18 June 2015: With technical support from the World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the UN and the EU, the Government of Malawi carried out a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) in the aftermath of the 2015 floods in Malawi, launching the findings on 18 June 2015, in Malawi. The assessment aimed to quantify the loss and damage from the floods, and estimate recovery and reconstruction costs. The assessment shows total loss and damage of US$335 million, while total recovery and reconstruction costs are approximately US$494 million.

The PDNA: provides a background of the 2015 floods, including an overview of the rainfall season in Malawi and institutional coordination arrangements; provides a macroeconomic assessment, including effects on GDP, balance of payments, inflation, employment and poverty; discusses the PDNA approach and methodology, which includes “building back better and smarter”; provides a summary of loss and damage by sector, including productive, social, infrastructure and cross-cutting sectors; and elaborates guiding principles of the needs assessment and recovery strategy.

Speaking at the official launch of the report on a visit to Malawi, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said the collaborative process with which the Government of Malawi carried out the PDNA avoids duplicating efforts, validates findings, and ensures that recovery efforts are based on the needs on the ground. She noted that housing and public infrastructure, including schools, were the largest sectors identified in the PDNA for total damage and loss, and for recovery and reconstruction needs. She called for longer-term investment in sustainable natural resource and watershed management systems to minimize the effects of future flooding and recurrent dry spells.

Clark suggested three factors that can contribute to a resilient recovery: increasing public understanding of the risk of future flooding, and mainstreaming disaster and climate risk assessment; adherence to proper land-use regulation, with risk-informed infrastructure and agricultural development; and undertaking institutional and policy changes that will strengthen resilience guided by the PDNA findings.

A related event on the critical role of risk and resilience in financing for development (FfD) took place on 15 June 2015, in New York, US, on the sidelines of the Third Drafting Session for the outcome document of the Third International Conference on FfD (FfD 3). The high-level event was hosted by the Government of Switzerland and UNDP. One speaker said FfD 3 is “a rare opportunity to entrench the notion that development must be risk-informed to be sustainable.”

The high-level event followed a 28 May 2015 technical workshop on challenges for development financing, and aimed to articulate a vision for resilience and ensure attention is paid to addressing shocks and stresses that adversely impact development and undermine progress. Key messages emanating from the event included: a plea for investors to ensure recognition of risks and to amend investments accordingly; and a call for all stakeholders to invest more time and resources in sustaining development gains before a crisis strikes. [Publication: Malawi 2015 Floods Post Disaster Needs Assessment Report] [Remarks by UNDP Administrator] [UNDP Press Release on High-Level Event] [UNDP Press Release on Clark Visit to Malawi]