After benefiting from a Save the Children localization project, community based organizations in southern Malawi have enhanced their capacity to respond to natural disasters and attract funding.
In the fertile landscapes of Neno and Zomba districts in southern Malawi, community-based organizations are leading the charge in building climate-resilient communities.
Supported by Save the Children, Beyond Our Hearts Foundation, or BOHF, and Youth for Development and Productivity, or YODEP, have enhanced their capacity to respond to natural disasters and provide humanitarian relief to affected communities.
Russell Msiska, executive director at BOHF, recalled the difficulties he faced in mobilizing humanitarian assistance to support those affected by natural disasters. When Cyclones Ana and Freddy struck southern Malawi, Msiska would travel for over an hour to cover 76 kilometers (47 miles) of bumpy terrain to deliver relief items to affected communities.
“It used to be a tough ordeal to get humanitarian assistance to people that have been affected by natural disasters; it would at times take around seven days without assessment or any support, and lives would be lost and properties destroyed,” Msiska said.
However, after benefiting from the Anticipatory Action initiative, a localization project funded by Save the Children, BOHF has improved its resource mobilization capacity and now attracts diverse funding sources. This has enabled the organization to reinforce its mission of supporting vulnerable households and building community resilience
Building capacity
Charles Chirwa, anticipatory action manager at Save the Children Malawi, told Devex that under the localization initiative called Tiyende Pamodzi, Neno and Zomba districts were granted $975,748.50 with Neno district managing 44% of the funds and Zomba 56%.
The initiative aims to strengthen the capacity of government structures and civil society in the two districts to prevent emergencies and respond effectively during emergencies. It involves training in emergency preparedness, prevention, and response capacity for Zomba and Neno district councils and strengthening the capacity of local NGOs.
Save the Children has extended the project to 2025 and is now supporting two more community-based organizations, Neno Active Youth in Development and Tikondane Positive Living Support Organisation. The nonprofit will also support the Malawi University of Science and Technology and the Malawi’s Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services to provide technical support in disaster risk management and real time data on weather and climate patterns.
Mc Blessings Buda, executive director at YODEP, said the project has equipped his staff with skills to prevent extensive damage during emergencies. As a result, they have expanded their outreach programs and can come up with tailored interventions, enabling them to become trusted pillars in disaster response and recovery.
A shock-prone nation
Malawi has become a shock-prone nation, due to unpredictable climate patterns, leading to a surge in humanitarian aid demands in recent years. In January 2022, Tropical Storm Ana ravaged southern Malawi, leaving devastation in its wake. Just over a year later, in March 2023, Cyclone Freddy struck, causing torrential rains and multiple flood events in the southern region.
According to the World Bank, Malawi’s limited resources and capacity to anticipate, respond, and recover between disasters have led to a significant increase in humanitarian needs. The country’s reliance on humanitarian food and cash assistance has grown from 8% during the 2014-2015 lean season to 40% in 2016-2017, affecting 6.7 million people. Following Cyclone Freddy, an estimated 130,000 people required humanitarian assistance.
However, the transformation of community-based organizations such as BOHF and YODEP has shown the impact of localization in disaster response. With funding from Save the Children, these organizations were able to rapidly respond to emergencies like Cyclone Freddy.
According to Msiska, community-based organizations are often the most effective in responding to disasters. They understand the community’s needs and continue to work in the community after national and international NGOs have left. Empowered CBOs have the capacity to swiftly respond to emergencies due to their established networks and grassroots connections, enabling them to rapidly disseminate critical information and coordinate community-based disaster responses effectively.
Malawi’s localization drive
Malawi is currently in the midst of the localization drive. Championed by the country’s NGO Regulatory Authority, or NGORA, the approach seeks to promote partnerships between local and international NGOs to enhance the sustainability of projects after the international partners leave.
Kate Hartley-Louis, country director at Self Help Africa, which co-chairs the localization committee in Malawi, said the country plans to introduce new regulations that demand that INGOs distribute 30% of their funding to local nongovernmental organizations in a drive to create partnerships that can spearhead sustainable development.
Hartley-Louis told Devex in an interview that the new regulations that are yet to be gazetted in Malawi will ensure that there is a level playing field between INGOs, local registered NGOs, and community-based organizations in the delivery of development projects at the grassroots level. The focus is on capacity development for national registered NGOs and community-based organizations, enhancing their programming and assessment capabilities, she said.
While the new approach increases resources for local NGOs, she cautioned that building the capacity of these organizations to manage more resources is essential. This capacity building will enable local NGOs to effectively manage the increased resources and ensure the long-term sustainability of projects.
Outstanding challenges
Despite the progress made in Malawi’s localization drive, several challenges persist. Hartley-Louis said many local NGOs are doing good work on the ground, but they are not registered and are not compliant with the Malawi NGO Regulatory Authority regulations rendering them ineligible to receive partnership funding from INGOs in line with the new regulations.
She added that international NGOs all have different due diligence and partnership procedures which duplicates a lot of work for resource-stretched local organizations, adding that strict compliance requirements by many donors make it difficult for local NGOs to access funding.
“Many local NGOs cannot meet these compliance requirements, and these are not going to ease anytime soon,” said Hartley in an email.
She added that many international organizations partner with local organizations on a project-specific basis and this leaves the local organizations without core support to maintain the systems and processes that may have been strengthened during a particular project contract when the project is completed.
Msiska said, despite the positive indicators, one of the challenges that remain is the funds disbursement model which makes it challenging for the organizations to effectively use the grants at times. He said funds are disbursed on a quarterly basis making it difficult for them to effectively operate when there is delayed channeling of the funds into the organization’s accounts.
“Despite the challenges we are now able to timely respond to crises because we are now not dependent on one donor,” Msiska said.