governance system
• Social Protection, reducing SGBV and Safety Nets
• Access to climate change and multi-hazard education and knowledge
• Development of  Gender climate risk network

[1] DoDMA -Inter Agency Assessment Report March 2023

( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

Figure: Proposed community level resilience framework for women/girls

• Access to climate and multi-hazard risk information system
• Access to DRR/CCA planning and decision-making process
• Access to inclusive finance
• Access to Agroecology, agricultural land and farming
• Access to Farming value chain and inputs 
• Access to Disaster and Climate Risk management Governance system
• Social Protection, reducing SGBV and Safety Nets
• Access to climate change and multi-hazard education and knowledge
• Development of Gender climate risk network
• Strengthening and implementing of  GiHA  ( gender inclusive humanitarian  action) at full-scale until women, headed households, single mother, girls are building a livelihood better and more sustainable 

1. What would you like to suggest government for making your household resilience to disaster and climate change?

• Government annual fiscal budgetary allocation for facilitating household level DRR and climate adaptive scheme implementation and contributing rural productive sector GDP contribution to economy and green growth.  
• Financing for Women led Green Entrepreneurship development:
• Enhance access and linkages to market:
• Enhance access to clean emergency facilities at domestic level:
• Village Savings and Loan Associations – access to microcredit facilities:
• Improved farming methodologies:
• Strengthen Women Led Organizations
• Social Protection and Safety Nets :
• Development and implantation of GiHA

• In what ways can your voice be better heard by the authorities to enhance prevention to disasters?

1. Development of Women DRM network and action plan
2. Development of impact weather forecasts, operational forecasts for women, children, and girls
3. Develop evidence-based tools and dissemination: Develop impact-based extreme weather forecasts and bulletins and sensitize stakeholders, agencies, and actors about the consequences of impending multi-hazards, spill effects, secondary shocks and outbreaks, and anticipatory human disasters. Losses and damages are likely.
4. Developing forecast-based early action protocol: Let government and humanitarian actors understand the level of gender groups are vulnerable to impending cyclones, floods, flash floods, droughts, landslides, outbreaks, and diseases (cholera, diarrhea, infections disease, malaria, yellow fever, and other infectious diseases)
5. Developing a forecast-based financing protocol and sensitizing humanitarian actors about the need to mobilize anticipatory finance and humanitarian assistance.
6. Develop forecasts on medium-slow-onset hazards, such as hydrometeorological drought, agricultural drought, flash drought, water stress situation, and drinking water crisis, for early action.
7. Develop a gender DRM network/framework for supplying tailor-made information to sector ministries, departments, and other state and non-state actors for risk-informed gendered DRM/DRR/CAA action planning targeting the most vulnerable women-headed rural households.

6.0  Chapter: Key findings/ Recommendations for the Women Resilience to Disaster (WRD)

Females are a disproportionately larger part of society and contributing to agriculture’s domestic GDP(In 2022, agriculture contributed around 26.73 percent to the GDP of Mozambique, Malawi 22.1%, and Malawi 7.19 )   to the local economy, still significant given the climate change hardship context and women are living in climate frontline. The state and non-state actors’ insignificant efforts of lifting women from the protracted poverty tangles and food and livelihood insecurity induced largely by the climate change impacts.

The process of decentralization mostly involves handing over the government administrative layers/posts and some sector departments at the district level; however, the persistent centralized governance still tangles with the decentralized budget and fiscal autonomy at the district level. Government development perception still needs more substantial political commitment and budgetary and fiscal facilities for gender empowerment, gender-engaged individual and stakeholder farming, local agroecology-based rural economy development, and boosting local resilience. 

Typically, districts are recognized as local development domains, but in the given countries, local governments are not fully decentralized and have no electoral local government body to govern the local government machinery and simultaneously legislate local development local level planning, budgeting, resource allocations, and government functionaries. However, the colonial bureaucracies are still controlling the local government system, and some levels have been set at the provincial level and not fully decentralized Distinct level, which results in a lack of structure of stakeholder coordination gap to mastermind the district-centric multi-stakeholder coordinated DRM and DRR actionable and coordinated planning and interventions being hurdled. On the other hand, the paradigm of local-level planning decisions being biased by central bureaucracies and power-structured political elites is masculinity. In these given circumstances, with the absence of structured gender types of machinery, gender dimensions, gender DRM/DRR framework, gendered climate risk-informed tools, gendered socioeconomic vulnerability tailormade and evidence based informed tools to inevitably influence the government planning and budgeting entities to identify the entry point of inclusivity of gendered responsive DRM/DRR planning and inclusive budgetary process. However, to date, the central government’s strides in gender inclusivity to local planning and DRR development process come in as generic and reactive manner, with some narratives not as indispensable agenda of considerations of the larger size of the population and potential the GDP contribution from the rural growth sector (agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, livestock, agroforestry, SMEs, food processing, etc.) to contribute hugely to the local and national economy.

