African Development Bank announces US$100 million comprehensive relief, reconstruction and mitigation plan for Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe

Following the devastating impact of Cyclone Idai and the unprecedented loss of life and property in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi, the African Development Bank has announced a multi-pronged response plan for the three countries.

The Bank will be providing emergency assistance to the affected countries and a medium-term plan to meet the reconstruction needs of the affected areas, including a climate risk insurance plan.

A high-level Bank delegation, headed by its Vice President for Corporate Services and Human Resources Mateus Magala, met with the President of Mozambique, H.E. Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, in the country’s capital, Maputo, to convey his sincere condolences on behalf of the Bank, and to announce the assistance.

President Nyusi described the Bank’s intervention as unique and comprehensive, assuring that it would go a long way to help victims restart their lives. He particularly welcomed the Bank’s expression of leadership in helping the country get climate insurance.

The first phase of the plan consists of a special relief fund of $1.7 million for Mozambique, specifically for the immediate humanitarian relief effort in the worst affected areas.

In the second phase, the Bank will set up a response and reconstruction programme, committing up to $100 million for Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe to kick-start economic recovery and rehabilitation.

A team is working to support the governments of the three countries, using the Bank’s convening power to assess needs, identify key reconstruction activities, and mobilise resources from the international community, global philanthropic organisations and the general public.

In a message to the affected countries, the Bank’s President Adesina said: “Our thoughts go to the people of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi who have been so dramatically impacted by the cyclone. This natural disaster once more shows the importance of building climate-resilient economies in the African continent.”

The Bank is working to put together a long-term solution to climate risk in Southern Africa, a region subject to a continuous cycle of floods, droughts and cyclones, and one of the most vulnerable in the continent.

Original source: AfDB
Published on 05 April 2019