Neno and Zomba in €900,000 and $150,000 Disaster Projects
Chirwa, Preparation is key to managing disasters
- pic by Steve Kalungwe
Neno and Zomba districts have been earmarked to benefit from a two-year €900,000 and $150, 000 disaster risk management basket under the Localisation Drive project funded by Save the Children-Italy.
Save the Children project manager Charles Chirwa has told Zodiak Online today, Friday, that the funds will among others help in capacity building for District, Area and Village Civil Protection Committees.
He says that, for example, Neno District Council through Beyond Our Hearts Foundation, will receive $150 thousand under a project called Anticipatory Action Protocol Development with an aim of strengthening systems and capacities for government and partners in responding to disaster.
Under the Localisation project, dubbed Tiyende Pamodzi: Transforming Local Institutions through Empowerment for Disaster Management and Climate Resilience, the two districts will share spoils of €900,000 with Neno managing 44 percent and Zomba 56 percent.
Both projects are starting this August with Anticipatory Action Protocol to last for 15 months and Tiyende Pamodzi for two years.
"We want the two districts to respond well to disasters and we hope after these two projects the two institutions will write another proposal for a possible extension as disaster are ongoing," said Chirwa.
On the other hand, Beyond Our Hearts Foundation project coordinator, Pemphero Nkhata, says the project will also ignite prompt response to disasters.
She said that "we will take from where the pilot project stopped and intensify our interventions so that the impact of any disaster is minimised".
However, Neno District Commissioner, Hudson Kuphanga has asked government to consider speeding up construction of Neno road project, saying a lot of partners fail to assist people in the district during disasters, due to poor road network.
Kuphanga said that a lot of donors prefer to leave their assistance at the Neno turnoff and burden the district in finding means of lifting the assistant into the district.
The DC has also assured the people of Neno that his council will manage the part of the funds which it will be given prudently.
"We will employ a desk officer who will be managing the chunk," he said.
In Zomba, Save the Children-Italy is working with Youth for Development and Productivity (YODEP) and Neno with Beyond Our Hearts Foundation.
Among other areas where the funds will help are health, education clusters among others.