However, designating gender professionals at some sectoral level can hardly influence the persistent bureaucratic dimension of power and decision-making process at the District and lower levels. Rather, the gender machinery, government mandates, climate risk-informed tools, gender socioeconomic vulnerability, climate risk information network, and gender DRR/DRM network can advocate gender fitness in overall administrative processes, local development planning, DRM, DRR, and CCA planning process.

Creating a sense of ownership at the central(National/Provincial) and local (District/TA/Village ) levels over the paradoxical bureaucratic governance pattern where women’s voices are hard to hear, we need clear, evidence-based, and gendered climate risk-informed tools for fostering the planning and budgeting processes.   

6.1    Gendered DRR Frameworks and Approach        

( Figure : Proposed Gender DRM Framework )( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

a) Establish DRM  gender framework :

Without having the gendered DRM framework supported by the gendered climate risk information, it is apparently difficult to find the entry point and advocacy tools of making tangled bureaucratic system understand the importance of gender dimension in local economy devilment, potential gendered productive sector e.g., agriculture, livestock, poultry, fisheries, agroforestry, high-value cropping, food process enterprises, local green entrepreneurship, NAP localization, and full-scale climate adaptive rural growths can largely be driven by the large women population living at the frontline.

The prosed gendered climate resilient framework outlined the functional components of local-level functionaries

( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

• Establishment of a Gendered Risk management Network-Web based (Framework)  
• Improving Gender machinery Gendered DRM coordination at local level
• District-level Gendered DRM information Network
• District-level SGBV information network 

1.  Capacity enhancement of government planning Ministry, Planning commission in risk-informed planning, strategy development and decision-making process

• Risk-informed Policy, strategy, planning institutional capacity of the Planning Ministry, Planning Commission, and planning officials.
• DRR/CCA program planning by relevant line ministries and sector line departments.
• Identify the Entry point for Differential gendered impact of multi-hazard and climate risk and vulnerability integration in the planning process

• Formulation of District Gender Risk Management Framework/ District Women Resilience Framework

• Gendered risk-informed  Responsive District Development Plan Framework (DDPF)
• Transforming and transitioning from ad hoc based disaster emergency interventions to long-term disaster risk reductions for enhancing actors and vulnerable community capacity for averting the slow onset ripple effects aftermath of major hazards and disaster
• Improve coordination and decentralized structure of comprehensive community engagement in the local DRM/DRR process
• The district DRM program (DRMP) essentially has to be a five-year strategy and needs to address/ consider the recurrent and persistent multi-hazard risks and vulnerabilities, residual/cascading effects, and ripple effects of major disasters ( floods, landslides, water-borne disease, and epidemics ).
• DRMPs need to articulate the legal framework to tackle SGBV. The DRM laws should also mandate that state and non-state actors strictly follow the legal procedures against SGBV during disaster emergencies.
• District level Annual development programming ( ADP) and interventions from the government DDP/DRMP and budgeting allocations  need to set the annual targets of community based DRR with pivotal milestone in council’s commitment to enhancing resilience, preparedness, and response capacities of women headed households. 
• Unique District council coordination structure and functionaries for developing DDP/DRMP/Contingency Planning at district level
• District risk management governance need to establish stakeholder integrated  M&E framework for regular reporting and progress tracking of all stakeholders on DRR and resilience building( women headed households).

