Aviation Services, Logistics Augmentation and Cluster Coordination in Response to Floods in Malawi

This operation expired on 30 June 2016.

In the first two weeks of January, 2015, heavy seasonal rain caused extensive flash floods and widespread displacement in Malawi. The Government of Malawi declared a State of National Disaster on January 13th, designating 15 of the country’s 28 districts as disaster zones. According to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) and the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team (UNDAC), as of January 22nd, the number of displaced people stood at an estimated 264,000 whereas the total caseload of affected people is assessed at 638,000 people, of whom 370,000 are in immediate need of food assistance.

Appeals have been made for tents, food, non-food items, and support in search and rescue activities. In many of the hardest hit areas, roads and bridges have been washed away, hampering access to people in need and posing significant challenges to conducting assessments.

Torrential rains have wiped out thousands of hectares of crops and washed away livestock, which could have disastrous consequences on the country’s agrarian and

subsistence economy. The Government of Malawi, through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs, has appealed to the international community for support on 13th January 2015. International relief efforts are ongoing, including the deployment of a UNDAC, with a seconded WFP Logistics Officer since the 17th January 2015.

Several “National Clusters” including Transport, Logistics, and Communications were activated by the Government of Malawi comprising relevant Government Ministries and departments, UN Agencies, cooperating partners and Non-Governmental Organizations. The clusters will be responsible for identification of needs within the cluster and ensuring that the needs are addressed.

Reporting and coordination is being strengthened as emergency operations are being established, and a multi-sectoral response is being developed. Through this Special Operation, WFP, as lead agency for the Logistics and Emergency Telecommunications clusters, will support the relief efforts of the Government of Malawi and the international humanitarian community. The operation provides for the 2 assets, equipment, staff, systems, and facilities necessary to ensure logistics coordination and augmentation in terms of: Air transport services; Logistics Cluster information management and coordination; provision of common services including support from the Logistics Cluster (cargo consolidation, handling storage, road, etc); Civil Military Coordination, as and if required; and an Emergency Telecommunications Cluster assessment of current IT network capacities, and provision of IT connectivity and data services to the humanitarian community as and if required.

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Budget revision 3 to Malawi SO 200685 is a no cost extension in time by six months from December 2015 to June 2016 to allow for the completion of three Bailey bridges in areas where infrastructure was damaged by the floods in early 2015. The construction was initially planned to start in mid-2015. However engineering delays postponed the start of construction from July to November 2015. This extension is required in order to allow all planned activities to be completed. This adjustment requires no change in the overall total budget.