Malawi: National disaster risk management policy, 2015

The policy has been developed to guide disaster risk management mainstreaming in Malawi by devising policy strategies aimed at achieving the long term goal of reducing disaster losses in lives and in the social, economic and environmental assets of communities and the nation as envisioned in the “Social Support and Disaster Risk Management” section of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy.

The policy sets out six priority areas:

• Mainstreaming disaster risk management into sustainable development;
• Establishment of a comprehensive system for disaster risk identification, assessment and monitoring;
• Development and strengthening of a people-centred early warning system;
• Promotion of a culture of safety, and adoption of resilience-enhancing interventions;
• Reduction of underlying risks; and
• Strengthening preparedness capacity for effective response and recovery.