Figure : Proposed  coordination components to   National Disaster Coordination Framework (NDRF)

6.2   Development and deployment of Early warning for all:

The assessment country does not have clear road map of Sendai framework of Early warning for all functional process development, as result impact forecast development, forecast broadcasting, transmission and dissemination is being done haphazardly which leading to some level of untimely dissemination, and precision level detailed advisories also an improvement issues that being entrusted to NMHS and other sector department to work together to develop integrated forecasting. The proposed roadmap of EWS for all working in following diagram;

Figure : Diagram of EWS development and dissemination process( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

Figure : Proposed EWS for all  value chain  to be handled jointly by  EoC/Met Agency /NMHS / DoDMA and other sectoral ICT Units( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

1. Improving ICT driven DRM governance at all levels (national, district, province, ward, village) :

The current DRM governance mechanism is managing disaster emergency response paradigm based which is inadequate to function the integrated multi-hazards, disaster, changing climate impacts, DRR, CCA, NAP portfolios and multi-stakeholders coordination.

• The lack of Develop gender response and multi-stakeholders’ coordination DRM framework at all level (national, district, province, ward, village). Strong multi-stakeholders coordinated and gender response DRM structures for gendered DRR and resilience building Challenges :
• Paradigm shift and transitioning from the existing DRM coordination process to undertake post- disaster  emergency response based ad-hoc interventions by the 
• Civil Protection Committee to risk-informed multistakeholder coordination   DRM and DRR for local level gender empowerment and development
• Enhancing the capacity of DoDMA based on the current mandate (civil protection/ emergency preparedness and response)
• Improving DRM governance at provincial and district levels through DRM staffing and capacity building.
• Develop DRM planning at the Provincial and district levels by clearly defining the multi-stakeholders map (state, nonstate, UN agencies, INGOs, national NGOs, CSOs, Charities, Private Sectors, Local Institutions, academia , youth girls organizations, WLO, local charities, etc.)
• Installation of Emergency Operations Center and SOP for supporting all early warnings, operational forecasts, EWS for women, girls/ youth groups, children, disabilities
• Sector and sectoral elements specific, farmers, Women-led category of entrepreneurs specific special impact weather forecast, operational forecasts.
• Structural DRM support for the women smallholder farmers (water access, drainage system, access to agricultural land, access to surface water /irrigation, access to solar PV powered irrigation, access to AVC inputs, horticulture supports,  access to market, etc.) . Develop Local agroecology-based DRM and DRR projects and pilot demonstrations in every village and community level horticulture for supplying all agricultural inputs for promoting community-based DRR scheme.

• Setup EOCs at province, district level and improvement  of Multi-hazard early warning system:

• Development precision level weather forecasts: Met agency need to develop more specialization in developing high-resolution seasonal, decadal, weekly,  3 days, 5 days weather forecasts, need to develop dynamic and statistical downscale model  rapidly developing thunderstorm (RDT of  meteo France) for predicting heavy rainfall and thunderstorm. 
• Improving  surface observation system : Upgrading DEPARTMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES weather observations  system, acquisition of 5km grid data sets on surface observation,  install more AWS with synoptic conditions tracking sensors, drone radar, laser ceilometer, radiosonde, rain gauging instrument, uses of EUMETCast lightning sensor data for tracking thunderstorm, Flood level gauging from the river system , flood forecasting and modeling.
• Development of impact based weather forecasts and operational forecasts : Develop  methodology and guidelines on how to organize forecast briefing with guidelines on who will be the participants , how to interpret the risks by organizing discussion and analyzing weather model/outlook subject matter specialists ( Agrometeorologist, hydrologist, geomorphologist, water resource engineer, Plant scientist, Agri engineer, drought experts, landslide expert,  agroecologist, ecologists, meteorologist, synoptic engineers, geomorphologist, etc.) along with forecasters( long, medium, short range), Numerical Weather Prediction(NWP) engineers/specialists, Synoptic Engineer and organize the forecast beliefs/discussion about the anticipatory impacts, risk and vulnerability and eventually developing impact forecasts. The multi-hazard risk analysis over the elements( is not a designated responsibility of EOC operators)  is a group work, and the outlined specialists need to develop customized tools, methodology, guidelines on impact-based forecasts, and operational forecasts for the sector, sectoral elements, lives, and livelihood elements on the ground. Analysis of weather phenomena and interpretation of risks and vulnerabilities. 
• The DEPARTMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES needs to develop high-resolution gridded forecasts and analyze the damaging and beneficial impacts of impending weather parameters on the lives and livelihoods( elements). Met agencies need to develop a pool of  Technical experts/specialists( Agrometeorologist, hydrologist, geomorphologist, water resource engineer, Plant scientist, Agri engineer, drought expert, landslide expert,  agroecologist, ecologists, meteorologist, synoptic engineer, geomorphologist, etc.) for interpreting the extreme weather phenomena being forecasted. Developing methodology, tools, guidelines on transplantation and interpretation risk and vulnerabilities of predicted impending weather phenomena/parameters. Detailed analysis of Impacts and effects of ongoing onset weather events and developing bulletins. Developing special weather bulletins for women, elderly, girls and youth group onset of tornadoes, thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, cyclone, flash flooding, landslide etc.

• Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to develop Early Action Protocol (EAP) :

• Develop forecast based early action protocol, anticipatory loss and damage (L & D) and impacts level and instantly broadcasts the messages so that every women headed households adequately warned /alerted . National media outlets need to play pivotal role ( in local language) by broadcasting  distant learning education progamme  ( radio/TV) for awareness
• EOC to develop early wearing based anticipatory early actions advisories/bulletins for the women headed households about the  what need to do in the given early warnings and impending hazard conditions so that they get well alerted and well prepared .

• The Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) : Development of forecast-based GiHA protocol for the women/single mother and girls-headed households

• Develop national risk financing framework  ( gender-focused) : The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs  need to develop a National risk financing framework and DRR budgetary allocation in every fiscal your budgeting ( with gender-based allocations)

• Mandating Local authorities’ planning and budgets :  Local authorities’ budgets are separate from the central Government budget; these are composed of local revenue. When a disaster occurs at the urban authority level, the urban council is responsible for disaster response. If the magnitude exceeds the urban council’s capacities, the urban council submits a request for assistance to DoDMA, which can make use of the National Contingency Fund (or request additional funds from the Ministry of Finance) for emergency humanitarian support. However the local government need to develop DRR Planning and budgets for TA level.

• Inadequate Urban councils planning and budget allocations for implementing community level DRM/DRR  schemes :  Urban councils do not have a budget for financing  DRM/DRR shames for poor households 

• Strengthen National DRM Framework

• Apply integrated approach from response, recovery, reconstruction, to risk reduction and preparedness based on
• sound disaster risk assessment, and to mainstream DRM in all sectors, through formulation/revision and enactment of DRM Bill, development of DRM Policy and DRM Strategy in line with Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

• Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Development: Enhancing capacity of DODMA based on DRM, recovery and resilience mandate (emergency preparedness, response, risk reduction, recovery and resilience). This entails increasing capacities at the central level in terms of staff, technical capacity, and resources; reinforce.
• Improving Cyclone and Flood Forecasting and Early Warning: Enhance forecasting and early warning for cyclone and flood events through strengthened real time observation network, early warning system, and capacity development for DoDMA and DEPARTMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES.
• Anchoring SARCOF Southern Africa Region Climate Outlook Forum  with DEPARTMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES and EOC at Lilongwe  and District level.

6.3    Improved Methodology, ICT tools and stakeholder coordination for Development SADD :

SADD on demographic, socioeconomic, and sectoral multi-hazard and climate risk information data collection, collocation, and developing tailor-made informed tools is an essential component for risk-informed DRM, DRR, and CCA planning projects. Malawi has no clear roadmap, methodology, guidelines, and tools for systemically collecting household data. A clear roadmap, stakeholder map, and responsibilities headed by the MVAC, National Statistical Office, DODMA, and other local government organs and CSO must mobilize the SADD data collections to support gender-responsive and risk-informed development. The following proposed diagram shows the stakeholder coordinating structure governing the SADD process. 

Figure : SADD Data collection mechanism( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

Figure : Proposed Stakeholder coordination, data and information exchange mechanism and SADD data collection functional process( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

Recommendations:

