Zimbabwe’s government has responded to Malawi’s call for aid and after the southern African nation was ravaged by storms that have killed more than 300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Tropical Cyclone Freddy hit the coast of southern Africa for a second time over the weekend, causing devastation in Malawi and its neighbour Mozambique.
At least 326 people have been confirmed dead in Malawi, bringing the overall number of fatalities across the region to more than 400 since February.
Zimbabw’s Government announced Tuesday that the Cabinet “has directed that the mobilization of relief assistance should commence immediately and include 10 000 metric tonnes of mealie meal, cooking oil, blankets, clothing, construction material for cabins, sanitisers, detergents, bath soaps, stationery and other learning materials.”
“To widen the scope of donations to Malawi, the Government is encouraging the private sector, national institutions and citizens to donate generously to this worthy cause,” Information minister Monica Mutsvagwa told journalists.
“His Excellency the President, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa led Cabinet in crafting a plan to render humanitarian assistance to Malawi following the recent devastation by Cyclone Freddy. The cyclone claimed over 300 lives and caused extensive damage to homes and social services infrastructure. Thousands of victims suffered injury and displacement, while the affected areas were rendered impassable,” she added.
“In response to the appeal for assistance by Malawian President His Excellency Lazarus Chakwera to his fellow SADC Heads of State and Government, Cabinet has constituted a Disaster Relief Committee led by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to draw up a comprehensive assistance package for disaster-stricken Malawi. The Committee will liaise with the Government of Malawi on modalities for conveying the relief package.”
This comes after President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi appealed to the international community to send urgent help to
“We need immediate help,” he told Al Jazeera on Thursday from outside a camp in Blantyre, Malawi’s commercial capital and one of the areas hardest hit.
“We need helicopters now that [the storms have] cleared off somewhat so that we can airlift some foodstuffs and other equipment.”
Chakwera, who declared 14 days of mourning and pledged $1.5m in assistance, has now called for more aid, saying the country’s capacity to provide relief is limited.