• Informed tools, gendered risk analysis, gender inequalities in DRR/DRM/CCA planning considering the at local level.
• Develop Methodology, tools and guidelines of CRVA, community risk assessment, PDNA, JNA, Rapid Impact and Needs Assessment (RINA) & Initial assessment by NDMO/Sector department/humanitarian agency   in first 1-6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours for saving lives (utilization of drone, satellite image, UAV, GIS maps, CRVA maps and elements database)
• Methodology, tools process for analyzing gender impacts after conducting CRVA, PDNA, RINA, JNA and other assessment using SADD, tools and process for clearly defining the differential impacts on exposure, risk, vulnerability and sensitivity over gender for better preparedness, operational planning and capacity building.
• Capacity of national Statistical Office, sector department, and relevant R & D organizations in gender impacts disaster and multi-hazard and climate risk and vulnerability SADD data collection, and GIS-based informed tools processing, identifying where informed tools needed and generate additional data that captures gender issues including by organizational and household survey.
• Evidence-based planning and gender-responsive planning capacity of planning department, sector department.
• Capacity development of the National Statistical Office, Ministry for Development Planning, relevant line ministries, and government officials at national and subnational levels to understand the importance of collection, analysis, and use of disaggregated data for DRR policy and planning and (UN Women in collaboration with the UNDRR )  develop the capacity of Statistical department, MMAC to collect, analyze and report on sex, age and disability disaggregated data) Without gender analysis and SADD, the disaster vulnerability and impacts of disasters on women and girls are often rendered invisible, and this deprioritizes their needs and capacities in disaster risk management and humanitarian response.
• Tailormade SAD for gender analysis in the necessary information to integrate gender perspectives into disaster risk reduction, climate change, risk-informed development, and resilience laws, policies, strategies, plans, programs, projects, schemes design, and implementation.
• Utilization of SADDD data in planning efficient disaster risk reduction, resilience, and risk-informed development strategies, programs, and projects that address both men’s and women’s needs and reduce inequalities.

6.3    Improving UN , Government, and multi-stakeholder  coordination  mechanism  in DRM and DRR Functionaries

The assessment identified key gaps in UN, Government, and multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms in DRM, DRR, and related actionable planning, programming, intervention design, and implementations. The UN HCT coordination is mainly limited to mobilizing emergency post-disaster humanitarian assistance. The government is still developing a climate risk management framework, an actionable coordination structure, and the localization of gender-responsive DRM, DRR, and CCA interventions at the local last mile. 

The proposed diagram shows the coordination structure and risk-informed tools that should be incorporated for gender-responsive planning and intervention implementation.

Figure : Diagram Proposed UN-Government Coordination structure for DRM Process( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

6.3    Community level risk-informed gender development approach

To sketch a roadmap to WRD process from the assessment that  have been  thoroughly investigated the  existing  systemic government structure, long term perspective planning, medium  term planning and strategies( 5 years) and actionable shot-term  planning( Annual Development Program -ADP) , strategies and identified that the in momentum   of government system and top-down approaches are inadequately gender responsive.

However, for bridging the last-mile bottom-up participatory gendered risk-governance gap, the assessment proposing following risk informed community level gendered climate governance and actional interventions implementation process.

Figure: Community level risk-informed gender development approach( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

• Climate resilient green entrepreneurship development
• Women Access to green finances , Rural Financial Services, Local Development Planning and Budgeting
• Women Access to forecast based finances, disaster emergency response funs, climate emergency response funds,  
• Women/single mother/adolescence girls leadership role in local civil protection, DRM community, local technical group, charity and other CSO led groups.
• State, nonstate, and CSO’s roles/responsibilities and accountability to affected population (AAP) at the local level.
• Women’s leadership in local-level DRR/CCA intervention planning and scheme implementation.
• State, nonstate, and CSOs running GBV reporting network.
• Women led agricultural value chain development.
• Women’s improved access to local government sectoral services deliveries.
• Developing every administrative (Country as whole, Province, Region, District, TA/Administrative Post) level Climate information network(web-based) and information services for the stakeholders
•  the women entrepreneurship, awareness raising of girls, youth group.   
• Access to impact-based weather forecasts, forecast-based early actions services.
• Distance learning mass media-based climate education, adaptive/conservative, and subsistence agricultural practices at the local level. 
• Climate resilient green entrepreneurship development
• Gender participation in Integrated Rural Development (IRD), Sector Working Groups (SWGs), District Development Planning System, village development committees (VDCs), area development committees (ADCs), CBO organization, CPC Civil Protection Committee, District Social Welfare committee,

6.3    SGBV tracking network and dissemination system (Proposed)

• Robust information management network & violence reporting (web based/geospatial), Social monitoring, networking, and women-led policing for reducing PESA and SGBV incidence.
• National media outlet (Radio/TV) based constant broadcasting on humanitarian  situations and GBV incidence

Figure : Proposed SGBV tracking and reporting network( Source : Z M Sajjadul Islam, UN Women – International Consultant)

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